Dangote Drops Plan To Invest in Nigeria’s Steel Industry To Avoid Allegations Of Monopoly

Dangote Group CEO, Aliko Dangote, has announced that the company will no longer pursue plans to enter Nigeria’s steel industry to avoid being labeled a monopolist.

Dangote made this known in a statement on Saturday while addressing journalists at his refinery in Lagos.  

He explained that the company’s board decided to stay out of the steel industry to prevent accusations of monopolising it.

Our own board has decided that we shouldn’t do the steel because if we do the steel business, we will be called all sorts of names like monopoly. And then also, imports will be encouraged. So we don’t want to go into that,” he said.

“Let other Nigerians go and do it. We are not the only Nigerians here. There are some Nigerians with more cash than us. They should bring that money from Dubai and other parts of the world and invest in our own fatherland,” the CEO added. 

Dangote had announced earlier this year that once his refinery project became operational, his next venture would be to construct a 5,000-ton steel plant that would supply the product to the West African market.

Dangote’s decision to withdraw from the steel industry came after the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Regulatory Agency (NMDPRA) accused the company of trying to create a monopoly by requesting a ban on diesel and aviation fuel imports.

Nairametrics reported that Nigeria has unsuccessfully tried to become a leader in the steel manufacturing industry, with several failed projects like the Ajaokuta steel plant, Delta Steel Company, and the Osogbo and Jos rolling mills, both under government and private ownership.

The administration of President Bola Tinubu had promised during its campaigns to ensure steel production starts in the multi-billion-dollar Ajaokuta steel complex but has so far failed.

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