Renowned businessman and philanthropist, Femi Otedola, has called on the Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN) to embrace innovation and adapt to changing realities in the oil and gas sector, warning that resistance to reform could leave the group behind.
Otedola, who waded into the ongoing fuel supply disagreement between DAPPMAN and the Dangote Refinery, said he felt compelled to share his perspective on the debate, given its implications for Nigeria’s future energy security.
In a statement issued on recent developments in the downstream petroleum industry, Otedola congratulated Aliko Dangote on the milestones recorded by his refinery since operations began, describing the project as a “historic leap” towards national energy independence. He argued that despite opposition from entrenched interests, change in the sector was inevitable.
“History has shown time and again: you can delay change, frustrate it, even sabotage it, but you can never stop it,” Otedola noted.
The billionaire recalled founding DAPPMAN in 2002 with the aim of giving independent depot owners a voice against the dominance of major marketers. At the time, he explained, depot ownership was strategic in bridging supply gaps created by inefficiencies in the downstream system. However, he observed that the industry has since shifted, with many of the original operators exiting and those remaining clinging to outdated business models.
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According to him, Nigeria currently has over four million metric tons of storage capacity, much of which is lying idle. With the Dangote Refinery now producing fuel locally, he said the old model of import-driven depot operations has become obsolete.
Otedola also credited President Bola Tinubu for demonstrating the political will to deregulate the downstream sector fully, a reform he described as breaking the control of entrenched cabals and ushering in a new era of competition and transparency. “In a sector long plagued by rent-seeking, subsidy fraud, product diversion and smuggling, this reform marks a decisive break from the past,” he stated.
He further alleged that about N2 trillion was siphoned through fraudulent subsidy claims under the Goodluck Jonathan administration, linking the abuse to depot licenses that rewarded rent-seeking rather than efficiency.
Otedola urged DAPPMAN members to rethink their strategies and seize new opportunities presented by the changing energy landscape, stressing that clinging to outdated assets would only lead to irrelevance.
