Wednesday, July 23, 2025 - On Tuesday, Aliko Dangote, founder and president/chief executive of the Dangote Group, urged the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) to cancel inactive refinery licenses or impose annual penalties on holders.
Speaking at the West African Refined Fuel Conference in
Abuja on Tuesday, organised by NMDPRA and S&P Global Commodity Insights, Mr
Dangote said encouraging others to build refineries is the responsibility of
the NMDPRA and the government.
“I think encouraging other people to build refineries is the
job of the NMDPRA and also the government. So, NMDPRA, I rely on your
leadership to make sure we encourage those people who have collected licences
to work with you.
“And I believe anybody who collected these licences from you
and they are not using it, either you cancel them or you put a penalty on a
yearly basis so that they will return the licence or they will build those
refineries,” Mr Dangote said.
He said building a
refinery threatens powerful interests that dominate the petroleum value chain
across the continent.
“Across many African countries, this sector has historically
been a major avenue for corruption and rent extraction. When you build a
refinery and disrupt that system, you are not just innovating, you are
threatening powerful interests that will seriously fight back,” he added
Speaking
further, he said Nigeria has become a net exporter of refined petroleum
products, polypropylene, and urea, a historic turnaround.
“With our
Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) production of 2,500 tons per day, we are working
to encourage more homes to increase LPG utilisation. And we are just getting
started. Very soon, the refinery will be listed to give all Nigerians an
opportunity to become shareholders.
“We are
open to partnerships with African governments, private investors, and regional
institutions. Our vision is simple but ambitious: Africa should refine all the
petroleum products it consumes, right here on African soil,” he said.
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