Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, has refuted claims that his conglomerate, the Dangote Group, holds a monopoly in Nigeria.
During a weekend meeting with the leadership of the House, led by Speaker Tajudeen Abbas and Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu, Dangote emphasized that his operations promote fair competition and add value to the Nigerian economy.
“If you look at all our operations at Dangote (Group), we add value; we take local raw materials and turn them into products, and we sell,” Dangote stated.
“We have never consciously or unconsciously stopped anybody from doing the same business that we are doing. When we first came into cement production, it was only Lafarge that was operating here in Nigeria…Nobody ever called Lafarge a monopoly.”
Dangote argued that monopoly involves legal barriers preventing others from entering the market, which he claims has never been the case with his group.
“Monopoly is when you stop people, you block them through legal means. No, it is a level playing field whereby whatever Dangote was given in cement, for example, other people were given because some of them even got more than us,” he explained.
The meeting also addressed concerns about the quality of petroleum products in Nigeria. Dangote accused some staff members of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited and oil traders of operating a blending plant in Malta that produces substandard fuel. These products, he said, have damaged many vehicles in Nigeria.
“I still stand by what I said. Go to filling stations; you can check the quality. That is the only way,” Dangote asserted, urging the government to investigate the quality of diesel and petrol at filling stations across the country.
Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation, faces energy challenges, with all its state-owned refineries non-operational. The country is heavily reliant on imported refined petroleum products, with the state-run NNPC being the major importer of the essential commodities.
Fuel queues are commonplace in the country. Prices of petrol tripled since the removal of subsidy in May 2023, compounding the woes of the citizens who power their vehicles and generating sets with petrol, no thanks to decades-long epileptic electricity supply.
Last December, Dangote, one of Africa’s leading industrialists, commenced operations at his $20bn refinery in Lagos with a capacity of 350,000 barrels a day. The refinery aims to reach its full capacity of 650,000 barrels per day by the end of the year. It has already begun supplying diesel and aviation fuel to local marketers, with petrol supply expected to start in August.
Regulatory authorities had questioned the quality of petroleum products produced at the refinery located at the Lekki Free Trade Zone.
During his meeting with federal lawmakers, Dangote reiterated that products from his refinery are of high quality. He rejected any claims of substandard production and called on the government to thoroughly investigate fuel quality in the country.