Dangote praises Tinubu’s policies, despite losing Africa’s richest spot

Despite losing his position as Africa’s richest person due to the naira devaluation, the chairman of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, has praised the policies of President Bola Tinubu.

Since becoming President on May 29, 2023, Tinubu has been rolling out several policies, some of which are the removal of fuel subsidy and devaluation of the naira.

The naira devaluation wiped off billions of naira from Dangote’s wealth, reducing his estimated net worth to $10.8 billion as of Tuesday, according to data obtained from Forbes Billionaire Index.

Dangote also dropped to second on the list of Africa’s richest people, as South African billionaire, Johann Rupert, worth $11.8 billion as of Tuesday, displaced the Nigerian businessman.

Almost one week after Tinubu’s foreign exchange reform policies cost him billions, Dangote, alongside Microsoft founder, Bill Gates, visited the President.

In a media report on Tuesday, Dangote said all is going on well, adding that he thinks Tinubu is doing a good job, “All is great and things are going well and we also congratulated the president on the removal of subsidy,” he said.

“I think he is doing a great job. I expect that it’s going to be better for everybody. There will be more money now to put into education, health, infrastructure, and other areas and our role is to help support him to make sure he achieves his vision,” the billionaire added.

Dangote said he and Gates, who is also the co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, visited Tinubu to congratulate him and also brief him on the activities of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Aliko Dangote Foundation in Nigeria.

He said both foundations are committed to helping Nigerians in the health sector, adding, “Nigerians have been getting quite a lot from both foundations, and we expect more from the government in teams of cooperation and we will also do more from our side,” Dangote said.