A Kenyan presidential candidate, Patrick Osoi, has threatened to send Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote back to Nigeria if he wins the country’s presidential election scheduled for February 2027.
Osoi issued the warning while criticising Dangote’s proposed construction of a 700,000-barrel-per-day oil refinery in Kenya, arguing that local investors should be given the opportunity to undertake the project.
In a video shared by AM Media, the presidential hopeful cautioned Dangote against hastening the commencement of construction, claiming that the Nigerian businessman would be asked to leave the country if he assumes office next year.
“I want to tell Dangote, please, don’t hurry up to start the refinery, because by next year, February, the time I’m sworn in as the president of this country, you’ll be back going to Nigeria,” Osoi said.
He maintained that Kenya had businesspeople with the financial capacity and expertise to execute the refinery project, insisting that the country needed a facility capable of meeting its energy demands.
“Because we are asking a refinery which can do that job. We also have business people in this country who can do that job,” he added.
Osoi’s comments come days after Dangote joined Kenyan President William Ruto and other African leaders at the groundbreaking ceremony for the proposed refinery at Lamu Port.
The project, valued at approximately $16 billion, was officially flagged off on Wednesday, September 30, and is expected to become a major development in East Africa’s energy industry.
The proposed facility, with a planned processing capacity of 700,000 barrels of crude oil daily, is projected to be completed by 2030.
It is intended to reduce Kenya and the wider East African region’s reliance on imported refined petroleum products.
The refinery is also expected to replicate the impact of Dangote’s facility in Lagos, Nigeria, which has helped reduce the country’s dependence on imported fuel and opened up opportunities for refined petroleum exports.
Dangote, Africa’s richest man, has continued to expand his investments across the continent, with the proposed Kenyan refinery representing a significant step in his ambitions for Africa’s energy sector.
