Tag: Aliko Dangote

President of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, has accused the Chief Executive of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Mr Farouk Ahmed, of allegedly spending about $5 million on secondary school education for his four children in Switzerland.

Dangote made the allegation on Sunday during a press briefing at the Dangote Petroleum Refinery in Lekki, Lagos, where he called for a full investigation and public explanation over the source of the funds.

He urged relevant authorities, including the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal, to probe the matter, describing the alleged expenditure as economic sabotage if left unexplained.

According to Dangote, the cost of educating four children in secondary schools abroad for six years could not be easily reconciled with earnings from public service.

> “I’ve actually had people making complaints about a regulator who has put his children in secondary school. That secondary school education, which is six years, four of them cost Nigeria $5m. You cannot imagine somebody paying $5m for educating four children,” he said.

Dangote stressed that the allegation, if not addressed, would continue to undermine public trust and investor confidence in Nigeria’s regulatory institutions.

He said the alleged spending would ordinarily attract scrutiny from tax authorities, noting that public servants are expected to justify their income and lifestyle.

> “When you look at his income, his income does not match paying this kind of fee. And even if it’s me paying $5m for six years for my four children, the taxman has to look at my taxes and how much I pay,” Dangote stated.

The billionaire industrialist expressed concern over the contrast between the alleged expenditure and the hardship faced by ordinary Nigerians, especially in the area of education.

> “From Sokoto, where he comes from, people are struggling to pay ₦100,000 for school fees. A lot of children are at home because of ₦100,000. I cannot understand why somebody who has worked all his life in government has four children whose school fees he has paid $5m for,” he added.

Dangote also disclosed that his own children did not attend secondary schools abroad.

> “Even my own children did not go to those schools. My children went to a Nigerian secondary school. They didn’t go outside Nigeria to attend secondary school,” he said.

He clarified that he was not calling for Ahmed’s removal but insisted on accountability and transparency.

> “I am not calling for his removal, but for a proper investigation. He should be required to account for his actions and demonstrate that he has not compromised his position to the detriment of Nigerians,” Dangote said.

He warned that if the allegation was denied, he would take further steps to substantiate his claims.

> “If he denies it, I will not only publish what he paid as tuition in those secondary schools, but I will also take legal steps to compel the schools to disclose the payments made by Farouk,” he said.

Dangote further lamented the state of the downstream petroleum sector, alleging that entrenched interests continued to benefit from fuel imports at the expense of national development.

He described the continued importation of refined petroleum products into African countries as unethical, stressing that it undermines value addition and domestic refining.

> “There are powerful interests in the oil sector. It is troubling that African countries continue to import refined products despite long-standing calls for domestic refining. The volume of imports being allowed into the country is unethical and does a disservice to Nigeria,” he added.

President of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, has announced that Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), popularly known as petrol, will sell at ₦739 per litre from Tuesday, beginning with MRS Oil and Gas filling stations, as part of efforts to ease the burden of fuel costs on Nigerians.

Dangote made the declaration on Sunday during a press briefing at the Dangote Petroleum Refinery in Lekki, Lagos, assuring that the new pump price would be strictly enforced to ensure Nigerians benefit from recent price reductions.

He said MRS Oil and Gas would lead the implementation, adding that other partner marketers of the refinery were expected to follow suit.

“Starting from Tuesday, MRS will start selling petrol at ₦739 per litre. Definitely, we will enforce that low price. We will make sure that it’s implemented. If you have your truck, you can come here and buy it. We are selling at ₦699,” Dangote said.

According to him, the ₦699 ex-depot price already includes statutory charges payable to the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), noting that the refinery’s actual net receipt was significantly lower.

The business mogul explained that the move followed a recent reduction in the refinery’s petrol gantry price from ₦828 to ₦699 per litre, effected two days earlier.

Dangote lamented that despite reductions at the depot level, some filling stations continued to sell petrol at high prices, thereby undermining efforts to make fuel more affordable.

He alleged that certain marketers were being encouraged by some officials to maintain high pump prices, a situation he described as deliberate sabotage.

“I was told that the marketers have met with some officials and were told to make sure that the price is maintained high. But this price we are going to introduce, we are going to start with MRS stations most likely on Tuesday in Lagos. That ₦970 per litre, you won’t see it again,” he said.

Dangote added that members of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) had also been invited to lift products directly from the refinery at the reduced price.

He said the refinery was prepared to sell to any buyer capable of lifting large volumes, stressing that economies of scale would further help to drive down prices.

“We have asked anybody who can buy 10 trucks to come and buy 10 trucks at ₦699,” he said.

The Africa’s richest man reiterated his commitment to using all available resources to ensure petrol prices were reduced nationwide, expressing optimism that significant progress would be made within days.

“We are going to use whatever resources that we have to make sure that we crash the price down. Maybe it will take us a week to 10 days, but within that period, we will be able to deliver,” he said.

Dangote insisted that Nigerians should not pay more than ₦740 per litre for petrol in December and January, warning that efforts would be intensified against those attempting to keep prices artificially high.

“For this December and January, we don’t want people to sell petrol for more than ₦740 nationwide. Those who want to keep the price high to sabotage the government, we will fight as much as we can to make sure that these prices are down,” he stated.

Questioning the justification for pump prices nearing ₦900 per litre, Dangote said transportation costs from the refinery to filling stations were minimal.

“Freight within Lagos is ₦10 or ₦15 per litre, maximum. So if it’s ₦10 to ₦15, everything is going to cost you about ₦715. Why do you want to sell at ₦900? People should get the real price,” he queried.

He disclosed that the refinery was not making profits at the current pricing regime, adding that regulatory actions had further complicated operations.

According to him, the NMDPRA had issued numerous import licences, resulting in product oversupply and hurting local refining investments.

“As we speak now, even our tanks are full because the NMDPRA has issued reckless licences. They are ready to issue licences for about 7.5 billion litres for the first quarter of 2026, despite the fact that we have guaranteed to supply enough quantity,” he said.

Responding to allegations of monopoly, Dangote dismissed the claims, insisting that no investor had been prevented from participating in local refining.

“If you are talking about monopoly, did we stop anybody? They issued 47 licences. Let those people come and put up a refinery here, or let them buy existing ones and operate them. If it’s profitable, they should go and do that,” he said.

He also expressed concern over the state of modular refineries in the country, noting that many were struggling to survive.

“Those modular refineries are almost on the verge of collapse. None of them is making a dime,” Dangote said.

He noted that the ongoing price competition between the Dangote Refinery and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) had been welcomed by some stakeholders as beneficial to the downstream oil sector.