Dangote Denies Monopolistic Claim, Says Never Blocked Anybody Doing Same Business

Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote has dismissed the claims that his group of companies enjoy monopoly, insisting it is not true.

Dangote stated this on Saturday when he received the leadership of the House of Representatives led by the Speaker, Tajudeen Abbas and his deputy, Benjamin Kalu.

He said the labelling of his group of companies as monopolistic is disheartening.

Dangote said he had never stopped anyone from doing the same business that he is doing.

He said: “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, adding that labelling 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 said.