Mr. Femi Otedola, current chairman of Geregu Power Plc, FirstHoldCo Plc, and other major investments, recently weighed in on the fuel supply dispute between Dangote and DAPPMAN.
His opinion on the subject was that the organization needs to get with the times and innovate or risk becoming irrelevant.
“But history has shown time and again: you can delay change, frustrate it, even sabotage it, but you can never stop it,” he revealed via a statement released on Sunday.
He stated that he felt obligated to address the disagreement involving his close friend and Africa’s wealthiest individual, revealing that existing factions attempting to resist change continue to endanger growth in the country, a sentiment Dangote has consistently emphasized.
Otedola’s sentiments are very interesting, considering that he helped found DAPPMAN in 2002, as seen in the Punch.
The Nigerian billionaire noted that the association’s goal when it was founded was to close important supply gaps induced by an ineffective downstream system.
What Otedola said about Nigerian depots concerning the Dangote Refinery
“I founded DAPPMAN in 2002 (23 years ago) with a clear mission: to challenge the dominance of the major marketers and give independent depot owners a fair platform to thrive,” he stated.
“I personally structured the group, appointing the late George Enenmoh, then Managing Director of Ascon Oil, as Chairman, while I served as Vice Chairman and Sayyu Dantata as Secretary. At the time, depot ownership was strategic. We were filling critical supply gaps left by an inefficient system,” he added.
According to Mr. Otedola, given a shift in trends over time and the exit of many of DAPPMAN’s original members of the group, those who remain are holding onto assets that don’t represent the financial realities of today.
“But times have changed. Many of the original players have exited the scene, and those left are clinging to assets that no longer reflect today’s business realities.
I advised some of them as far back as last year to sell their depots as scrap while they still had value. Nigeria now has over 4 million metric tons of storage capacity, most of it idle.
With the Dangote Refinery now supplying fuel locally, the old business model is crumbling,” Mr. Otedola stated.
Hr also critiqued DAPPMAN for sticking to antiquated business models based on the exploitation of subsidies and gasoline imports.
“What is DAPPMAN fighting for today? To preserve a model built on fuel imports, subsidy exploitation, and outdated infrastructure? That era is fast disappearing.
The setting up of depots was mainly to collect PFIs. No depots, no PFIs (Pro Forma Invoices) from NNPC who were sole suppliers of gasoline (petrol) at the time, and which thus led to the breeding of complacent importers whose sole agenda was on arbitrage and subsidy margins.”
Mr. Otedola pointed out that even in established markets, refinery owners are reducing the size of their depots; many are turning them into bonded warehouses or closing them entirely.
He referenced the Folawiyo Group, which is renowned for its ethics and foresight, and sold its depot before leaving early.
Current dispute between Dangote and DAPPMAN
While DAPPMAN, which advocates for petroleum marketers and depot owners, has expressed concerns over competitive tactics and product availability, the Dangote Refinery maintains that domestic refining must be allowed to stabilize without excessive external pressure.
