Dangote Says Ready To Face Legal Battles Over Fuel Imports

Aliko Dangote, President of Dangote Industries Limited, has said his business group is prepared to face legal challenges as the dispute over petroleum product imports and domestic refining continues.

Dangote spoke during a fireside chat at the Nairobi Securities Exchange in Kenya, where he discussed the group’s investment plans across Africa, including the proposed 700,000-barrel-per-day refinery in Lamu County.

His comments came amid an ongoing legal battle over the continued issuance and renewal of petrol import licences to oil marketers and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited.

The dispute intensified after a Federal High Court in Abuja directed the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority to continue granting and renewing petroleum product import licences to qualified marketers.

Dangote Petroleum Refinery is challenging the continued importation of refined petroleum products, with the company’s position centred on the impact of imports on Nigeria’s growing domestic refining capacity.

Despite the legal challenges, Dangote said he was prepared to defend the group’s investments in court and deal with whatever legal disputes arise.

He also spoke about plans to broaden ownership of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery, saying he was willing to reduce his personal stake in the business to about 25 per cent as more Africans become shareholders.

The planned Lamu refinery in Kenya was also discussed during the engagement. A Kenyan court had ordered that the existing status quo on the land earmarked for the project be maintained pending a further hearing.

The land dispute was brought by 133 residents of Chandavai in Lamu County, who claim the area is ancestral land where their families have lived and farmed for generations.

Dangote Group has maintained that the court order would not stop the planned groundbreaking ceremony for the refinery, although some activities at the project site could be affected by the legal proceedings.

The latest development adds another layer to the wider debate over fuel imports in Africa, as Dangote continues to pursue major refinery investments while defending its interests through legal and commercial channels. punchng.com

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