Femi Otedola hailed the Dangote Refinery and Tinubu’s deregulation policy while warning that entrenched oil cabals still threaten Nigeria’s energy reforms.
Billionaire businessman Femi Otedola has warned that Nigeria’s energy reforms remain at risk from entrenched cabals in the oil sector despite recent breakthroughs.
In a statement on Monday, Otedola congratulated Aliko Dangote on the “historic leap for Nigeria’s energy independence” achieved through the Dangote Petroleum Refinery. He commended President Bola Tinubu for “doing what no other leader before him had the political will to execute — the full deregulation of the downstream petroleum sector,” which he said ushered in transparency and competition.
However, Otedola cautioned that “voices clinging to the old ways” still threaten progress. He recalled forming the Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN) in 2002 to challenge major marketers but noted many depots are now obsolete as local supply rises.
Highlighting the refinery’s 8,000 CNG-powered trucks and improved logistics, Otedola said: “More than just producing fuel, Aliko has elevated the entire logistics chain.” Drawing on his Zenon Oil experience, he added, “I know this business intimately… when I say the game has changed, I speak from deep experience.”