Nigerian activist turned politician Aisha Yesufu has described Alhaji Aliko Dangote, the CEO of Dangote Group, as a business renowned for using political connections to frustrate and drive competitors out of business.
In a statement where she described the ongoing rift between Africa’s richest man and the Federal Government as an “injustice” against the businessman, she stated that “Dangote understands now what millions of other businesses have been crying about in Nigeria.”
Dangote had on Sunday offered to sell his stake in the Dangote refinery to the NNPC amid accusations of monopoly in the industry.
Dangote made the offer in an exclusive interview with Premium Times.
This came after the chief executive of NMDPRA made claims that Dangote had requested the regulator to stop giving import licenses to other marketers to be the only fuel supplier in Nigeria.
“We cannot rely heavily on one refinery to feed the nation because Dangote is requesting that we suspend or stop importation of all petroleum products, especially AGO, and direct all marketers to the refinery; that is not good for the nation in terms of energy security. And that is not good for the market because of monopoly,” Ahmed disclosed in a video interview with State House correspondents.
He had also been accused of producing substandard petroleum products from his refinery. An accusation he totally rebuffed.
He denied the allegations on Saturday when the leadership of the House of Representatives visited and toured the refinery located at the Lekki Free Trade Zone in Lagos.
Speaking on the rift between the federal government and Africa’s richest man, Yesufu, in a statement on X on Tuesday, he said that Dangote is no stranger to using pitical connections to frustrate competitors out of business.
Arguing that the “system” was “skewed in his favour and against others,” Yesufu mentioned that he’s getting “those Forex at dirt cheap official rates didn’t make him a better businessman.”
She, however, condemned the cold war “against’ the businessman, which she described as “injustice,” urging Nigerians to speak against it.
Yesufu’s statement reads, “When injustice is being meted out on someone, you don’t only speak on that person’s behalf because you like them. You speak up because injustice to one is injustice to all.
“Dangote has been part of the system that has oppressed many businesses in Nigeria, no doubt! That should not stop us from speaking up about the injustice he is currently facing.
“One will hope Dangote understands now what millions of other businesses have been crying about in Nigeria, and that he had connections and could get those forex at dirt cheap official rates didn’t make him a better businessman. It was the system skewed in his favour and against others.”
