AfriPulse
LAGOS, Nigeria — Aliko Dangote, President and Chief Executive of Dangote Petroleum Refinery, has accused powerful interests in Nigeria’s oil sector of trying to sabotage his $20 billion refinery project, likening their tactics to the destruction of the country’s once-thriving textile industry.
Speaking in Lagos on Monday, September 15, 2025, during a ceremony marking one year since the refinery began producing petrol, Dangote said the past 12 months had been “a very rough journey.”
“We came in to change the narratives. We came in to change the system of how things have been done in the downstream sector. We have people who are used to rents’ collection. We have people who believe we have removed food from their tables,” he said.
“But it’s not that we removed food from their table, it’s just that we made our country and our continent very proud… The international traders and the local marketers all connive to suffocate any refinery.”
He dismissed suggestions that the refinery lacks capacity, pointing to exports of 1.8 billion litres of fuel in the past three months.
“If we don’t have the capacity, why are we exporting?” he asked.
Dangote declared that the refinery has helped to end Nigeria’s persistent fuel queues, which he said dated back to 1975.
“We have been battling fuel queues since 1975, but today Nigerians are witnessing a new era,” he said.
He recalled the risks involved in building the facility, explaining that industry experts and financiers had warned that only sovereign states could undertake such a project.
“If it had gone wrong, lenders would have taken our assets. But we believed in Nigeria and Africa,” he said.
The refinery, according to Dangote, has contributed to a reduction in petrol prices from nearly ₦1,100 per litre before production began to ₦841 in several states, including Lagos, Abuja, Delta, and Rivers.
He said the rollout of compressed natural gas (CNG) trucks would further reduce costs nationwide.
The company has deployed over 1,000 CNG-powered trucks, part of a 4,000-vehicle fleet expected by month’s end, which Dangote said would generate at least 24,000 jobs.
“We have not displaced any jobs; we are creating many more,” he noted, adding that employees enjoy benefits such as health insurance, life insurance, and pensions.
Responding to criticism from the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), which described the refinery’s new fuel distribution scheme as a “Greek gift,” Dangote retorted: “They said we gave Nigerians a Greek gift, why don’t you give the French one. Even if it’s a Greek gift, it means that it is a gift and will still be there all the time.”
NUPENG had alleged that the refinery was undermining workers’ rights and pushing drivers into a rival association, claims Dangote dismissed as attempts to resist reform.
Dangote urged the National Assembly to enact legislation supporting a “Nigeria First” policy to safeguard local industries from dumping and unfair competition.
“Relying on imports means exporting jobs and importing poverty,” he said.
“Other nations were not industrialised by outsiders. We must build and industrialise our own economies.”
Despite opposition, he maintained that the refinery would continue to meet domestic fuel needs, generate foreign exchange through exports, and create employment.
“My goal is to see Africa prosper, as we have the fastest-growing population in the world,” he said.
Source: TheTrentOnline | Read the Full Story…
