Aliko Dangote, Africa’s richest man and founder of the $20 billion Dangote Refinery, has opened up about persistent challenges hindering growth in Nigeria’s oil industry.
Speaking on issues ranging from regulatory corruption to entrenched oil interests, he said forces in the sector continue to undermine the country’s progress and the refinery’s operations.
According to Dangote, his relationship with oil marketers and regulatory bodies has been tense since the refinery began operating. He claimed these groups favour continued fuel importation at the expense of domestic refining, adding that the ongoing resistance has been financially damaging.
For the marketers, I pray and wish they will even lose more, because I’m not printing money, I’m also losing money,“ he said. “They want imports to continue. I don’t think it is right. I must have a strategy to survive because $20 billion of investment is too big to fail.
Dangote described the situation as a “cat and mouse game” between his company and opposing interests, saying only one side would eventually prevail.
So we are in a situation where we will continue to play cat and mouse, and at the end of the day, somebody will give up, either we give up, or they will give up.
The billionaire also alleged that efforts to rehabilitate Nigeria’s state-owned refineries, particularly the Port Harcourt refinery, were severely undermined by sabotage.
Citing information from Mele Kyari, former head of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), he claimed the facility encountered “more than 100 acts of sabotage.” He added that similar interference has targeted his refinery.
Dangote revealed that vital equipment had been stolen or tampered with, including a 400-ton boiler described as the largest of its kind in the world.
“In this refinery, we have lost around $82 million worth of stolen items,” Dangote said, noting that those behind the theft hoped the refinery would make large insurance claims, which would then increase future premiums.
He further alleged that Nigeria’s “oil mafia” poses a greater threat than drug cartels, arguing that the influence and network within the oil sector run far deeper.
“That’s why I told you the drug mafia is smaller than the people who are in oil and gas. In the oil sector, they have roped so many people in,” he claimed. Due to the scale of interference, Dangote said the refinery now employs more security personnel than operational staff.
Concluding his remarks, the industrialist admitted that managing a refinery is an intensely stressful experience, and that he would only recommend such a venture to someone he considers an enemy.
SOURCE: GhanaWeb
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