KEY POINTS
- Femi Otedola backs Dangote Refinery and Tinubu’s reforms.
- Depot owners warned their business model is fading fast.
- New fuel supply system to reshape Nigeria’s energy market.
As the Dangote Petroleum Refinery starts delivering to 11 states, Nigeria’s downstream fuel market is going through a huge change.
This is changing supply networks and making established companies angry.
Billionaire investor Femi Otedola has thrown his weight behind the reform, praising the refinery as a game-changer for Nigeria’s energy independence while warning depot owners that their model is fast becoming obsolete.
Otedola backs Tinubu’s fuel deregulation
Otedola, chairman of Geregu Power Plc, credited President Bola Tinubu for dismantling decades of subsidy fraud and smuggling through full deregulation of the petroleum sector. He hailed Dangote’s refinery as a symbol of transparency, competition and customer-focused delivery.
Depot owners face tough survival questions
While unions and depot owners protest Dangote’s use of CNG-powered trucks for direct supply, Otedola said more than four million metric tons of depot capacity now lie idle. He warned that operators clinging to old infrastructure risk bankruptcy.
Dangote refinery ushers in new market era
According to Billionaire Africa, drawing parallels with Nigeria’s cement industry, Otedola argued that local refining will soon render import-driven depots irrelevant. He urged owners to sell, restructure or reinvest, noting that failure to adapt will leave them sidelined.
