In an interview with the Chief Executive Officer of Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, Nicolai Tangen, Dangote said the rejection was based on the refinery’s planned public offer aimed at giving Nigerians the opportunity to own shares in the refinery.
He said: “Actually, if there are civil wars, which is not in the offing at all, the other biggest risk is government inconsistencies in policies, and we are addressing that one because if you look at our refinery, the national oil company already owns 7.25 per cent, and they are trying to buy more. We are the ones that said no; we want to now spread it and have everybody be part of it.”
NNPC had earlier acquired a 7.25 per cent stake in the refinery for $1 billion, with an option to acquire an additional 12.75 per cent stake by June 2024, but failed to complete the payment.
Former Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPC, Mele Kyari, had reduced the company’s stake in the refinery to 7.25 per cent from the initially proposed 20 per cent, explaining that the company only retained equity corresponding to the amount already paid.
Dangote had also confirmed the development, saying: “The agreement was actually 20 per cent, which we had with NNPC, and they did not pay the balance of the money up until last year; then we gave them another extension up until June (2024), and they said that they would remain where they had already paid, which is 7.2 per cent. So NNPC owns only 7.2 per cent, not 20 per cent.”
Meanwhile, Dangote raised investor interest by announcing plans to guarantee dollar-denominated dividends for investors in the group’s businesses.
“What we are announcing is that when you invest in any of our businesses going forward — in cement, refinery, petrochemicals or fertiliser — we guarantee to pay you a dividend in dollars because we are very well into exports. Eighty per cent of our revenue will be in dollars,” he said.
According to him, funding for the refinery project was sourced from several financial institutions, including African Export-Import Bank, Africa Finance Corporation, Zenith Bank, Access Bank, United Bank for Africa and other local banks.