Otedola praises Dangote Refinery, credits Tinubu for deregulation

By Matthew Ogunwale

Billionaire businessman Femi Otedola has praised the commencement of operations at the Dangote Refinery and credited President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s downstream petroleum deregulation for ushering in a “new era” of transparency and competition in Nigeria’s fuel market. He warned that depot owners and some industry groups must adapt or risk obsolescence.

In a strongly worded commentary published on Monday, Otedola congratulated Aliko Dangote for the refinery’s success, stating that the facility represents “a historic leap for Nigeria’s energy independence and economic future.” He emphasised that full deregulation of the downstream sector, an initiative he attributes to President Tinubu, has “broken the grip of entrenched interests” and led to a new era of transparency, healthy competition, and customer-centric service delivery.

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Otedola, who says he founded the Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN) in 2002, described the group’s original role as filling supply gaps in an import-driven market. However, he argued that the business model justifying depot ownership has become largely obsolete due to local refining capacity and improved logistics related to the Dangote project.

“You can delay change, frustrate it, even sabotage it, but you can never stop it,” Otedola wrote, recalling how he structured DAPPMAN two decades ago and naming colleagues who served with him. He cautioned that many depot owners are “clinging to assets that no longer reflect today’s business realities” and urged them to consider selling, restructuring, or investing in downstream retail rather than maintaining tanks designed for a fuel-import economy.

Otedola made specific allegations about the old subsidy system, claiming it “was built to benefit depot owners” and asserting that more than ₦2 trillion was siphoned through “questionable claims” tied to depot licenses. He rejected calls from DAPPMAN for what he described as a ₦1.5 trillion payment from Dangote Refinery, arguing there was no reason for the refinery to bear such a cost and pass it on to consumers.

He highlighted the logistical improvements associated with the refinery, noting that Dangote has purchased “8,000 brand new CNG eco-friendly trucks” to support national distribution and, in his view, reduce congestion around the Ibafon, Tincan, and Apapa ports. Otedola contrasted these modern assets with ageing, rickety trucks” still employed by some operators and invoked his own history in the sector, claiming he was the “king of it” and was once conferred the title of life patron of the PTD union.

Drawing parallels to global practices, Otedola pointed out that depots in export hubs like Amsterdam and Houston were designed for an export era, and that similar infrastructure has become redundant in other industries, citing Nigeria’s cement sector as an example. He urged DAPPMAN members to focus on “last-mile retail outlets” that create more jobs than depots, which typically employ only a few staff.

Otedola also suggested an alternative for critics who advocate competition: that DAPPMAN members could pool resources to acquire and manage the Port Harcourt Refinery themselves, “to see if they can succeed where NNPC could not.”

While praising Aliko Dangote’s contributions, Otedola framed the refinery as part of a broader policy success he attributes to deregulation and issued a final public nudge to industry laggards: “If DAPPMAN members do not adapt, they will not only become irrelevant, they may go bankrupt. Instead of resisting progress, they should consider selling, restructuring, or investing in new value chains.”