Africa’s richest man and president of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, has disclosed that lenders would have seized his assets if the decision to build the $19 billion Dangote Refinery had gone wrong.
Dangote said this on Monday at a press conference marking the first anniversary of petrol production from the 650,000-barrels-per-day facility.
Reflecting on the refinery’s development, Dangote admitted the project carried enormous risk. He recalled warnings from industry experts, investors, and government officials, both local and foreign, who argued that only sovereign nations could successfully execute such a large-scale venture.
“The decision to build the refinery was not easy. If it had gone wrong, lenders would have taken our assets. But we believed in Nigeria and Africa,” he said.
Acknowledging the hurdles faced since inception, the billionaire stressed that the company’s vision was to transform Nigeria’s downstream sector.
“The journey has been challenging because we sought to transform the downstream sector in Nigeria. Some believed we were taking food from their tables, which simply isn’t true. What we have done is to make our country and continent proud,” Dangote noted.
He lamented that most African countries still rely on fuel imports. “Previously, only two African countries were not importing petrol, but regrettably, they have since resumed imports. This is detrimental to Africa,” Dangote added.
In 2024, foreign oil traders reportedly offered loans to provide working capital for the refinery in exchange for fuel supplies. And on August 4, the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) announced it had signed a $1.35 billion financing facility with the refinery.
