The president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, says the company paid $100 million to purchase land where his $20 billion refinery was built, dismissing claims of receiving incentives from the government.

“In building the refinery, we did not collect one single incentive from the federal government of Nigeria,” Mr Dangote told reporters at his refinery on Saturday. 

He added, “Even though Lagos State gave us a good deal, we paid $100 million for land. It was not free land; we paid for it.”

Mr Dangote revealed this on the heels of the recent monopoly allegation by the Nigerian government. It alleged that the billionaire businessman sought suspension on diesel and aviation fuel imports, which would make the company the only supplier in Nigeria.
Speaking further, Mr Dangote said, “People are always looking at the other side; they are not really looking at the real picture. This country has been having petrol queues since 1972, and we are still having the same issue.”

“Just when we are about to start to go to the refinery, everybody is now up and about. What is giving us a lot of joy is that the majority of the population are (sic) with us. We are not discouraged, and we will continue what we are doing.”

This is the latest episode of Mr Dangote’s public comments against the Bola Tinubu-led government in recent months over the president’s economic policies. Mr Dangote did not support Mr Tinubu’s presidential quest during the 2023 general election.