Africa’s richest man and President of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, has declared that he will not give up in the face of mounting opposition from petroleum marketers, insisting that his multibillion-dollar refinery investment must survive.
Dangote made the remarks while speaking on the challenges confronting the Dangote Petroleum Refinery, a $20 billion project designed to reduce Nigeria’s dependence on imported petroleum products.
According to him, some marketers are uncomfortable with the refinery’s operations because it threatens fuel importation and product dumping into the Nigerian market.
“For the marketers, I pray and I wish, they will even lose more. But the truth is, I am not printing money; I am also losing money. It is not that I am making money,” Dangote said.
He accused the marketers of preferring continued fuel imports and dumping rather than supporting local refining capacity.
“They want imports to continue. I don’t think that is right. They want dumping to continue,” he stated.
Dangote stressed that the size and significance of the refinery investment mean he must adopt survival strategies to protect it.
“So I must have a strategy to survive, because a $20 billion investment is too big to fail. It is simply too big to fail,” he added.
Describing the situation as a prolonged struggle, Dangote said both sides are locked in a “cat and mouse” game but made it clear he has no intention of backing down.
“At the end of the day, somebody will give up—either we give up, or they give up. And I don’t think I will give up,” he said.
The comments come amid ongoing debates over fuel pricing, importation, and the role of the Dangote Refinery in reshaping Nigeria’s downstream petroleum sector. The refinery, located in Lagos, is expected to significantly reduce fuel imports, conserve foreign exchange, and stabilise the local fuel supply once fully operational.
Dangote reiterated his commitment to seeing the project through, describing it as critical not just to his business but to Nigeria’s economic future.
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