Aliko Dangote, Nigerian Billionaire: Now 2nd Place in Africa

[Kenneth Erwin Engelhardt]

Image Source: https://www.forbes.com/profile/aliko-dangote/
Website: https://www.dangote.com/
Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aliko_Dangote
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aliko_dangotegcon/?hl=en
Twitter (X): https://twitter.com/alikodangote?lang=en
Facebook: https://web.facebook.com/alikodangoteofficial/?_rdc=1&_rdr




An historic moment has taken place in the economic landscape of Africa as the long-seating wealthiest individual in the continent, Aliko Dangote, has been ousted by South African business tycoon, Johanne Rupert and his family. This changes was made known by a recent report released by Forbes Magazine.
In the report, the financial magazine has revealed that Nigerian billionaires Rabiu Abdulsamad and Mike Adenuga have lost their spots in the billionaire rankings.
In the list, the Forbes Daily billionaires ranking platform, which tracks daily changes to the net worth of the most high-net-worth individuals across the world revealed that Aliko Dangote moved down to second position as his wealth decreased from $13.5b in 2023 to $9.5b in the start of 2024.

In the list, there were significant declines in the wealth of the billionaires. The wealth of Nigeria's Mike Adenuga, moved him to the tenth position, while Patrice Motsepe who was in the top ten in 2023 didn't make the top ten richest men in 2024. Additionally, no woman made the top ten richest list at the start of the year.

News Source: https://punchng.com/safrican-billionaire-dethrones-dangote-as-africas-richest-man/

[josson]

Aliko Dangote, the wealthiest man in Nigeria with an estimated net worth of $13.2 billion proceeds to take his business to another level by establishing a family office in Dubai.

This move has been considered strategic by Netizens as Dubai is known for its favorable and stable business environment, low crime rates, affordable taxes, and global connectivity.

In an interview, he revealed he had owned the place for 17 years before converting it into a family office. In addition, Dangote has a mutual relationship with the emirate. 10 years ago, the city's main holding company bought a minority stake in his cement firm, which marks Dubai's first major investment in Africa.

The new family office will be led by his daughter, Halima Bello, who is the wife of Sulaimon Sani Bello. This new office will explore global investment opportunities and expand his wealth beyond his industrial base -Africa.

Recently, Dubai has attracted many family offices as ultra-wealthy individuals and investors are relocating their operations to the city and this indicates that it is gradually becoming a destination for wealth creation, management, and growth.

It is believed that this move and decision stems from the depreciation and fluctuations of the Naira, alongside the prominence of the city as a financial hub, targeted at strengthening its global footprint by diversifying investments.

Link: https://furtherafrica.com/2024/10/01/dangote-expands-global-investments-with-dubai-family-office/

[josson]

Can One Man Really Save the Future? - Dangote's Revolutionary Ideas



In the 2024 Dangote Sustainability Week, scheduled for October 14-18, 2024, Aliko Dangote assured all stakeholders that his business is committed to the well-being of the environment. In his words: "It is my pleasure to open this year's Dangote Group Sustainability Week discussion on a subject that is critically important, not just to Dangote Industries Limited ("Dangote" or "The Company"), but for the future of humanity."

The Sustainability Week is a reach-out initiative themed - Business Optimization for Net Zero - The Dangote Journey, which focuses on the 7 Dangote Sustainability pillars. (cultural, economic, operational, social, environmental, financial, and institutional). This initiative was carried out simultaneously in all business operations of the company across Africa, Nigeria's event is being held at Ikosi-Ketu in Kosofe Local Government Area, Lagos State.

According to him, this year's theme reveals the company's support for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change's goal to stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that will curb human-induced interference with the climate system.

The following measures were taken and reinforced:
● The local refinery is aimed at reducing carbon emissions from shipping crude and refined products across the world, alongside a means of reuse and recycling.
● The sugar business now generates steam using bagasse in an optimal way, reducing the use of hydrocarbon-based fuel for steam generation.
● Planting of tree seedlings across all business locations this year, which has been a movement since 2017. He urged all business units to strategize and look into other ways to reduce carbon emissions, joining the train of decarbonization and contributing their quota to Earth's Sustainability.

The Dangote journey also benefited vulnerable groups- Children, widows, and the aged with a total of 250 children and 75 households benefiting from this gesture.

Reference link:
https://www.dangote.com/dangote-sustainability-week-2024-president-ce-opening-remarks/
https://x.com/DangoteGroup/status/1846459387717484963
https://web.facebook.com/watch/?v=2311147219247414

[josson]

DANGOTE STORMS BACK TO THE TOP



After losing the top spot as Africa's richest man to a South African billionaire named Johan Rupert since the year began, the business mogul- Aliko Dangote has found his way back to the peak - his original spot, following the establishment of the Dangote refinery.

Concerned citizens and friends believe his drop in status was facilitated by the depreciation and fluctuation in Naira as well as the construction of the refinery. The Dangote refinery located at the Lekki Free Zone (Ibeju-Lekki) on the outskirts of Lagos, Nigeria, which was said to span nearly 4000 football fields took about 7-11 years to build and was a cost expenditure of 20 billion Dollars.

According to analysts, the refinery has the potential to transform Nigeria's economy by making the country self-reliant on fuel. Backing this fact up is an analysis given by Dangote. This analysis was based on the production of the refinery.

He said the plant will meet 100% of the Nigerian consumption needs of all refined products with a production of 53 million liters of gasoline, 34 million liters of diesel, 10 million liters of kerosene, and 2 million liters of aviation jet per day, with surplus available for exports.

With the construction, completion, and commencement of the operations of the refinery, Dangote now ranks the 65th richest person in the world making him the only African in the world's top 100 richest persons' list and the richest person in Nigeria and Africa.

Reference link:
https://guardian.ng/business-services/dangote-shoots-back-to-africas-richest-man-as-refinery-begins-work
/

[josson]

Dangote Crushes David – A Dramatic Turn of Events!



The Nigerian billionaire - Aliko Dangote has overtaken David Seward, the richest black man in America on the Bloomberg Billionaire Index - the global billionaires' list.

He set this new world record on October 17, 2024, to become the wealthiest man globally as he meteorically moved from 161st to 64th place after earning 24 trillion Naira which is equivalent to $15 billion within hours.

Before now, Dangote was second on the richest black people list after America's David Seward with less than $12 billion. However, thanks to the operations of his refinery, he has been able to make waves just as he had predicted and earned more money in 24 hours than the three wealthiest men on earth - Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, and Jeff Bezos.

Currently, he is not only Africa's richest man but the richest black man. Dangote had foreseen and predicted a whooping sum of $30 billion profit once the refinery reached total production capacity as well as an advantage to the Nigerian economy making the country a net exporter of petroleum products.


Reference link:
https://www.legit.ng/business-economy/money/1620044-dangote-ovetakes-american-billionaire-emergesworlds-richest-black-man-earns-n24trn-hours/

[josson]

DANGOTE, TINUBU & MOFE-DAMIJO TO GRACE NDIS



The Nigeria Diaspora Investment Summit (NDIS) organized by the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiiDCOM) in collaboration with the Nigeria Diaspora Summit Initiative (NDSI), is set to take place from November 5-7, 2024.

Launched in 2018, the 2024 program marks the 7th summit, themed: "New Vistas, New Aspirations, New Visions: The Diaspora and National Development." The summit is aimed at enabling the Nigerian Diaspora to contribute significantly to the Nation's development by addressing socio-economic challenges and boosting investment prospects.

Success stories from previous summits include:
● The Quebec Food Processing Industrial Parks Ltd secured an impressive 462 million Naira equity financing following their participation in the summit.
● Adubiaro Farms also attracted about 50 million Naira in investments after pitching their business at the NDSI
● Royal School of Education Therapy (RSET) received a 2 million grant for training special education teachers and improving its services for pupils with disabilities.

In essence, the summit provides a platform where investors are connected with local entrepreneurs across various sectors via diaspora engagement, an avenue for members of the diaspora to channel their resources and expertise into fostering economic growth.

This year's summit will be graced by the Nigeria President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Aliko Dangote, Mofe Damijo and other top personalities in every sector of the economy. President Tinubu will be the special guest of honor while Aliko Dangote will be the guest speaker on the
first day, and he'll be sharing insights from his extensive business experience in Nigeria.

Reference link: https://thesun.ng/tinubu-dangote-mofe-damijo-for-7th-ndis/

[josson]

DANGOTE SHIPS 79.4 MILLION LITERS OF PETROL



Dangote Refinery Operations

Since the commencement of its operations, the Dangote Refinery has been a huge support system to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) in managing demand pressure in the domestic and foreign markets.

However, considering the massive production and supply, it has the capacity to load 40 Petroleum Motor Spirits (PMS) tankers simultaneously in 40 minutes. With an average of 2900 trucks daily, this development poses a risk of traffic congestion along the Lekki-Epe expressway,known as the Lagos Free Trade Zone.

The Lagos Free Trade Zone is known for the influx of tankers plying its road. Not only from the Dangote Refinery, but from other establishments as well, leading to the implementation of several measures to mitigate imminent traffic challenges.

Dangote Refinery ships its first 79.4 million liters of petrol by sea to domestic market

Beforehand, Devakumar Edwin, the Vice President of Oil and Gas at Dangote Industries had given a heads-up on how the industry intends to leverage sea transportation as its major means of transporting supplies.

In his words, Edwin explained that the refinery would transport a major part of its produce via sea routes and the road route will be reserved for urgent needs.

"We have both exporting facilities by sea and by road. 75% of the production can be evacuated through sea. In fact, now we are ramping up to make it even 100%."

"Anything going to Calabar, Port Harcourt, Warri, Apapa, Atlas can all be taken through the sea. So only what is imminently required by road can be taken."

"But I also have the facility to load 83% of my production also through the road. We have just built-in flexibility but we can avoid all traffic congestion on the road by evacuating through sea and it will also bring down the cost of transshipment"

Recently, a month after a massive truck distribution, the Dangote Refinery has supplied about 79.4 million liters of petrol (500,000 barrels) by sea to the local market with its vessel, named Sabaek.

This has been a plus and a significant boost to Nigeria's domestic fuel supply.

Your View

This development has been considered advantageous to the environment and humanity.
But what do you think?
Is it truly cost-effective?
Won't it slow down supply?
Do you think it's a wise move?

Reference link:
https://nairametrics.com/2024/10/25/dangote-refinery-ships-first-79-4-million-litres-of-petrol-by-sea-to-domestic-market-report/

[josson]

DANGOTE TACKLES IMPORTATION



On Tuesday, 29th October 2024, Aliko Dangote alongside other members of the crude oil and refined products sales such as Mr Mele Kyari, {Group Chief Executive Officer Committee of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL)}, Mr. Yemi Cardoso Governor of CBN, etc.. met with the President to review the implementation of selling crude oil to local refineries in Naira.

The selling of crude oil in Naira was made possible by the investment in Dangote's refinery. This committee was spearheaded by Mr Wale Edun, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, to the State House, Abuja.

DANGOTE, NIGERIA, AND THE REFINERY

Despite being Africa's leading oil producer, Nigeria struggles with an insufficient refining structure. This inadequacy results in the importation of nearly all its fuel. The Dangote refinery was a means to evade the country's importation by selling crude oil to the Dangote refinery in order to ease foreign exchange pressure and hit a 650,000 barrel-per-day capacity target.

However, marketers still complained about fuel shortage and the need to supplement Dangote's supplies with imports. This led to the President's meeting with the committee on Tuesday.

THE MEETING

During the meeting, Dangote emphasized he was a producer and was not responsible for the scarcity because the Dangote Refinery does not distribute fuel He urged the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) and marketers to stop importing fuel and focus on getting it locally.

In his words, he showed his displeasure at the turn of events:"I'm expecting either NNPC or the marketers to stop importing and they should come and collect. We have what they need. As they remove, I will be pumping. I don't know whether you understand what it takes to keep having millions of liters.

"We have what it takes for them to come and collect. We are not retailers. We also don't have trucks to send. We have a factory where they can come and load. If they come and pick, they will then distribute.

And they've been doing that with importation. So if it's true that they are doing 55 million liters, I see no reason why they won't come and collect our own. I don't know if you understand what it takes to keep having millions of liters inside our tank. It's costing me money.

Every day, if I'm able to collect the naira, I can actually charge somebody 32% in interest. Right now, that is what I'm losing. And you're talking about 500 billion. We don't print money. The issue is that if they come to collect, you'll not see any queues in the filling stations,"

In early September, the Dangote Refinery started its operations fully in Nigeria amidst disputes among the citizens, NNPC, and Dangote due to pricing. To ease the hike in price, Nigeria began selling crude oil to the Dangote Refinery in Naira instead of U.S. dollars.

This move was in a bid to:
● Stabilize fuel prices
● Strengthen the Naira and reduce the need for dollars in crude oil transactions
● Lessen the economic strains of fuel imports
● Cut down on imported goods and import-related costs.

YOUR VIEW
Will Nigeria still continue with importation?
Will Dangote win against the retailers?

● Reference link:
https://nairametrics.com/2024/10/29/fuel-scarcity-petrol-available-at-our-refinery-come-and-lift-supply-dangote-tells-nnpc-marketers/

[josson]

DANGOTE FIGHTS FOR CONTROL OF PETROL MARKET

THE BONE OF CONTENTION



Aliko Dangote, a prominent Nigerian business mogul, has filed a lawsuit against other petroleum marketers in a bid to gain control over the petrol market. This legal move has led to a court summons for these marketers, drawing attention to a potentially significant dispute within the industry. Those involved in this lawsuit are the top 3 oil marketers in the nation, who are:
● AYM Shafa Limited
● A.A. Rano Limited
● Matrix Petroleum Services

They also fought back by appealing to the Federal High Court in Abuja to dismiss the suit filed by Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals. In a joint counter dated November 5, 2024, they argued that monopolizing the oil sector would be a huge disaster to the country's economy.

THE LAWSUIT

Earlier this year, On September 6, 2024, Dangote Refinery had drawn the battle line by using the following bodies:
● Nigeria Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA)
● Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC)
● A.A. Rano Limited
● T.Time Petroleum Limited
● 2015 Petroleum Limited
● Matrix Petroleum Services Limited
● AYM Shafa Limited

On suing, Dangote Refinery became the Plaintiff, with 7 defendants.
The Plaintiff accused NMDPRA of the following:
● Violating the law by issuing licenses for the importation of petroleum products as opposed to issuance when there is a shortfall of petroleum products.
● Violating its responsibility of encouraging local refineries like Dangote Refinery.THE FIGHT AGAINST MONOPOLY
In a counter response, other oil marketers:
● A.A. Rano Limited, AYM Shafa Limited, and Matrix Petroleum Services Limited accused Dangote Refinery of not producing adequate petroleum products for the daily consumption of Nigeria claiming Dangote had no evidence to refute the allegation.

Other arguments they held on to are:
● They are qualified to the import license issued by NMDPRA since they met all legal requirements for the issuance of the license even before it was issued.
● Their license was backed up by the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act, 2021, and the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act, 2018 amidst other relevant laws.
● The issued license had no effect on the operations of Dangote's refinery or other businesses he owned.

Kicking against monopoly in Nigeria's Petroleum Industry can be achieved by making the Dangote's Refinery is solely responsible for crude oil and petroleum products, they explained this will:
● Affect the economy critically
● Subject the citizens to hardship especially in the face of breakdown or obstruction in the refinery's production, leading to energy crises. To support this claim of breakdown or obstruction in operations, the defendants had purported that the refinery has no reserve adequate to last it for 30 days. Hence, the need to resort to importation in order to complement local production with a plea to the court granting the plaintiff's request will be a drive to economic hardship, mass oppression and the country being at the mercy of Dangote's refinery.

However, the case was adjourned by the presiding judge, Justice Inyang Ekwo who fixed January 20, 2025, for a report of settlement or service.

YOUR VIEW
What do you think?
● Is the idea of monopoly an imminent danger to the Nigeria economy?
● Will importation really affect Dangote's refinery?

Reference link:
https://businessday.ng/news/article/marketers-dangote-fight-in-court-over-control-of-petrol-market/