Aliko Dangote, President of the Dangote Group, has accused importers of selling substandard petroleum products to unsuspecting Nigerians.
During a visit by the leadership of the House of Representatives, led by Speaker Tajudeen Abbas and his deputy, Benjamin Kalu, to the Dangote Refinery in Lagos State on Saturday, Dangote called for an investigation into the oil sector.
Dangote suggested that saboteurs or individuals with ulterior motives might be trying to undermine his business. He urged authorities to test products directly from filling stations to ascertain their quality.
“The most important thing, Your Excellency, is to note that the imported one they are encouraging, is the spec in the test, but in certain cases, when you check (independently), different results will show,” Dangote said.
Refuting allegations by the CEO of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, Farouk Ahmed, that his refinery’s products are substandard, Dangote claimed that his products meet the highest standards and are superior to imported ones.
He provided evidence from tests conducted at the refinery’s laboratories using the ASTM D4294 method, showing that his diesel initially had a sulphur content of 600-650 ppm. This has since improved to 87 ppm and is expected to drop to 50 ppm by next Monday. In contrast, diesel from two filling stations showed sulphur contents of 1,800 ppm and 2,600 ppm, respectively.
Dangote emphasized, “Our quality is about 600 to 650 ppm and is one of the best in terms of quality at that time when we started. But as of today, we’re at 87 ppm. I want to plead with the regulator to come at any time, whether Sunday or Monday or take the sample, and I guarantee you before he gets here, our ppm will be even below 10.”
He also called for an investigation into the quality of laboratories used by the NMDPR to test imported products, advocating for independent testing of his refinery’s products to validate their quality and expose issues with other products in the market.
Addressing monopoly concerns, Dangote dismissed claims that the Dangote Group received special incentives during the refinery’s construction.
He announced the group’s decision to abandon plans to enter Nigeria’s steel industry to avoid accusations of market monopolization.
“You know, about doing a new business which we announced, that is, the steel. Actually, our own board has decided that we shouldn’t do the steel because if we do the steel business, we will be called all sorts of names like monopoly. And then also, imports will be encouraged. So we don’t want to go into that,” Dangote explained.
He encouraged other Nigerians to invest in the industry to boost the country’s economy, stating, “Let other Nigerians go and do it. We are not the only Nigerians here. There are some Nigerians with more cash than us. They should bring that money from Dubai and other parts of the world and invest in our own fatherland.”
Speaker Abbas acknowledged the need for an investigation to resolve the contradictory claims from the public and private sectors, saying, “I don’t know how we have this contradiction of two players representing the public and private sector. I think it is something we need to investigate further to find out if there are ulterior motives.”
The visit by the House of Representatives’ leadership highlighted the ongoing issues in Nigeria’s oil sector, emphasizing the need for thorough investigation and quality control to ensure Nigerians receive high-quality petroleum products.