Africa's richest man, Aliko Dangote has revealed his Dangote refinery has received repeated orders from Europe and Asia since the commencement of production.

Dangote who was speaking during a tour of Dangote Petroleum Refinery & Petrochemicals and the Dangote Fertiliser Limited complex by members of the House of Representatives disclosed that his product arrived on the shores of Singapore and offshore Lome without any complaints.

He said during the tour that he wondered why the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), a regulatory body that should be protecting local industries is castigating him while justifying the need to continue importing dirty fuel into the country.

“We have successfully exported diesel and jet fuel to Europe and Asia without any complaints; in fact, we have received repeated orders, indicating satisfaction with our products,” he said briefly on the subject.

He also urged members of the committee in the house to investigate the allegation that products from his refinery were not up to standard.

He challenged the NMDPRA to compare the quality of refined products from his refinery with those imported while advocating an impartial assessment to determine what best served the interests of Nigerians.

“I urge you to even set up a committee that will take samples at filling stations and take our own sample because I must tell you that all the test certificates people are flaunting around are fake certificates.

“Where are the laboratories where those tests were conducted? By doing this, you will be able to tell Nigerians the very truth that they deserve to know. De-marketing of a company by a regulator that it is supposed to protect it, is very unfortunate.

“We didn’t know that you were going to ask us to stop by the road and take samples from other filling stations. I didn’t know what you wanted to do until we got here and you requested for a test.

“It is even good that it is your members that went directly to get our samples and I am sure you were shocked by the result. With the result, you can see that we produce the best diesel in Nigeria.”

It is disheartening that instead of safeguarding the market, the regulator is undermining it. Our doors are open for the regulator to conduct tests on our products anytime, transparency is paramount to us."

“It would be beneficial for the regulator to showcase its laboratory to the world so Nigerians can compare. Our interest is Nigeria first because if Nigeria doesn’t grow, we have limited capacity for growth."

“Speaker and esteemed members, you have witnessed the results of the credibility test. I appreciate your wise counsel in procuring samples from filling stations alongside our refinery’s product."

“Ours shows a sulphur content of 87.6 ppm, approximately 88, whereas the others exceeded 1,800 ppm. Although the NMDPRA permits local refiners to produce diesel with sulphur content up to 650 ppm until January 2025, as approved by ECOWAS, ours is significantly lower."

“Next week, we aim to achieve 10 ppm, aligning with the Euro V standard. Imported diesel is capped at 50 ppm, but as you have seen, those from the stations, imported by major marketers, fall well outside this standard,” Dangote observed.