Nigerian billionaire Femi Otedola warns depot owners as Dangote Refinery reshapes fuel supply

In Nigeria’s ever-contentious fuel market, the emergence of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery has triggered optimism and upheaval. As the $20 billion project begins rolling out petrol deliveries across 11 states with free distribution to registered filling stations it has not only reshaped supply but also ignited a battle between entrenched stakeholders and reform-driven forces. At the center of this debate stands billionaire businessman and philanthropist Femi Otedola whose words carry the weight of decades of experience in the downstream sector.

Otedola backs Tinubu, Dangote faces depot pushback

Otedola, chairman of Geregu Power Plc and FirstHoldCo, parent company of First Bank of Nigeria Limited, has lauded his long-time associate and Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, for what he calls a “historic leap for Nigeria’s energy independence and economic future.” He credits President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for breaking with the past by implementing full deregulation of the downstream petroleum sector, a reform he insists has dismantled subsidy fraud, smuggling, and product diversion that once defined the industry. “It is a new era,” Otedola declared, stressing that the reform has broken the grip of entrenched interests and introduced transparency, competition, and customer-focused service delivery.

But as Dangote’s refinery rewrites the rules of fuel supply, tensions have intensified. The launch of compressed natural gas (CNG)-powered trucks—8,000 strong and designed to deliver fuel directly to filling stations—has angered unions and depot owners. The Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) accuses Dangote of blocking unionization of drivers while the Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN) argues that the delivery scheme sidelines them by forcing marketers to depend on the refinery’s logistics network. Dangote’s refinery defends the model as a stabilizing force meant to reduce diversion, cut costs, and ensure efficiency.

Nigerian billionaire Femi Otedola urges shift from idle depots

Against this backdrop, Otedola, with a net worth of $1.5 billion, has chosen to speak with unusual candor. Having founded DAPPMAN in 2002 to challenge the dominance of major marketers and give independent depot owners a voice, he now warns that the model he once championed is obsolete. “History has shown time and again: you can delay change, frustrate it, even sabotage it, but you can never stop it,” he said. He recalls personally structuring the group 23 years ago, appointing the late George Enenmoh as chairman, himself as vice chairman, and Sayyu Dantata as secretary. At the time, depot ownership filled supply gaps created by an inefficient, import-driven system. Today, he argues, those assets are stranded, with more than four million metric tons of storage capacity lying idle across the country.

For Otedola, the Dangote Refinery represents the dawn of a new reality. “We now have domestic production and local supply that is efficient, reliable, and proudly Nigerian,” he said. He contrasted Dangote’s eco-friendly truck fleet with the rickety vehicles that still dominate the roads, noting that the refinery’s modernized logistics network will also ease gridlock around Lagos’ Ibafon, Tin Can, and Apapa ports. His perspective carries added weight given his history as founder of Zenon Oil, which once pioneered the diesel business in Nigeria and grew to become the country’s largest supplier. In 2005, he was even conferred with the title of life patron of the Petroleum Tanker Drivers union. Otedola has been unsparing in his critique of depot owners, accusing them of resisting reforms while clinging to outdated infrastructure. He recalls warning some members last year to sell their depots as scrap before their value disappeared. He points to DAPPMAN’s demand that Dangote pay N1.5 trillion ($1.5 billion)—a cost he says would ultimately fall on Nigerian consumers—as a glaring example of misplaced priorities. “What is DAPPMAN fighting for today? To preserve a model built on fuel imports, subsidy exploitation, and outdated infrastructure? That era is fast disappearing,” he said.

His statements are rooted in Nigeria’s subsidy history. Otedola recalled cautioning former President Goodluck Jonathan about subsidy manipulation that siphoned over N2 trillion through questionable claims linked to depot licenses. He dismisses the argument that depots drive employment, stressing that while a depot may employ only a handful of staff, filling stations provide jobs for dozens of Nigerians at the community level. For him, the path forward lies in retail expansion and last-mile efficiency, not holding on to import-driven storage tanks.

Otedola says depot owners must evolve as Dangote reshapes fuel market

Otedola further draws parallels with Nigeria’s cement industry, where local production ended the need for bulk carriers once vital to imports. He predicts the same outcome for fuel depots, noting that international facilities in Amsterdam and Houston were designed for export markets, not economies now producing locally. “If DAPPMAN members do not adapt, they will not only become irrelevant, they may go bankrupt,” he warned.

His prescription is blunt: depot owners must either sell, restructure, or reinvest in new value chains. He even challenged them to pool resources and acquire the Port Harcourt Refinery if they truly believe in competition, while pointing to examples like Folawiyo Group, which strategically exited the depot business early. “DAPPMAN had its place but today, its relevance is fast fading. We must stop clinging to outdated privileges and focus on a new era built on self-sufficiency, transparency, and sustainable value creation,” he concluded.

In a market where fuel supply has long been synonymous with patronage, subsidies and inefficiency, Otedola’s intervention underscores the scale of transformation underway. For him, Dangote’s refinery is not the problem—it is the solution. The question now is whether depot owners and entrenched players will heed his warning or resist until obsolescence overtakes them.