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Dangote reveals why he will not contest for president in 2019
Posted by Wale Akinola
The Africaβs richest man and President of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, has revealed why he would not contest for Nigerian president in 2019
- The billionaire said he was not ready to give up his freedom for politics
- He, however, said that there is need for businessmen to cooperate with politicians
Africaβs richest man and President of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, has
ruled out possibility of him running for Nigeriaβs presidency in 2019 general elections or in the near future.
New Telegraph reports that Dangote declared that he is not cut out for politics, stating that he is more comfortable with business.
Philipconcept Blog's gathered that there have been speculations that Dangote might take a shot at the presidency giving his net worth and influence.
But Dangote told Bloomberg Markets Magazine that he is not ready to give up his freedom for politics βNo, Iβm not interested".
Thereβs quite a lot we can do from the business side. I enjoy a lot of what I am doing and I also love my freedom and I donβt have too much.
The little I have, politics would take away. I am not ready to give that up. There are businessmen who are interested in politics. Iβm not one of them,β he said.
He, however, said there is need for cooperation with politicians.
He said: βWell, in Africa, yes, I do think you need politicians. But at the same time, we cannot get things right unless there is good cooperation between politicians and businessmen. Itβs a win-win. When you look at it today, in Nigeria, over 85 per cent of the GDP is from the private sector.β
On whether he is under pressure to make political donations, he said: βWell, you know the political donation depends on who you are dealing with and who you are donating money to. But the issue is we donβt go and give people in politics money for favours.
βIβve told presidents of countries, βIβm a contractor, Iβm running a business, I donβt need any favours.β And really, when you look at it today, in all our businesses, we donβt need any favour. Weβve done our numbers. We think this business will work and we donβt need government support.β
Meanwhile, Philipconcept Blog's gathered according to online media Naija news had previously reported that Africaβs richest man, Aliko Dangote revealed that he plans to invest $800 million in dairy production in Nigeria.
