Nigeriaâs fourth richest man, Femi Otedola, has come out in support of fellow billionaire businessman Aliko Dangote over his row with the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDRA).
In a lengthy post on his X handle, Otedola described Dangoteâs effect on Nigeriaâs economy and his massive refinery project.
Otedola said criticism of Dangoteâs business practices is misguided and harmful to Nigeriaâs economic well-being.
According to Otedola, Dangote is Nigeriaâs second-highest employer of labour after the government, highlighting his many projects, most of which are sited in Lagos.
He said in the post that the man has a vision of an industrialized Nigeria, stressing that big corporations in America, the UK, and other countries develop economies, not the government.
Otedola said:
Similarly, the President of the Africa Development Bank (AfDB), Akinwunmi Adesina, disclosed that competition is suitable for any economy, stating that actual competition would come from other firms building refineries in Nigeria.
According to reports, the AfDB President stated that limited competition in the sector would form high entry barriers, not monopolistic practices. He stressed the importance of the enormous capital needed for large-scale refineries.
Adesina said:
Aliko Dangote, the Chairman of the Dangote Group, has been in a row with regulatory agencies over his $20 billion refinery.
The business mogul called out the NNPC officials for operating blending plants in a foreign country.
The billionaire said the NNPC officials import contaminated fuel from the plants with fake import certificates into the country.
The development comes as the chief executive of the NMDPRA, Farouk Ahmed, said that the 650,000bpd-capacity refinery still needs to be licensed and has been selling inferior fuel.
In response, the Dangote Refinery management refuted the statement by the NMDPRAâs boss as false, saying petroleum products from the facility are 80% superior to imported ones, challenging the authority to come for testing.
TimesNow.com.ng earlier reported that Aliko Dangote has said he is ready to relinquish ownership of the worldâs biggest refinery to the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC).
The Nigerian billionaire spoke amid a new dispute over the sulphur content of petroleum products produced from the refinery and a reported misunderstanding with NNPC, one of the refinery’s key equity partners, and the Nigeria Midstream Downstream Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA).
The refinery, which was commissioned by former President Mummadu Buhari, is estimated to have cost about $20 billion.
Proofread by Kola Muhammed, journalist and copyeditor at TimesNow.com.ng
Source: TimesNow.com.ng
