Since the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals in Lagos State opened for business, accolades for the richest man in Africa, Aliko Dangote, have not stopped coming in.
The most recent compliment came from Peter Obi, the Labour Party’s (LP) 2023 presidential contender, who claimed that Nigeria’s faltering economy will benefit from the Dangote Refinery.
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Obi, a former governor of Anambra State, congratulated Dangote on the achievement and called it a “major milestone in the Nigerian energy sector” in a series of posts on X (previously Twitter) on Monday night.
According to reports, the refinery in Lagos, which is owned by Aliko Dangote, the richest man in Africa, started producing 350,000 barrels per day.
One million barrels of Agbami crude grade, the first of six million barrels that will be provided to the refinery by many suppliers, were recently delivered to the facility.
“I do think it will be very beneficial to Nigeria’s troubled economy,” Obi said, recalling the commissioning of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals as the largest single train petroleum refinery in the world.
“The refinery is intended to meet Nigeria’s local petroleum product demand and assist Nigeria save the much-needed foreign cash now spent on the importation of such products when it operates at maximum capacity of 650,000 barrels of crude oil per day.
It is anticipated that Nigeria will establish itself as a major participant in the global downstream petroleum industry by satisfying domestic demand and exporting the excess to other markets.
Obi pointed out that the fight to shift the country from consumption to production will be fought largely by the business sector. “This will support the expansion of other small-scale businesses in the industry, help create jobs, and help generate the much-needed foreign exchange,” he continued.
