Dangote Halts Planned Investment In Nigeria’s Steel Industry To Avoid ‘Monopoly’ Accusation

Aliko Dangote, chairman of Dangote Industries Limited, has announced that the company will no longer pursue plans to enter Nigeria’s steel industry.

This comes two months after Dangote announced its intentions to invest in the steel sector and help grow the economy.

Speaking to journalists at his refinery in Lagos, Dangote explained that the company’s board decided against entering the steel industry to avoid being labeled a monopoly.

The billionaire clarified that claims of his companies enjoying a monopoly are unfounded.

He cited the example of Lafarge, which operated in Nigeria before Dangote Cement entered the market, noting that Lafarge was never called a monopoly.

“You know, about doing a new business which we announced, that is, steel. Actually, our 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.

“If you look at all our operations at Dangote (Group), we add value; we take local raw materials and turn them into products, and we sell.

“We have never consciously or unconsciously stopped anybody from doing the same business that we are doing.

“When we first came into cement production, it was only Lafarge that was operating here in Nigeria… Nobody ever called Lafarge a monopoly,” he said.

Dangote expressed frustration over his companies being labeled monopolistic, emphasizing that they operate on a level playing field.

“Monopoly is when you stop people, you block them through legal means. No, it is a level playing field whereby whatever Dangote was given in cement, for example, other people were given because some of them even got more than us,” he added.

The billionaire encouraged other Nigerians to invest in the steel industry to help boost the economy.

“Let other Nigerians go and do it. We are not the only Nigerians here. There are some Nigerians with more cash than us,” he said.

Dangote said people “should bring that money from Dubai and other parts of the world and invest in our fatherland”.

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KanyiDaily recalls that yesterday, the leadership of the House of Representatives visited the Dangote Petroleum Refinery in Lagos.