Alhaji Aliko Dangote, the Chairman of Dangote Industries Limited, has halted the company’s plans to venture into Nigeria’s steel industry.
Dangote backtracks two months after his company disclosed it was making plans to invest in the steel industry and expand the economy.
The business mogul told reporters at his refinery in Lagos on Saturday that the organization’s board chose to stay out of the steel industry to avoid accusations of monopoly status.
Dangote also clarified that the notion in some quarters that his group of companies enjoy monopolies is not true.
He said: “You know, about doing a new business that we announced, that is, steel. Actually, our board has decided that we shouldn’t do the steel because if we do the steel business, we will be called all sorts of names, like monopoly.
“And then also, imports will be encouraged. So we don’t want to go into that. If you look at all our operations at Dangote (Group), we add value; we take local raw materials and turn them into products, and we sell.
“We have never consciously or unconsciously stopped anybody from doing the same business that we are doing.
“When we first came into cement production, it was only Lafarge that was operating here in Nigeria… Nobody ever called Lafarge a monopoly,” he said.
He said labeling his group of companies as monopolistic is disheartening.
“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.
Dangote, however, encouraged Nigerians to invest in the industry to help boost 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,” the billionaire said.
Dangote urged Nigerians to bring their money from Dubai and other parts of the world and invest in our fatherland.”
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