Business mogul Femi Otedola has advised the Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN) to adapt to the changing downstream petroleum market by restructuring their operations and considering the purchase of the Port Harcourt Refinery.
In a statement on Monday, Otedola threw his weight behind the Dangote Refinery, which was commissioned in May 2023, dismissing DAPPMAN’s resistance to the refinery’s operations as outdated.
“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 To preserve a model built on fuel imports, subsidy exploitation, and outdated infrastructure?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.
He argued that depot ownership had lost relevance with Nigeria now refining fuel locally, noting that the system once rewarded rent-seeking and subsidy fraud rather than innovation. According to him, depots employ very few people compared to filling stations and are no longer central to the petroleum value chain.
Otedola, who founded DAPPMAN in 2002, recalled that depots once filled critical supply gaps but stressed that the old business model is no longer sustainable. He suggested that members either sell, restructure, or diversify into new value chains, adding that acquiring the Port Harcourt Refinery could be a viable alternative.
He praised Dangote’s investment in the refinery and the purchase of thousands of new Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) trucks for direct distribution of petroleum products, describing the move as transformative for the logistics chain and job creation.
Otedola also commended President Bola Tinubu for fully deregulating the downstream sector, describing it as a bold reform that has broken entrenched interests and laid the foundation for transparency and competition.
His intervention follows DAPPMAN’s recent accusations that Dangote was attempting to monopolise the downstream sector by slashing fuel prices and sidelining other marketers.
“At the heart of this controversy is progress,” Otedola maintained. “Aliko’s refinery is not the problem. It is the solution.”
