Editor's Review

Dangote has remained unfazed by the court order issued to stop the construction of the Ksh2 trillion oil refinery in Lamu.

Billionaire Businessman Aliko Dangote has remained unfazed by the court order issued to stop the construction of the Ksh2 trillion oil refinery in Lamu.

Speaking on Tuesday, September 29, Dangote revealed that he has faced similar challenges before when setting up industries in other countries.

He added that he was ready to face anyone who wants to cause trouble, and made reference to a similar court battle in Senegal.

"Yesterday, when I landed, I saw a report that one court had given an order that we should not do any construction. I said that this is normal for us in Africa. We don't care. In fact, this is even small

"In Senegal, they stopped our factory for one year,  and we went up to the Supreme Court to get a judgment, so anybody who wants to cause trouble, we are ready for them. We know the people who are doing all these things, and we will face them," he stated.

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A file photo of Aliko Dangote.

Dangote said that the oil refinery in Lamu would not only create employment but also open the region up for development.

He explained that upon completion, he expects that 60,000 people will be hired to work in the refinery. 

"We will try to train a lot of people here because at the height of the project, we will need over 60,000 people on site. When these people are paid their salary, they will need to eat. Other companies will also set up shop," the investor stated.

The Dangote Group CEO downplayed claims that the oil industry was on a downward trajectory in the face of renewable energy

"Oil is here to stay for a very long time. When oil produces 6,800 items, you may get substitutes for petroleum and gasoline, so what happens to the other over 6.700 products?" he posed.

Earlier, President William Ruto claimed that certain individuals attempted to force Dangote to cede part of the refinery's shareholding to them for sponsoring the court cases to stop the groundbreaking.

He claimed that he would not allow them to cost the country the investment opportunity, adding that demanding kickbacks had already cost the country major investment deals like the Dangote Cement Factory and the Kenya-Uganda oil pipeline.