The President of Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, says he is still fighting for the survival of his $20bn refinery, stressing that the fight is not yet finished.
Dangote expressed optimism that he would win the fight for the refinery, stating his determination to fight on.
According to Semafor, an international news medium, Africa’s richest man spoke at an investor forum in Lagos on Friday.
The report stated that Dangote pointed out that some individuals who “for a very, very long time” have “made a lot of money from” government-subsidised oil imports into Nigeria, were the ones trying to sabotage the 650,000 barrels per day oil refinery situated in Lekki, Lagos.
Dangote was quoted as saying that “those groups have funded resistance to the Bola Tinubu government’s removal of petrol subsidies and are opposed to the refinery operating easily in the country.”
However, Dangote was confident that the battle between him and the groups would be won, priding himself as a long-time fighter.
“We’re fighting, and the fight is not yet finished. But I have been fighting all my life, and I am ready and 100 per cent sure I will win at the end of the day,” he was quoted.
Dangote’s latest comments came as Nigeria plans to increase its capacity to stockpile petroleum products, to prepare against shocks to the global oil market following US President Donald Trump’s shake-up of international trade with the threat of tariffs.
Recall that Dangote has since last year raised the alarm that some mafias were sabotaging his refinery.
He specifically mentioned that some international oil companies were sabotaging his investment by denying the facility adequate crude supply despite the domestic crude supply obligation.
Dangote had alleged that the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority was issuing licences to marketers to import substandard petroleum products into the country.
He vowed to push his $20bn refinery to full operational capacity despite what he said were challenges from oil importers seeking to undermine his venture to retain their dominance in the country’s energy sector.
At a point last year, Dangote said he regretted building the refinery, saying the mafias in the oil and gas sector were stronger than those of drugs.
However, he refused to give up on the project as the facility targets its full capacity soon.
