Dangote vs. The regulator: Billionaire cries foul over ‘unethical’ imports

Aliko Dangote has escalated his standoff with Nigeria’s downstream regulator, accusing it of undermining his refinery by allowing excessive fuel imports.

Several months after signs of a thaw in relations between Africa’s richest man and the regulator of the Nigerian downstream oil sector, Aliko Dangote has taken the gloves off in a power struggle that started after his giant refinery came on stream last year.

The billionaire tycoon has again called out the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), describing the volume of imports being allowed into the country as “unethical”.

“There are powerful interests in the oil sector… The downstream sector must not be destroyed by personal interests. A trader should never be a regulator,” he said at a briefing on Sunday, three days after he told an audience in Lagos that the capacity of his refinery would increase by 50,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 700,000 bpd in January.

Dangote called for “a proper investigation” of Ahmed Farouk, the head of NMDPRA, over the latter’s spending on his children’s foreign education, which he called “economic sabotage”.

“The Code of Conduct Bureau, or any other body deemed appropriate by the government, can investigate the matter.

"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.

NMDPRA insists fuel importation ‘imperative’

When contacted on Monday by The Africa Report for a response to the allegations, NMDPRA spokesman George Ene-Ita said he could only respond to technical issues that call for facts, figures and forensic analysis.

“I cannot deal in unsubstantiated claims and malicious allegations,” he said, referring to the issue of school tuition raised by Dangote.

He said the regulator started publishing a fact sheet on its website two months ago, saying: “The facts speak to local petroleum products output versus imports. Importation is imperative to cover gaps left by the inability of local producers to fill.”

NMDPRA’s latest fact sheet, released last week, showed that petrol imports surged to 52.1 million litres per day (lpd) in November from 28.9 million lpd in the previous month, while domestic refinery supply increased to 19.5 million lpd from 17.1 million lpd.

The Africa Report reported on 25 November that with the 650,000-barrels-per-day Dangote refinery redrawing the Nigerian downstream petroleum landscape, fuel importers that had long held the market’s reins were fighting hard to keep their businesses alive.

Cover photo:  Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote. © Ludovic MARIN/POOL/AFP