Skip to main content

Billionaire Aliko Dangote Allegedly Broke, Can’t Meet 2023 Refinery Completion Target – Report





Fitch, the world’s biggest global rating agency has alleged that Africa’s wealthiest man, Aliko Dangote is broke.


It alleged that his company, Dangote Industries has limited financial flexibility with which to complete its refinery.


Fitch is basing its allegation on the timely completion or lack thereof of the project, adding that only limited delays or cost overruns may be tolerated in the current rating.


Fitch argues that Dangote Industries suffers from weak corporate governance.


It says that the existence of a “complex group structure with a large number of related-party transactions” has “a negative effect on operational and financial transparency.”


“We also think it’s a risk that Aliko Dangote, as CEO and main shareholder, has a lot of power over operations,” it added.


Dangote had promised to commission the $19 billion refinery project before President Muhammadu Buhari’s tenure ends next year.


Not only is the Dangote refinery very dear to Buhari’s government, Fitch claims that the government sees the project as the messiah that will solve Nigeria’s perennial fuel scarcity problem as it will end the country’s dependence on imported foreign fuel.


But as it turns out, Fitch seems to think that this dream and the time line Dangote gave Buhari is not achievable.


And their reason is not far fetched: Dangote requires an additional $1.1 billion (900 billion) naira to complete the refinery next year.


Unfortunately, Dangote does not have that kind of money now as he has invested all his cash and even borrowed from lenders to finance the refinery project.


Again, the lenders that borrowed Dangote’s loan for the financing of the project cannot give him the 900 billion naira that Dangote needs to complete the project as they are already over exposed to the project.


So the only way Dangote can raise money is through the sale of bonds by his cement company, Dangote Cement.


Dangote cement is already to sell bonds this year.


If the money urgently needed by Dangote isn’t raised through the sale of bonds, he can sell some shares in his cement company (he owns over 86% of Dangote cement) or he can sell some refinery project stakes, which would be the likely option to plug the gap.


He has sold 20% of the refinery stake to NNPC at a cost of $2.5 billion, but he might be forced to dilute more stakes in the refinery if all the options to raise the $1.1 billion needed to complete the refinery fail him.


But if all these measures to raise money fail to see the light of the day, the only available option left for Aliko is to increase the price of his cement from what it is now to something higher.


Fitch concluded its report by saying that the earliest Dangote refinery can deliver its project is

2024 and not the 2023 that Dangote promised Buhari.


The Dangote refinery project has gone too far and Dangote, is racing against time just to make sure that he delivers the project.


If not for anything, a lot of hopes are tied to the project, and its failure to deliver will be nothing but a catastrophe.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Court Sets Aside Arrest, Remand, Wanted Declaration Against Hammed Tajudeen Akanbi

A Magistrate Court sitting in Ogba, Ikeja, Lagos, has set aside its earlier ex-parte order authorizing the arrest, remand, and “wanted” declaration of Hammed Tajudeen Akanbi, also known as Hammed Ajiran. The development follows the earlier declaration of Akanbi as wanted for alleged multiple murder by the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Moshood Olorundare Jimoh, on February 19, 2026. However, in a ruling delivered today, Magistrate L.A. Owolabi of Magistrate Court 3 nullified the ex-parte order initially granted on February 16, 2026. In his decision, Magistrate Owolabi held that the order was obtained through the concealment of material facts. The court specifically noted that the counsel who filed and argued the application, Nosa Watson Uhumwangho, was under suspension by the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee at the time and therefore lacked the right of audience before the court. The ruling sparked jubilation among members of the youth wing of the Ojomu royal family, who...
Post a Comment
Read more

Court Cautions Police, Orders Proper Invitation of Hammed Tajudeen Akanbi

A Lagos State Magistrate Court has cautioned the Lagos State Police Command and directed that proper procedures be followed in the handling of the case involving Mr. Hammed Tajudeen Akanbi, also known as Hammed Ajiran, in what is seen as a setback for individuals including Bashir Fakorede, Jide Akinloye, and Assistant Inspector-General of Police, AIG Jimoh Moshood. Presiding over proceedings in the Ogba Magisterial District, Magistrate A. J. Odueke, in Charge No: MISC/126/2026, held that the police must formally invite Akanbi rather than declare him wanted. The Court further stated that an order for arrest would only be considered if he fails to honour such an invitation. The Court noted that it was mindful of previous proceedings in Charge No: MCIK/60A/2026, where a similar application had earlier been set aside by another Magistrate on March 23, 2026, on the grounds of illegality. Consequently, the Court declined to entertain what it described as a repetition of a defective process. ...
Post a Comment
Read more

TASA Strengthens Alliance With Lagos Student Leaders, Sets Campus Mobilization in Motion Ahead of 2027 General Election

The Tinubu–Ambode Support Associates (TASA) today Wednesday, December 4, 2025, convened a strategic stakeholders’ meeting with student union leaders from across Lagos State, reaffirming the critical role of young people in shaping the democratic direction of the state as preparations intensify toward the 2027 general elections.   The meeting, attended by representatives of 11 tertiary institutions under the coordinated leadership of the Joint Campus Committee (JCC), NANS Lagos Chapter, provided a robust platform for frank political discourse, progressive engagement, and actionable strategies for youth driven political mobilization.   TASA leadership briefed the students on the urgent necessity of active participation in governance, noting that voter apathy particularly among young people significantly affected the 2023 general elections. The association emphasized that the era of leaving political decisions solely in the hands of politicians must end, as such disengagement onl...
Post a Comment
Read more