The Chairman of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, was at the Aso Rock Villa on Tuesday evening to see President Bola Tinubu.
Dangote, who arrived just minutes before 07:00pm, departed about 30 minutes later without briefing the press.
It would be their first face-to-face meeting at the Villa since the president toured the 650,000-barrel-per-day Dangote Refinery in Lagos on June 5.
No agenda was revealed, but the encounter follows a string of blunt comments from Africa’s richest man about the nation’s downstream sector and his plan to upend fuel distribution.
On July 11, Dangote told visiting executives that the state-owned plants in Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna were beyond rescue despite roughly $18bn in rehabilitation spending.
“They may never operate properly again,” he warned, calling for bold policy shifts.
In mid-June, he revealed that Dangote Refinery will begin supplying petrol and diesel straight to retailers and large users from August 15, bypassing long-established fuel traders.
Industry groups such as the Natural Oil and Gas Suppliers Association of Nigeria protested the move, citing potential job losses.
The 67-year-old billionaire built a continental empire in cement, sugar and flour before investing a reported $20bn into the Lekki-based refinery—Africa’s largest single-train plant.
