News
Dangote Rejects Monopoly Claims, Says ‘We’ve Never Stopped Anyone From Entering Same Business
On Saturday, Aliko Dangote, Africa’s richest person, disclosed that he did not receive any incentives or support from the Nigerian government to build his $20 billion refinery situated in the Lekki Free Trade Zone.
Dangote made this disclosure during a visit from the leadership of the House of Representatives, led by Speaker Tajudeen Abbas and his deputy, Benjamin Kalu.
He specifically stated that he paid $100 million to the Lagos State government to acquire the land where the world largest Refinery and petrochemical company was built.
Highlighting the widespread support from the Nigerian public, Dangote remarked, “The majority of the population supports us. We remain undeterred and will continue our efforts.”
He said, “You know whatever we do we add value, we are not an assembly plant. When I said an assembly, we are not packaging plant. If you look at all our operations as Dangote we actually add value.
“We take local materials and turn them into products and we sell. So which means it’s a circular economy which we are practising, everything is here. Everything is in Nigeria – the farmers, the banks or maybe the people in the mines and banks everything is about local.
“It is the main reason we are number two in flour milling but we saw it because the wheat is being imported abroad and the more wheat we use the more jobs we create out there and that is why we cancelled that. We remain only sugar, salt is not really a very big business. So that is what we have done.
“So now, what are we doing? What we are doing is see we are always the first mover. You know, we always move first and other people will follow and we have never, ever either consciously or unconsciously stopped anybody from doing the same businesses that we are doing.
“To the contrary when you look at it when we first came into cement production it was actually only Lafarge that was operating here in Nigeria and nobody called Lafarge monopoly. But we Dangote, the first plant we set up was 45 million tons against less than two million of local production but when we got in there people now start saying now monopoly, monopoly and this is sad.
“This is really very disheartening when people keep talking monopoly, monopoly – monopoly is only when you stop people, you block them through legal means or whatever, no it is a level playing field.
“Whatever Dangote was given like cement, for example others too were given. Some of them may even get more than us.
“We are always very careful. You heard what I said in the refinery; we did not and I said we did not collect one single incentive from the Federal Government of Nigeria or from even the Lagos State.
“Yes, Lagos State maybe they gave us a good deal but we paid $100 million for the land. It wasn’t free land; we paid for it.
“So, people are always looking at the other side, they are not looking at the real picture. Secondly, this country has been having petrol issues…”
Dangote, however, requested that the House of Representatives conduct an investigation into the quality of diesel and petrol sold at filling stations nationwide.
This comes as he refutes allegations that the petroleum products from his refinery are of poorer quality than imported ones.
Dangote urged the House to establish a committee to conduct thorough tests on products at various filling stations across the country, highlighting the detrimental effects of substandard fuel on vehicles and engines.
He emphasised the need to address this issue to protect consumers and prevent further damage.
A 27-year-old Nigerian man, identified only as Popori, has been arrested in Grenoble, France, for allegedly stabbing a fellow citizen, Monday, to death.
It was gathered that the incident occurred on the evening of Friday, November 22, when a fight broke out between two men during an altercation in a grocery store in Grenoble, Isère, France.
DayFR reports that, according to Grenoble Prosecutor Eric Vaillant, who confirmed information from Dauphiné Libéré, the incident occurred around 8:30pm.
The two men were inside an exotic grocery store when an argument broke out, quickly escalating into a violent altercation.
One of the individuals suddenly stabbed the other in the chest, for reasons still unclear.
Emergency services arrived on the scene but were unable to revive the victim.
On Saturday, the Grenoble public prosecutor announced that a 27-year-old Nigerian man had been taken into police custody at 12:30pm as part of an investigation initiated by the local judicial police service.
Alhaji Muhammadu Inuwa, the longest serving traditional ruler in Bauchi State, is dead.
Inuwa, the village Head of Beli (Sarkin Beli) in Shira Local Government Area of Bauchi, passed away at the Federal Medical Center Azare, Katagum Local Government Area of the state.
The monarch who was 111-year-old spent 91 years on the throne.
Chief Imam of Beli, Liman Musa Abubakar, confirmed the death of monarch which he described as a great loss to the entire people of Northern Nigeria.
During one of the interviews with Daily Trust in his lifetime, the late monarch had said, “Their grandfather was appointed as village head of Beli. He spent 12 years on the throne. He died and our father was appointed the village head. He spent 17 years. After that, I was appointed to the throne when I was 19 years old. This means that by my calculation, I was born around 19 12 or 1913. I was appointed to the throne around 1933 by the Emir of Katagum, AbdulQadir.”
The monarch lived and worked with four different first class Emirs of Katagum.
“We lived with the Emir of Katagum Abdulqadir who appointed me for 12 years before he left the throne and died six months later. Emir Umaru Faruqu was appointed. We spent 35 years with him.
When he died, his son, Muhammadu Kabiru was appointed. We spent 38 years with Emir Kabiru before he died, Again, after Muhammadu Kabiru, the present Emir of Katagum, Umaru Faruq II, was appointed. We lived with him for Six years.
Late Inuwa had said, “I am almost 91 years old on the throne. Alhamdulillahi, we live in peace with the people. And I gave birth to 11 people. Some of them died, but there are seven of them alive – four men and three women.
Many people interviewed said he was a peaceful ruler who [had] listening ears and worked for the peace of the land.”
Governor Dikko Radda of Katsina State on Monday presented the State’s 2025 Budget Proposal to the state House of Assembly.
This is the second full year budget the governor is presenting to the House, which is in the sum of N682,244,449,513.87, covering Recurrent Revenue and Expenditure.
The Budget’s Recurrent Expenditure stands at the sum of N157,967,755,024.36 representing 23.15% while, Capital Expenditure stands at N524,274,694,489.51 representing 76.85%.
The Governor in his speech, announced that, the total of this budget when compared with that of the 2024, has an increase of N200,535,619,501.61, representing 40% increase.
The Governor, at the beginning of his speech, assured the House that his administration has achieved many of its goals and is on course to meet and exceed its targets.
He insisted that his administration has successfully reversed the tide of insecurity which severely threatened the peaceful co-existence of people in the State.
“Many of our local governments have been restored to normalcy while pushing the bandits to the fringes of the forests and, Insha-Allah, to the end of their existence.
“We have expended a lot of resources in fighting insecurity, and we shall continue to do all we can to protect lives and livelihoods in our dear state. I thank the Honourable Members for your support and dedication to ultimate victory,” he said.
The Governor while ranking MDAs by allocations, revealed that the Economic Sector got N302,246,140,569.76 representing 44.3%, followed by the Education Sector with 95,995,873,044.70 representing 14%.
In the same vein, the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development got 81,840,275,739.70 representing 12% while the Ministry of Rural and Social Development got 58,728,146,293.72 representing 9%.
Other sectors such as the Ministry of Water Resources, 53,832,219,322.46 representing 8%, Ministry of Environment, 49,835,521,799.25 representing 7%, Ministry of Health, 43,881,752,172.75 representing 6%, Ministry of Internal Security and Home Affairs 18,938,508,746.95 representing 3%, Ministry of Works, Housing and Transport 9,684,806,758.56 representing 10%.
Other sectors he said are in the sum of 230,759,902,908.71 representing 31% of the total proposed budget
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