Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, visited President Bola Tinubu at Aso Rock Villa on Tuesday evening. His visit was short—he arrived around 7:00 pm and left just 30 minutes later without talking to journalists.
This is the first time the two men are meeting in person at the Villa since Tinubu visited the Dangote Refinery in Lagos on June 5. While the exact reason for their meeting was not shared, the visit comes after several strong public statements made by Dangote about Nigeria’s oil sector.
Earlier this month, on July 11, Dangote told some visiting business leaders that Nigeria’s government-owned refineries in Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna are beyond repair. He said even though the government has spent about $18 billion on trying to fix them, they still may never work properly again. He urged the government to make bold changes to oil sector policies.
Back in June, Dangote had also announced that starting August 15, his refinery would begin selling petrol and diesel directly to major customers and filling stations. This means he plans to skip traditional fuel marketers, a move that has made some industry players worried about losing their jobs.
Dangote, now 67 years old, is known for building huge businesses in cement, sugar, and flour before turning to the oil sector. He reportedly spent $20 billion to build the massive refinery in Lekki, which is now the biggest single-unit refinery in Africa.





