Billionaire investor Femi Otedola has warned depot house owners underneath the Depot and Petroleum Merchandise Entrepreneurs Affiliation of Nigeria (DAPPMAN) that their enterprise mannequin is unsustainable within the wake of the Dangote Refinery’s operations, stressing that they need to pivot to retail or refining to stay related.
Otedola, who based DAPPMAN in 2002, mentioned the affiliation was established to supply impartial depot operators with a platform to compete with main entrepreneurs in an import-driven market.
Nevertheless, he acknowledged that the truth has modified, and the survival of depot house owners now depends upon adapting to Nigeria’s refining revolution.
“Depots have been strategic when Nigeria relied on imports. As we speak, they’re outdated. Members clinging to idle tanks danger extinction. The long run lies in last-mile retail distribution and refining investments, not in preserving a damaged mannequin,” Otedola mentioned.
He urged operators to think about new alternatives, together with acquisitions of refining belongings, as an alternative of lobbying for concessions from the Dangote Refinery.
“If DAPPMAN members really imagine in competitors, they may come collectively and purchase the Port Harcourt Refinery and take a look at their effectivity,” he added.
Based on Otedola, Nigeria’s storage capability now exceeds 4 million metric tons, a lot of which is underutilised.
With the Dangote Refinery supplying gasoline domestically and deploying 8,000 CNG-powered vehicles for nationwide distribution, he argued that depots have misplaced their strategic relevance.
He additionally dismissed the notion that depots generate vital employment, noting that “a typical depot employs fewer than 5 individuals, whereas filling stations create jobs for dozens.”
Business analysts say Otedola’s remarks spotlight a structural shift in Nigeria’s downstream sector, the place home refining and trendy logistics are changing many years of dependency on imports and storage depots.
