The richest person in Africa, Aliko Dangote has revealed that he has repaid about $2.4 billion of the $5.5 billion borrowed to build his $19 billion refinery.
Gatekeepers News reports that Aliko said this while speaking at the Afreximbank annual meetings (AAN) and Afro-Caribbean Trade and Investment Forum in Nassau, The Bahamas, on Wednesday.
The CEO of Dangote Group stated that several entities, both local and foreign, did everything to sabotage the 650,000 barrels per day facility.
He added that many individuals thought the project was going to fail, and if not for the support of Afreximbank and Access Bank, the vision wouldn’t have turned into reality.
Dangote said “We borrowed the money based on our own balance sheet. I think we borrowed just over $5.5 billion. But we paid also a lot of interest as we went along, because the project was delayed because of lack of land, also the sand-filling took a long time. Almost five years or so we didn’t do anything.”
“We actually started in 2018. We borrowed that much. We have actually, of course, paid interest and some principal, about $2.4 billion. We’ve done very well. We now have only about $2.7 billion left to be paid. So we’ve done very well for a project of that magnitude.”
Dangote emphasized that without banks like the African Finance Corporation (AFC), and Afreximbank, it would be difficult to industrialise the African continent, because they are the financial institutions that understand the challenges and the issues affecting Africa for a while.
Going on, Dangote revealed that foreign banks have no interest in helping Africa grow. He said some had made covert attempts to push the company into loan default during the COVID-19 pandemic.
He the situation was very scary and said if he had raised the idea of international project financing with some of the the foreign banks, the banks would have shut the company down because they would “ask for my great-grandmother’s certificate of birth”.
Speaking on whether he was receiving enough crude oil as feedstock for his refinery from the international oil companies (IOCs), Dangote said those benefitting from the importation of petroleum products would not want the opportunity to slip out of their hands.
Dangote said “In a system where for 35 years people are used to counting good money, and all of a sudden they see that the days of counting that money have come to an end, you don’t expect them to pray for you. Of course, you expect them to fight back.”
“And I think that is the process that we’re now really going through. But the truth is that, yes, the country, the sub-region, and also the continent, of sub-Saharan Africa, need this refinery. So, you expect them to fight through non-supply of crude, non-purchase of the product, but I think it’s all temporary. We’ll get there.”
In addition, Dangote noted that he was aware that resistance would always exist, but he didn’t know it would be as harsh as it is.
He added “Well, I knew that there would be a fight. But I didn’t know that the mafia in oil, they are stronger than the mafia in drugs. I can tell you that. Yes, it’s a fact.”
“The local and foreign mafia tried several times to sabotage the refinery from coming to fruition.”
Dangote stated that the mafias had tried to put an end to him by all means possible.
The industrialist said “But I’m a person that has been fighting all my life. You know, so I think it’s part of my life to fight.”
Dangote said the fight was still on, but he believed that he would be victorious with the population and the government on his side.
Lastly, Dangote asserted that Africa must produce what it consumes, and that there is no support coming from the West to the continent currently.
