Aliko Dangote has played down a Kenyan court ruling that temporarily stopped construction work at the site of his planned multi-billion-dollar oil refinery in Lamu, calling such hurdles normal across the continent.
The billionaire stated that he is aware of who is behind the legal challenges and made clear he is prepared to face his opponents.
Dangote made these remarks on Tuesday in Nairobi, during a high-level investor engagement held for the Dangote Petroleum Refinery initial public offering with institutional investors from Kenya and East Africa.
His comments followed reports a day earlier that a Kenyan court had directed construction work at the proposed refinery site to be suspended until further hearing.
Recounting how he found out about the development, Dangote said he came across reports of the court order after arriving in Kenya on Monday night.
“Yesterday, as I was landing here at night, because I always try to switch off my Wi-Fi on my plane so that I’ll be able to rest. I don’t want to be disturbed. But immediately when I open my phone, they say report by Bloomberg. I’m sure some of you must have seen it. ‘One court has given an order that we shouldn’t do any construction.
“I said, ‘No, no. This is normal for us in Africa. We don’t care.’”
Dangote recalled a similar situation involving one of his projects in Senegal.
“We don’t care. In fact, this is even small. In Senegal, it’s not even court. They stopped even our factory for one year. We went up to the Supreme Court to get a judgment. So, anybody who wants to cause trouble, we’re ready for them.”
Dangote added, “We’re not bothered. Don’t worry. We know who are the people doing all these things, so we’ll face them.”
A Kenyan court had ordered that the situation at the proposed refinery site remain unchanged, following a petition from farmers and residents of Chandavai in Lamu County who claimed they were forcefully evicted and had their properties destroyed.
As per a Bloomberg report, the Malindi Environment and Land Court ruled that the existing status quo at the site should be preserved, with additional directions set for Oct. 14.
The petitioners further claimed that the project had failed to meet environmental and public participation standards.
Nevertheless, Dangote Group stated on Tuesday that the court order had not stopped the planned groundbreaking ceremony for the refinery, though activities at the site might be impacted while awaiting the hearing.
The proposed refinery is set to hold its groundbreaking on Wednesday. Dangote Group is anticipated to hold a 70 percent stake in the project, while regional governments, such as Kenya and Rwanda, will hold the remaining share.
The project is intended to serve the East African market, as the Dangote Group keeps working to grow its refining business.
The Kenyan President William Ruto stated his government was speeding up administrative procedures for the proposed refinery.
Ruto made the remarks on Friday while touring the Dangote Petroleum Refinery in Lekki, Lagos, ahead of the September 30 groundbreaking ceremony for the proposed 700,000-barrel-per-day refinery in Lamu, Kenya.
The Kenyan president noted that his government had already obtained the land for the project and is addressing other requirements to remove bureaucratic obstacles and guarantee that construction and later operations proceed without delay.
