Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari has described the Dangote multi-billion dollar Petroleum Refinery as a game changer for the country’s downstream petroleum market and the African continent.
The President made this statement at the commissioning of the Petroleum Plant in the Lekki Free Zone in the commercial city of Lagos.
Buhari said “The plant will enable Nigeria to achieve self-sufficiency in refined products and even have surplus for export. Thus clearly makes this event a notable path for our economy.”
This is coming as both the opening of the Dangote refinery and the rehabilitation of state-owned refineries have the potential to make Nigeria Africa’s biggest refining hub by 2025.
The President who joined by other African Presidents said the Nigerian economy has been is distress due to decades of infrastructure challenges, a decade of insurgency and global financial crisis including the impact coronavirus pandemic and Russia-Ukraine war.
“The consequences of these challenges constitute a severe strain on our economy and its negative impact made the government to direct its focus to creating an enabling environment for private sector to thrive.”
He further emphasised that the government will continue to provide enabling environment and encourage public private partnership in all the critical sectors of the economy.
The refinery is also expected to create a market for the $1 billion per annum Nigerian crude and address the issues surrounding the fuel subsidy removal, in addition to foreign exchange earnings of $9.9 billion.
The cost of the refinery grew to $19 billion from initial estimates of between $12 billion and $14 billion, after years of delays.
Built by Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, the massive complex is one of Nigeria’s single largest investments.
It has a 435-megawatt power station, deep seaport and fertilizer unit.
PIAK
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