Aliko Dangote, the President of the Dangote Group, has revealed that his company paid $100 million to purchase the land where the $20 billion Dangote Refinery is being constructed.
He emphasized that the company did not receive any incentives from the Federal Government of Nigeria or the Lagos State government for the project.
“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,” Dangote stated during a visit by the leadership of the House of Representatives.
Addressing allegations of monopoly, Dangote asserted that his group’s operations add value by utilizing local raw materials and transforming them into products for sale. He emphasized that his company has never intentionally or unintentionally hindered others from engaging in similar businesses.
Dangote cited the example of cement production, where his company faced competition from Lafarge, and noted that labeling his group as monopolistic is disheartening.
“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 stopped anybody from doing the same business that we are doing,” he said
