Aliko Dangote, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Dangote Refinery, says his $20 billion refinery at the Lekki Free Trade Zone was constructed without any incentives from the federal government.
The business tycoon whilst speaking on Saturday during a visit from the House of Representatives leadership, led by Speaker Tajudeen Abbas, and his deputy, Benjamin Kalu, said his company paid $100 million to the Lagos State government to acquire the land on which the refinery was built, discarding reports of any free or subsidised allocation.
“In the refinery, we did not, and I repeat, we did not collect one single incentive from the Federal Government of Nigeria or even Lagos State. Yes, the Lagos State gave us a good deal but we paid $100m for the land. It wasn’t a free land; we paid for it.
“Majority of the population are with us. So, we are not discouraged, we will continue what we are doing,” the business tycoon said.
On the allegations of monopoly, Dangote said his group’s operations add value by making use of local raw materials and transforming them into products for sale.
The billionaire accentuated that his company has never intentionally or unintentionally stopped others from engaging in the same businesses.
Dangote cited the example of cement production, where his company faced competition from Lafarge, and stressed that tagging his group as monopolistic is disheartening.
He said: “If you look at all our operations at Dangote (Group), we add value; we take local raw materials and turn them into products, and we sell. We have never consciously or unconsciously stopped anybody from doing the same business that we are doing.
“When we first came into cement production, it was only Lafarge that was operating here in Nigeria. Nobody ever called Lafarge a monopoly,” he said, adding that labelling his group of companies as monopolistic is disheartening.
“Monopoly is when you stop people, you block them through legal means. No, it is a level playing field whereby whatever Dangote was given in cement, for example, other people were given because some of them even got more than us.”