Africa’s richest man Aliko Dangote says he did not enjoy any incentive from the Federal Government to build his $20bn refinery located at the Lekki Free Trade Zone.
Dangote stated this on Saturday when he received the leadership of the House led by Speaker Tajudeen Abbas and his deputy Benjamin Kalu.
“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,” he said.
“Majority of the population are with us. So, we are not discouraged, we will continue what we are doing.”
The billionaire businessman called on the House of Representatives to investigate the quality of diesel and petrol at filling stations. He rejected claims that petroleum products from his refinery are substandard.
To carry out the investigation, he urged the House to set up a committee to test products at various filling stations across the country.
Decrying the damage being done to vehicles and engines by substandard products, also called on the House to investigate the quality of laboratories being used to test imported products and compare that with the one at the Dangote Refinery.
Dangote also said the claim in some quarters that his group of companies enjoy monopoly is not true.
“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 stop 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.”
