“Nobody in this room, myself included, will live to see another major refinery built,” Dangote warns.
Billionaire industrialist Aliko Dangote has warned that no new major refinery may be built in sub-Saharan Africa during the lifetime of current industry players unless strong political will is exercised.
Speaking at the Global Commodity Insights Conference in Abuja, Dangote blamed entrenched corruption and rent-seeking within Africa’s petroleum sector for stalling progress.
“The whole essence of the Lomé floating market is to ensure that no refinery operates in sub-Saharan Africa,” he said, referencing the offshore terminal in Togo where international traders stockpile over 2 million tonnes of petroleum products.
Dangote added that his own refinery disrupted inflated prices maintained by offshore traders, but warned that these powerful interests “will do everything they can to prevent other refineries from emerging.”
“Let me be blunt: if strong political will is not mustered, nobody in this room, myself included, will live to see another major refinery built in sub-Saharan Africa,” he declared.
He called for policy alignment, regional cooperation, and government action to dismantle systemi barriers.