Kenyan presidential aspirant Patrick Osoi has vowed to send Nigerian billionaire and the richest man in Africa, Aliko Dangote, back to Nigeria if elected president next year, opposing the industrialist’s proposed $16bn oil refinery in the East African country.
Osoi said Kenya had local investors capable of developing the facility, insisting that the country should rely on its own business people rather than depend on the Nigerian billionaire.
“I want to tell Aliko Dangote, please don’t rush to start the refinery because, when I’m sworn in as President of Kenya next year, you will be heading back to Nigeria,” he said in a video that circulated on Sunday.
“We Kenyans have business people who can start the refinery. We also have business people in this country who can do that job,” he added while addressing supporters at a Lions Movement event.
Osoi’s remarks come after Dangote and Kenyan President William Ruto performed the groundbreaking ceremony for the proposed refinery in Lamu on September 30.
The facility is designed to process 700,000 barrels of crude oil daily and serve Kenya and other markets across East Africa, with the aim of reducing dependence on imported refined petroleum products.
Dangote has described the project as part of a broader effort to strengthen Africa’s industrial capacity and energy security.
“We are breaking ground for a new chapter in Africa’s industrial journey to a brighter future,” he said at the launch ceremony, according to Reuters.
Ruto also described the investment as significant for Kenya’s economic ambitions.
“It is an investment in energy security, industrialisation and regional integration,” the Kenyan president said.
The project is expected to be completed in 2030, with Dangote offering regional governments a combined 30 per cent stake. Reports surrounding the launch said it could create more than 50,000 jobs and support industries including petrochemicals, base oil and bitumen production.
However, the refinery faces questions over crude oil supplies, energy infrastructure and environmental risks. Some local residents have raised concerns about land ownership and compensation, while environmental campaigners fear the project could affect fragile marine ecosystems near Lamu Old Town, a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Kenya’s High Court has ordered the preservation of parts of the disputed site pending a hearing in a case brought by local residents.
Despite the opposition, Dangote has expressed confidence in the project and dismissed concerns about legal challenges.
“We are really not scared about people taking us to court,” he said. “Anybody who wants to cause trouble, we are ready for his trouble and we will give him a headache.”
Osoi, however, did not explain how a refinery financed and developed exclusively by Kenyan investors would be funded or delivered if he became president.
His comments have introduced a political challenge to the project, which is being promoted as a major investment in Kenya’s refining capacity and a potential source of fuel supplies for the wider East African region.
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