Aliko Dangote, chairman of Dangote Industries Limited, has announced that the company will not proceed with its plans to enter Nigeria’s steel industry.
This decision comes just two months after the company initially stated its intentions to invest in the sector and help expand the economy.
Speaking to journalists at his refinery in Lagos on Saturday, Dangote explained that the board decided to avoid the steel industry to prevent accusations of monopolistic practices. “If we do the steel business, we will be called all sorts of names like monopoly,” he said.
Dangote refuted claims that his group of companies enjoys monopoly status, emphasising that their operations add value by transforming local raw materials into finished products. “We have never consciously or unconsciously stopped anybody from doing the same business that we are doing,” he stated.
Using the example of their entry into cement production, Dangote highlighted that other companies, such as Lafarge, were not labeled as monopolies when they operated alone in Nigeria. “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.
Encouraging other Nigerians to invest in the steel industry, Dangote urged them to bring in funds from abroad and invest in the country’s economy. “Let other Nigerians go and do it. We are not the only Nigerians here. There are some Nigerians with more cash than us. People should bring that money from Dubai and other parts of the world and invest in our fatherland,” he said.
