Dangote made the comments in an interview with the BBC’s Focus on Africa programme after some Lamu residents protested over compensation for land acquired for the project.
The comments came as Dangote and Kenyan President William Ruto formally broke ground on the proposed refinery on Wednesday, despite a court order restricting construction activities over a land dispute.
The refinery is expected to have a processing capacity of 700,000 barrels of crude oil per day when completed in 2030.
Dangote rejected claims that his company had acquired more land than required for the project, saying it was using only the area allocated to it by the Kenyan government.
“They said some people are demonstrating; demonstrating about what? Have you ever seen people demonstrating against themselves in terms of development?” he asked.
He described the protests as “games played by local marketers and international players” and insisted that they would not derail the project.
Dangote said the refinery would be completed as planned in 2030, describing it as his largest proposed investment outside Nigeria.
The groundbreaking ceremony was attended by leaders from Uganda, Ethiopia, Togo and Benin. According to Reuters, Dangote has offered regional governments a combined 30 per cent stake in the refinery.
The billionaire said the project would demonstrate that the success achieved with his 700,000-barrel-per-day refinery in Nigeria could be replicated elsewhere in Africa.
“Lekki proved that it can be done, Lamu must prove that it can be repeated,” he said.
If completed, the Lamu refinery would be the largest refinery in East Africa and would rank among Kenya’s biggest infrastructure projects since independence, surpassing the $5.1bn Standard Gauge Railway project.
Land dispute
The proposed refinery has faced opposition from some residents and environmental campaigners in Lamu.
The Save Lamu campaign group has raised concerns about the potential environmental impact of the project on local communities.
Its co-founder, Walid Ali, told the BBC that residents wanted access to the findings of the environmental impact assessment and details of the measures proposed to mitigate any potential effects.
A group of 133 Lamu residents approached the Kenyan High Court seeking to halt construction of the refinery.
Following the legal action, activities including excavation and construction on the disputed land have been restricted pending the next court hearing, scheduled for 14 October.
Dangote said the legal challenges and protests would not prevent the project from going ahead.
He said the refinery was expected to create about 60,000 jobs at the peak of construction, with local communities expected to benefit from the investment.
The project will also include a 1,000-megawatt power plant, which is expected to supply electricity to Dangote’s operations and other industries that establish businesses in the area.
