Aliko Dangote, the president of the Dangote Group, revealed that his friend, who had previously advised him against making investments in Nigeria, was now making fun of him for disobeying his advice.
In an interview on Sunday, Dangote made this revelation, just after reports surfaced citing the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority as saying that the diesel produced at the Dangote Refinery is of lower quality.
“Four years ago, one of my very wealthy friends began to invest his money abroad. I disagreed with him and urged him to rethink his actions in the interest of his country.
“He blamed his action on policy inconsistencies and shenanigans of interest groups. “That friend has been taunting me in the past few days, saying he warned me and that he has been proven right,” Dangote was quoted to have said.
He said he invested in the refinery to help solve a major issue in the country, wondering why some people were working against him. He added, “As you probably know, I am 67 years old. In less than three years, I will be 70. I need very little to live the rest of my life. I can’t take the refinery or any other property or asset to my grave. Everything I do is in the interest of my country.’
“We have been facing a fuel crisis since the 1970s. This refinery can help in resolving the problem, but it does appear some people are uncomfortable that I am in the picture. So I am ready to let go, let the NNPC buy me out, and run the refinery.
“This refinery can help in resolving the problem but it does appear some people are uncomfortable that I am in the picture. So I am ready to let go, let the NNPC buy me out, and run the refinery. At least the country will have high-quality products and create jobs.”
After ten years of delayed construction, the $650,000 barrel-per-day refinery finally opened its doors last year. It cost $19 billion, more than twice as much as initially estimated, and was expected to help Africa’s largest oil producer wean itself off of its reliance on foreign fuel and save up to 30% of the foreign exchange spent on importing goods.
While the Dangote refinery refuted allegations of producing inferior fuel, the Federal Government, acting through the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, stated on Sunday that it was awaiting new information to verify the true sulphur level of the diesel generated by the refinery.
George Ene-Ita, a spokesman for the NMDPRA, stated that the organization had completed its task and would not battle anyone in the media over the allegations made by the NMDPRA Chief Executive, Farouk Ahmed, that Dangote’s diesel has more sulphur content than imported one.
According to Ene-Ita, the authority has about 15 engineers and scientists embedded in the Dangote refinery, whose fresh report about the refinery’s sulphur content will be out on Monday (today). Africa’s richest man had earlier narrated how a cabal was blocking his moves to import crude and how it has been difficult to get products, slowing down operations.
But last week, the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority said the Nigerian government was yet to license the Dangote refinery to begin operations in the country. The Chief Executive Officer, NMDPRA, Farouk Ahmed, disclosed this while speaking with journalists at the State House on Thursday, July 18.
According to Ahmed, the claims of ongoing efforts to scuttle the operations of the Dangote refinery due to a lack of supply of crude oil by international oil companies were not true, adding that the refinery was still in the pre-commissioning stage and had not been licensed yet. Ahmed added that the diesel product of Dangote was below international standards, a claim that the businessman refuted.
