PicNews
Billionaire businessman Femi Otedola has thrown his weight behind Aliko Dangote, saying the business model of the Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN) is crumbling. Otedola, who founded DAPPMAN in 2002, believes the association’s relevance is fading due to the Dangote Refinery’s local fuel supply.
According to Otedola, Nigeria now has over 4 million metric tons of storage capacity, most of it idle, and with the Dangote Refinery supplying fuel locally, the old business model is no longer viable. He advised DAPPMAN members to focus on owning and scaling last-mile retail outlets, rather than holding onto tanks built for a fuel import economy that no longer serves the country.
Otedola emphasized that the era of subsidy exploitation is fast disappearing and questioned why Dangote Refinery should subsidize DAPPMAN with N1.5 trillion, which would be passed on to consumers. He praised President Bola Tinubu for executing the full deregulation of the downstream petroleum sector, breaking the grip of entrenched interests, and ushering in a new era of transparency and healthy competition.
DAPPMAN’s business model, built on fuel imports and subsidy exploitation, is no longer relevant with the Dangote Refinery’s local fuel supply. Nigeria has over 4 million metric tons of storage capacity, most of it idle, making the old business model unsustainable. DAPPMAN members need to adapt to the new reality of local fuel production and focus on owning and scaling last-mile retail outlets.
A single filling station can provide jobs to dozens of Nigerians, whereas a typical depot employs only a few people. Refinery operators globally are downsizing their depot footprint, converting them into bonded warehouses, or exiting completely.
Otedola’s stance is that DAPPMAN’s resistance to change is futile, and they should consider selling, restructuring, or investing in new value chains. He believes Dangote Refinery is not the problem but the solution, and Nigeria should move forward with the new era of self-sufficiency, transparency, and sustainable value creation.
