‘It’ll be major shakedown’ — Dangote plans downstream sector ‘overhaul’

Aliko Dangote, chairman of Dangote Group, said there are plans to introduce an initiative that will overhaul Nigeria’s downstream sector soon.

Dangote spoke to journalists after President Bola Tinubu’s recent visit to his refinery in Lagos.

The billionaire entrepreneur said the initiative would be a major “shakedown” in the country.

“Now that the President has visited and he has given us additional energy, we will inform you, you will hear from us next week, and that will be one of the major shakedowns in the entire country,” he said.

“It is not the reduction of price, it will be the total overhaul of the downstream.”

Dangote noted that the company would go on a “massive trajectory” with the refinery.

“I told the President that he had not seen anything yet, we are going on a massive trajectory, much more than what you have seen here. If you come back in the next five years, the refinery will be on the back burner,” he said.

The entrepreneur also said the refinery would be listed on the stock exchange market, starting with the fertiliser company this year.

He acknowledged the “impact” of Tinubu’s economic policies, saying recent reforms have fostered a more conducive environment for industrial growth and long-term investment.

Dangote also commended Tinubu’s ‘Nigeria First Policy’, which aims to reduce dependence on foreign goods and services by prioritising local content in investment decisions, business operations, and consumer behaviour.

He said the policy aligns with the group’s corporate vision of producing what the nation consumes and fostering self-sufficiency to meet Nigerians’ basic needs.

The entrepreneur also commended the administration’s “significant improvements in national infrastructure through initiatives such as the Nigerian Road Infrastructure Development Fund and the Refurbishment Investment Tax Credit Scheme”.

Dangote noted that under the schemes, eight major roads — including the Lekki-Epe corridor — have been awarded within the same cluster at a cumulative cost of N900 billion.

He said the petroleum refinery is one of several strategic initiatives by the Dangote Group in support of the federal government’s ‘Renewed Hope Agenda’, which seeks to reposition Nigeria as a regional manufacturing hub.

“Our objective is to produce domestically those goods that have historically been imported, despite our abundant natural resources,” Dangote said.

“It is on record that our investment in cement manufacturing made Nigeria self-sufficient in that sector, ending cement importation and turning the country into a net exporter.

“We achieved the same in fertiliser production, as Nigeria is now self-sufficient and exports the surplus, thereby generating valuable foreign exchange.”

He said the refinery has also commenced exporting refined petroleum products to several countries, including the United States and Saudi Arabia.