Africa’s richest man and President of Dangote Industries Limited, Aliko Dangote, has said he is prepared to confront legal challenges to his businesses, stressing that he is also willing to reduce his ownership of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery to 25 per cent as more Africans buy shares in the company.
The Dangote Group had earlier said a Kenyan court ruling over a land rights dispute would not stop the groundbreaking ceremony for its planned 700,000-barrel-per-day refinery in Lamu on Wednesday, although the order might affect some activities at the project site.
During a fireside chat at the Nairobi Securities Exchange in Kenya, Dangote spoke on the company’s planned investments in Africa, the Lamu refinery and its proposed public ownership structure in Kenya and other African countries.
The Malindi Environment and Land Court had ordered that the “status quo prevailing” on the land be maintained until a hearing on October 14. The order, dated September 25, was made public on Monday.