Billionaire businessman Aliko Dangote has warned critics that their claims of monopoly in the petroleum sector might hinder local investment in the nation’s economy.

Dangote shared his concerns in Abuja on Monday at the Inaugural Annual Downstream Petroleum Week organised by the House of Representatives Committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream).

Represented by the Group Chief Strategy Officer at Dangote Industries Limited, Aliyu Suleiman, the Kano-born businessman called for policies that encourage productivity, innovation, and competition across critical sectors of the economy.

On the issue of monopoly in the refining of crude oil, Dangote said, “Too many people with the means to build industries chose instead to invest abroad. We decided from afar, adding little value to our economy. We have chosen differently. We have chosen to go to Nigeria. We have chosen to build here, to employ here, to produce here. Let us not use the cry of monopoly to stall growth. No one is prevented from investing.

“We welcome others to build their own refineries, and we will offer support in whatever way we can.

“Nigeria holds the natural competitive advantage in refining. We enjoy proximity to oil and gas supply. We should therefore work together to develop this sector.

“We should work to enact and implement laws that will help this sector to prosper. Let us protect our industries and deliver the economic transformation this country deserves.”

According to him, the Dangote Refinery can meet the nation’s demand for diesel, premium motor spirit and jet fuel and have excess for export.

He added that in no distant time, the refinery would be listed on the stock exchange, giving Nigerians the opportunity to become shareholders.

He said Africa’s refining sector remains underdeveloped, relative to its consumption and volume of crude produced on the continent.