Dangote’s $16bn Kenya refinery faces fresh challenge as presidential aspirant vows to stop project and send him back to Nigeria

The aspirant argues that Kenyan investors can build their own refinery.

Dangote’s $16bn project is planned for Lamu County, Kenya.

The project also faces a land dispute and a separate transparency challenge.

A Kenyan presidential aspirant, Patrick Osoi, has vowed to stop Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote’s proposed $16 billion oil refinery in Kenya and send him back to Nigeria if elected president in 2027.

Osoi made the declaration while addressing supporters at a Lions Movement event, where he urged Dangote not to rush into the project, arguing that Kenyan businesspeople have the capacity to build their own refinery.

“I want to tell Aliko Dangote, please don’t rush to start the refinery because, when I’m sworn in as President of Kenya next year, you will be heading back to Nigeria,” he said in a video that circulated online.

“We Kenyans have business people who can start the refinery. We also have business people in this country who can do that job. This is what we stand for,” he added.

Osoi’s position is that Kenya should rely on its own investors rather than depend on the Nigerian industrialist for a major oil-sector project.

However, the aspirant did not outline a detailed financing plan or explain how his proposed administration would stop the investment if he became president.

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Dangote’s proposed refinery is planned for Lamu County on Kenya’s coast. The facility is expected to process up to 700,000 barrels of crude oil per day, with completion targeted for 2030.

Dangote and Kenyan President William Ruto attended the project’s groundbreaking ceremony on September 30, 2026, marking a major step in the development plans.

The project is already facing legal challenges. In September, a Kenyan court ordered parties to maintain the status quo over disputed land after 133 residents challenged the proposed development, claiming the site forms part of their ancestral land. The matter was scheduled for a hearing on October 14.

Separately, the Consumers Federation of Kenya filed a challenge seeking greater transparency over the project, including details about the government’s proposed stake and the approval process.

Osoi’s comments therefore introduce another political objection to the refinery, although his pledge remains a campaign position and does not mean the project has been cancelled.