Akinwunmi Adesina, president of the African Development Bank (AfDB), has criticized the monopoly accusations against Aliko Dangote, chairman of Dangote Industries Limited (DIL). Adesina expressed his views in a post on X shared by Femi Otedola on Tuesday.
On July 20, Dangote announced that the board of directors had decided to halt plans to invest in Nigeria’s steel industry to avoid being branded a monopoly. This followed claims by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) that local refineries, including the Dangote refinery, produce inferior petroleum products. The regulator also accused Dangote of monopoly, sparking a heated dispute between Africa’s richest man and Nigeria’s oil sector regulators.
As tensions rose, Dangote offered to sell his oil refinery to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited on July 22.
Reacting to the situation, Adesina defended Dangote, stating, “This whole issue on Dangote is shocking and creating bad waves for Nigeria globally.”
Adesina elaborated, “Monopoly often exists where there are high barriers to entry or high capital costs. How many individuals or companies can do railways? How many can do refineries of the scale of Dangote Refineries?”
He continued, “In a nation that has been importing refined petroleum products for several decades, the abnormal simply became very normal. No smart investor would make a $19.5 billion investment and want it to be undermined by importers.”
Adesina highlighted the challenges of manufacturing in Nigeria, given the difficult business and economic environment. He questioned whether Dangote Refineries was genuinely anti-competitive and pointed out that Dangote had not prevented other companies from setting up refineries.
“Dangote Refineries surely cannot be asked to ‘compete’ with importers of petroleum products. That is not competition. Let the importers set up local refineries and compete by refining in Nigeria. That is fair and justified competition,” Adesina argued.
He emphasized the importance of supporting local industries, stating, “We cannot and must not undermine, disparage or kill local industries, especially one of this scale — a jewel of industrialization in Nigeria.”
Adesina concluded by warning against undermining local investors, saying, “This whole disparaging of Dangote is uncalled for. It is self-defeating. And it is very bad for Nigeria. Who will want to come and invest in a country that disparages and undermines its own largest investor? Investing is tough. Pettiness is easy. It sadly sends a signal that the price for sacrificing for Nigeria is to get sacrificed.”