By Kingston Magare 22.9.2025
Billionaire business executive Femi Otedola has urged members of the Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN) to embrace the new realities of the oil business in the Nigeria and adapt to it.
Otedola who is a founder member of DAPPMAN said that the coming of the Dangote Refinery has changed the dynamics of the business and DAPPMAN rather than antagonise the efforts of the nation’s first private refinery to make products available, DAPPMAN needed to re-strategise.
In a congratulatory statement to Mr. Aliko Dangote for pulling off what seem to be impossible in the oil industry, Otedola noted: “In a sector long plagued by rent-seeking, subsidy fraud, product diversion, and smuggling, this reform marks a decisive break from the past and lays the foundation for a more efficient and accountable energy market.
“Voices determined to resist change, even when it’s clear the tide has turned. You can delay change, frustrate it, even sabotage it but you can never stop it.
“I founded DAPPMAN in 2002 (23 years ago) with a clear mission, to challenge the dominance of the major marketers and give independent depot owners a fair platform to thrive. I personally structured the group, appointing the late George Enenmoh, then MD of Ascon Oil, as Chairman, while I served as Vice Chairman and Sayyu Dantata as Secretary.
“At the time, depot ownership was strategic. We were filling critical supply gaps left by an inefficient system. But times have changed. Many of the original players have exited the scene, and those lefts are clinging to assets that no longer reflect today’s business realities.”
He added that he has long advised DAPPMAN members to do away with their depots.
“Nigeria now has over 4 million metric tons of storage capacity, most of it idle. With the Dangote Refinery now supplying fuel locally, the old business model is crumbling.
“We built depots to store our imported diesel because the market was import-driven and riddled with inefficiencies. But with Dangote’s refinery fully operational, those gaps no longer exist. We now have domestic production and local supply efficient, reliable, and proudly Nigerian.
“The global picture is instructive. Depots in Amsterdam or Houston were designed to serve export markets, especially Africa. With Nigeria now refining locally, such infrastructure is increasingly unnecessary. If DAPPMAN members do not adapt, they will not only become irrelevant, they may go bankrupt,” he added.
Femi Otedola