Aliko Dangote, President of Dangote Group, has offered to sell the Dangote Refinery to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL) amid allegations of monopoly in the industry.
In an exclusive interview with Premium Times, Dangote expressed his willingness to sell the refinery, stating that if NNPCL takes over, the allegations of monopoly would no longer be valid.
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“Let them (NNPCL) buy me out and run the refinery the best way they can. They have labelled me a monopolist. That’s an incorrect and unfair allegation, but it’s OK. If they buy me out, at least, their so-called monopolist would be out of the way,” Dangote said.
He added that the refinery can help resolve the fuel crisis in Nigeria, but some people are uncomfortable with his involvement.
The Chief Executive Officer of Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, Farouk Ahmed, had alleged that the Dangote refinery requested the regulator to stop giving import licenses to other marketers to be the only fuel supplier in Nigeria. Ahmed also claimed that the refinery’s product is inferior in quality.
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Dangote revealed that the challenges his refinery is facing have validated the warnings of his friends and associates, who advised him to exercise caution when investing billions of dollars in the Nigerian economy.
“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,” he said.
