Africa’s largest fertilizer Complex: Director-General, MINILS, commends Dangote
Tunde Akanbi, Ilorin.
As President Muhammadu Buhari commissions Africa’s largest fertilizer complex, Dangote Granulated Urea Fertilizer Limited at Lekki, Lagos, South-west Nigeria, on Tuesday, the Aliko Dangote Group has been commended for creating additional 5,000 direct and indirect construction jobs as well as saving on $125 million in fertilizer import substitution for Nigeria.
In his congratulatory message to the President/Chief Executive of Dangote Group of industries, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, the Director General Micheal Imoudu National Institute for labour Studies (MINILS), Ilorin Comrade Issa Aremu, said the new $2.5 Billion Dangote Fertilizer Limited “once again stands ALIKO group out as Africa’s leading industrializer and largest employer of labour.”
“With the expected largest Petroleum Refinery, 650,000 barrels-per-day, (more than enough to meet Nigeria’s petrol needs and for export), Aliko Dangote has long changed the narrative of Nigeria and Africa from pessimism of exporter of raw materials, importers of finished products to that of manufacturing, value addition and mass job creation,” Aremu observed.
According to him, “Aliko Dangote is often reported as the richest man in Africa. But what is even more significant is that he is a lead- industrializer, lead employer of labour, based on value adding manufacturing activities ranging from production of cement, sugar and flour and now to fertilizer and petroleum products, among others”.
The Director General praised the collaboration between the Federal, Lagos state governments and Aliko group which he said “facilitated the conception and completion of the new plant” adding “that the historic event would accelerate the implementation of Nigeria’s Industrial Revolution Plan as contained in the new National Development Plan recently unveiled by President Muhammadu Buhari.
Aremu said as Nigeria prepares for 2023 general elections, it was time for all stakeholders in Nigeria’s project for what he called “new Partnership for Development, Diversification and Mass Employment” .
“We should build on the strengths of Nigeria’s raw materials, large market and abundant human resources and minimize the weaknesses of policy inconsistency and weak Infrastructure to grow the non- oil extractive sector.
“In this respect we must commend the investment patriotism and pan African orientation of the President/Chief Executive of Dangote Group of industries, Alhaji Aliko Dangote in changing the narrative of Africa from that of ‘resource curse’ to resource beneficiation.
“It is an open knowledge that Dangote group is a leading “Doing Group” in Africa,” he wrote.
Dangote Fertilizer Plant is Africa’s largest Granulated Urea Fertilizer complex. The plant occupies 500 hectares of land in Lekki Free Trade Zone, Lagos Nigeria. It was built at a cost of $2.5 billion.
With Nigeria estimated to need about 5 to 7 million metric tonnes per annum of fertilizer and with the current level of fertiliser consumption in the country which is 1.5 million metric tonnes, Dangote Fertilizer complex was established to produce 3 million metric tonnes per annum of urea fertilizer in phase 1.
