Aliko Dangote Mulls Power Sale By 2019

President, Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, yesterday foreclosed a return of investments to the Nigeria’s banking sector just as he declared plans to sell power to Nigeria through excess generation of 2, 000 Mega Watt (MW) by 2019.


The Africa’s richest man quit banking sector in year 2,000 through sale of two banks. His company is currently selling excess power it generated in Senegal. The business mogul, who declared this at the site of his 6, 500 barrels per day capacity refinery in a lecture delivered to the MBA Management students of the Lagos Business School (LBS), maintained that gross power shortage in Nigeria remained the major reason for bankruptcy and collapse of businesses in the country.

“Two things make investments difficult in Nigeria from our findings; number one, the power epilepsy and number two, policy inconsistencies,” he said, adding that “from 1960 till date, nobody has left government and established a successful business in Nigeria.”

One major secret of the success of Dangote Group in the country, he said, was the self-reliance through consumption of 900MW power generated daily by companies in the group. Stating that Nigeria needs $100 million annual investments in power, the business mogul declared that he would raise his investments in sector over the next three years.

“We have invested over $5 billion in power and others across Africa,” he said, adding “We are very wary about going into banking; we left banking in the year 2000 and we do not want to go back there.” He continued:”At the moment, we produce 900 MW, which is self consumed for production.

Except in Senegal, where we produce excess and sell to the country, we are consuming all power that we generate in Nigeria at the moment. “In the next three years, we should generate 2, 000MW. This will be more than half of what the country is producing at the moment, which is about 3, 000 MW to 3, 500 MW and by then we can sell the excess.”

On the banking sector, he declared that he would has quit investments in banking sector for good.

“We left in 2000 through sale of our bank; two banks, and we do not have any plan to go back there,” he said.

“It is not always good to play in banking sector when you have a viable company. Bankers move around taking risks and because they know that if any risk they take goes wrong, your company will conveniently carry the burden,” he stated, tasking the management students to be wary “of investing in business that they do not have a thorough knowledge and understanding of.”