President Muhammadu Buhari has inaugurated Dangote Petroleum Refinery in Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos, which was constructed at the cost of $18 billion.
The facility is expected to enable Nigeria to achieve self-sufficiency
in refined products and even have surplus for export.
The President performed the ceremony on Monday accompanied by his
counterparts from Ghana, Togo, Niger, Senegal as well as a representative of
the President of Chad.
Buhari described the feat as a significant milestone for Nigeria’s
economy and a game changer for the downstream petroleum products market in the
entire African region.
He stated: ‘‘This mega industry we are commissioning today is a clear
example of what can be achieved when entrepreneurs are encouraged and supported
and when an enabling environment is created for investments and for businesses
to thrive.
‘‘I am confident that my successor, His Excellency Asiwaju Bola Ahmed
Tinubu, will sustain the improvement in our economic and business environment
and strengthen the framework of our public private partnership policies to
accelerate the pace of our economic growth and development.
‘‘I am happy to leave our economy in very competent hands.”
President Buhari, commended Alhaji Aliko Dangote’s leadership in
executing the 650,000 barrels per day refinery, urged other entrepreneurs to
emulate his example in driving economic growth and realizing Nigeria’s economic
potential.
He stressed the need for African countries to come together, integrate
their economies, eliminate trade barriers, and rally their populations to
achieve Agenda 2063 for the continent’s prosperity.
Speaking further, the outgoing President said: ‘‘I urge and encourage
our other great entrepreneurs to emulate this iconic Nigerian industrialist and
join the Government in accelerating our growth in order to realize our
country’s globally recognized economic potential.
‘‘When I travel around Africa and meet and engage my brother Heads of
State (and I am delighted some of their Excellences are here) I often sense a
quiet expectation that our country is blessed with resources and human capacity
to lead Africa’s rise to economic prosperity and the attainment of Agenda 2063
– ‘The Africa we all want.’
‘‘But to achieve the goals of Agenda 2063, Africa must come together –
we must integrate our economies, eliminate barriers to trade and energize our
youthful population to scale up our productive capacity.
‘‘We must create necessary conditions for our private sector to grow and
partner with the public sector to accelerate economic growth across the
continent.
‘‘We must not allow outside powers to use some of our leaders to
destabilize our economic and political trajectory.”
President Buhari acknowledged the visionary investments made by the
Dangote Group, under the leadership of Dangote, in transforming Nigeria’s
economy through its involvement in critical industries such as cement and
fertilizer.
He noted that investment in these sectors have played a crucial role in
shifting Nigeria from heavy import dependence to becoming a net exporter.
He also acknowledged that Nigeria’s economy has faced significant
challenges over the years, including deficits in economic infrastructure,
insurgency, and external crises such as the Global Financial Crisis, oil price
collapses, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the Russia-Ukraine war.
Buhari also remarked: ‘‘The consequence of these challenges constitute a
severe strain on our economy, limiting the Government’s ability to provide
basic infrastructure without resorting to huge borrowings.
‘‘Our Government, therefore, took the decision to focus attention on
creating an enabling environment for the private sector to thrive and fill the
enormous gap in investments not only in infrastructure but also in all critical
sectors.
‘‘We recognize that without the active participation of the private
sector and a strong commitment to public private partnership, our economy would
continue to remain severely challenged and our economic growth impeded.
‘‘Government therefore, will and should continue to provide an enabling
environment and encourage innovative public private partnerships in all sectors
of our economy.”
The President emphasized the administration’s commitment to this approach,
citing Executive Order 007 of 2019 which facilitated the
rehabilitation/construction of many roads by private sector investors using a
Tax-credit scheme, saying: ‘‘It is my hope that the succeeding Administration
will continue to apply such innovative schemes in partnership with the private
sector to accelerate the provision of critical infrastructure in particular
roads, power and gas pipelines.”
In his address, Dangote emphasised the refinery’s role in fulfilling the
group’s corporate vision of promoting self-sufficiency and global
competitiveness.
He added: ”We have built a Refinery with a capacity to process 650,000
barrels per day (plus 900,000 tonnes of polypropylene) in a single train –
which is the largest in the world. We have selected the best plants and
equipment and the latest technologies from across the world.
”Our products slate is designed to meet the highest quality standards
and high-value products including Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), Automotive Gas
Oil (Diesel), Aviation Turbine Kerosine (ATK); all of Euro V Standards that
will enable us not only meet our Country’s demand but also to become a key
player in the African and global market.
”Our coastal location and offshore loading and offloading (SPM)
facilities with a capacity to receive all our crude oil supplies and evacuate
up to 75% of our liquid products give us direct access to the rest of Africa
and the global market for exports. In addition, 80 percent of our production
can be discharged through trucks nationwide.”
Dangote disclosed that the huge investment of over $18.5billion in this
industry was prompted by the company’s desire to support and contribute its
quota to the Federal Government’s sustained effort to transform the economy and
reposition Nigeria as the leading nation in Africa, and a respected member
among emerging economies in the world.
According to him, apart from ensuring a consistent supply of
high-quality fuels for the transportation sector, the refinery will provide
essential raw materials to a wide range of manufacturing sectors, including
plastics, pharmaceuticals, food and beverages, packaging, construction, and
more.
He further stated that the refinery’s operation and related businesses
would generate a substantial number of job opportunities, while the downstream
supply and distribution of its products would significantly contribute to the
absorption of labor, potentially benefiting hundreds of thousands of individuals.
The Chairman of the DangoteGroup further said: ”Once our plant is fully
on stream, we expect that at least 40% of the capacity will be available for
export and this will result in significant Foreign Exchange inflows into the
country.
“Overall, we are committed to operating our Plant in line with
international best practice requirements, recognizing the importance of
protecting the environment, and putting in place stringent environmental,
health and safety policies to ensure that the Refinery operates in a safe and
sustainable manner.”
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