Alhaji Aliko Dangote, the founder, chairman, and CEO of the Dangote Group, has been described as “one of the biggest scams in Nigeria.”
In a statement on X on Saturday, Ola Mi Lekan, a social media influencer, alleged that the business magnet has been lying to Nigerians about production in his refinery.
Ola Mi Lekan’s statement comes on the heels of a report that Dangote Refinery has increased its stockpile of imported crude oil from the United States as a second cargo left American waters for Nigeria on Friday.
A second shipment of US light sweet crude oil was scheduled to arrive in Nigeria on Friday for delivery to the Dangote Refinery, according to trader and ship tracking data.
According to Kpler and LSEG ship monitoring, Vessel Otis, which loaded around 850,000 barrels of WTI Midland in Houston last week, was signalling Lekki in Nigeria as its destination. It was expected to hit the country in mid-March.
The first shipment of two million barrels of US crude on the extremely big crude carrier, Gem No. 1, also contracted by Vitol, was approaching Nigeria and was scheduled to discharge next week.
Reacting to the news, Ola Mi Lekan stated, “Dangote is one of the biggest scams in Nigeria!”
The displeased Nigerian noted, “What is the purpose of having a refinery yet you still get refined crude oil from abroad?”
Aliko Dangote, the continent’s richest man, built Africa’s largest refinery, with a nameplate capacity of 650,000 barrels per day, on a peninsula on the outskirts of the commercial metropolis of Lagos.
The refinery began purchasing oil in December of last year, and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Ltd. (NNPCL) has been the primary supplier.
The refinery had submitted tenders to sell two fuel cargoes for export, according to a tender document, and trading sources familiar with the matter told Reuters earlier this month.
Bloomberg reported in January that Trafigura Group sold two million barrels of WTI Midland to Dangote Refinery for delivery by the end of February.
It stated that information was divulged by dealers with knowledge of the situation. Traders stated this is the first time the large refinery has purchased non-Nigerian crude.
Trafigura is a worldwide commodity trading corporation based in Singapore, with key centres in Geneva, Houston, Montevideo, and Mumbai. The company operates in the oil and petroleum products sector.
