Buhari inaugurates $18bn Dangote refinery
President Muhammadu Buhari has inaugurated Dangote petroleum refinery in Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos which was constructed at the cost of $18 billion.
While speaking at the occasion which was attended by heads of state from Ghana, Togo, Niger, Senegal and a representative of the president of Chad, Buhari said the refinery will enable Nigeria achieve self-sufficiency in refined products and even have surplus for export.
The president 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 explained that the petroleum industry constitutes larger percentage to the Nigeria’s revenue generation.
Buhari commended Alhaji Aliko Dangote’s leadership in executing the 650,000 barrels per day refinery.
He urged other entrepreneurs to emulate his example in driving economic growth and realizing Nigeria’s economic potential.
Meanwhile, the president, Dangote Industries Limited, Alhaji Aliko Dangote has said the first product of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals will be in the market before the end of July this year.
Dangote spoke while giving the welcome address at the inauguration of the 650,000 barrels per day refinery in Lagos state on Monday.
He explained that the first goal of the refinery is to ramp up production of the various products to ensure that within this year, it fully satisfy the nation’s demand for higher quality products.
Dangote said the main goal is to enable Nigeria to eliminate the tragedy of import dependency and stop once and for all, toxic and substandard petroleum products from being dumped in Nigeria’s market.
