By Ayobamiji Komolafe
Copyright newtelegraphng
Billionaire businessman Femi Otedola has praised the Dangote Refinery for transforming Nigeria’s downstream oil sector, while urging members of the Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN) to adapt to new realities or risk extinction.
In a lengthy statement on Monday, Otedola congratulated his “dear brother” Aliko Dangote on the refinery’s success and credited President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for having the political will to fully deregulate the downstream sector.
He described the reform as “a historic leap” that has dismantled entrenched interests, subsidy fraud, and rent-seeking practices.
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Otedola stressed that depots, once central to an import-driven fuel market are now obsolete, given Nigeria’s new refining capacity.
“DAPPMAN had its place, but today, its relevance is fast fading,” he said. “Instead of resisting progress, they should consider selling, restructuring, or investing in new value chains.”
Otedola, who founded the Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association in 2002, revealed that the system previously enriched depot owners through subsidy claims amounting to trillions of naira.
He noted that depots employ far fewer Nigerians compared to filling stations and argued that their old business model is “crumbling.”
Highlighting the refinery’s wider impact, Otedola pointed to Dangote’s investment in 8,000 eco-friendly CNG trucks, which he said will ease distribution, reduce pollution, and eliminate gridlock around Apapa.
He likened the sector’s transformation to Nigeria’s cement industry, which shifted from imports to local production, rendering bulk carriers obsolete.
“Aliko’s refinery is not the problem; it is the solution,” Otedola declared, urging marketers to embrace change rather than seek subsidies.
