Keypoints:
- Dangote says fuel imports undermine domestic refining
- Regulator disputes refinery’s capacity claims
- Row exposes deeper tensions in Nigeria’s energy policy
NIGERIA’S richest man, Aliko Dangote, has intensified his public dispute with petroleum regulators, accusing them of enabling cheap fuel imports that he says threaten local refining, jobs and the country’s long-term energy security.
Speaking on Sunday at his 650,000-barrel-per-day Dangote Petroleum Refinery in Lagos, Dangote warned that continued reliance on imported refined fuel risked undermining Nigeria’s industrial ambitions.
Nigeria is Africa’s largest crude oil producer, yet it has for decades depended on imported petrol and diesel because of chronic failures at state-owned refineries. Dangote’s privately financed mega-refinery was designed to reverse that dependence, conserve foreign exchange and anchor a new phase of industrial growth.
‘Checking domestic potential’
Dangote argued that current regulatory decisions were actively working against those objectives. ‘You don’t use imports to checkmate domestic potential,’ he told reporters, saying Nigeria was creating jobs abroad while struggling to industrialise at home.
He warned that unchecked imports would weaken investor confidence, threaten thousands of jobs and expose the country to supply shocks. In his view, energy security could not be built on imports when local refining capacity exists.
In a sharp escalation, Dangote called for an official inquiry into Farouk Ahmed, chief executive of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority. He raised concerns about the management of the downstream sector and pointed to allegations of private spending that appeared inconsistent with legitimate earnings.
Ahmed did not immediately respond to requests for comment. He has previously argued that the Dangote refinery is seeking a monopoly over petroleum product sales while being unable to meet Nigeria’s full domestic fuel demand.
Dispute over capacity and demand
At the heart of the dispute is a disagreement over Nigeria’s daily fuel needs and the refinery’s actual output. The regulator has said national demand stands at about 55 million litres per day and that local production, including Dangote’s, is insufficient to meet that level.
Last month, the authority urged President Bola Tinubu’s administration to abandon proposals to ban refined fuel imports, warning that such a move could trigger shortages.
Dangote disputes that assessment, accusing the regulator of distorting the refinery’s capacity by relying on fuel offtake figures rather than real production data. He said this approach understates what the facility is capable of supplying to the domestic market.
Crude supply constraints
Beyond the imports debate, Dangote said the refinery continues to face structural challenges in sourcing crude oil locally. He blamed the regulator for failing to enforce a rule that requires domestic refiners to be supplied with crude before exports are approved.
As a result, the refinery currently imports about 100 million barrels of crude oil annually, according to Dangote. He said that figure could double as the facility expands, given limited domestic supply.
Despite these hurdles, Dangote said the project would continue to scale up. He described the investment as ‘too big to fail’ and vowed to protect it amid what he sees as regulatory resistance.
Listing plans and wider implications
Dangote also reiterated plans to list the refinery on the Nigerian Exchange, adding that dividends would be paid in US dollars so that ‘every Nigerian can own a piece of the economy’.
The standoff underscores deeper tensions within Nigeria’s energy policy — between liberalised trade, domestic industrial strategy and regulatory credibility. With fuel imports still draining scarce foreign exchange and local refining framed as a strategic priority, the outcome of the Dangote–regulator clash could shape the future of Nigeria’s downstream oil sector.
