President Muhammadu Buhari has described the newly inaugurated Dangote Petroleum Refinery in Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos, as a game changer.
Buhari stated this on Monday while inaugurating the refinery which is rated as the largest petrochemical company in the world.
Buhari said, ‘‘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.’’
The president praised Alhaji Aliko Dangote’s leadership in completing the 650,000 barrels per day refinery and challenged other business moguls to follow in his footsteps in promoting economic growth and fulfilling Nigeria’s economic potential.
‘‘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.
In his part, Aliko Dangote outlined his hopes for the refinery: “Our first goal is to ramp up production of the various products to ensure that within this year, we are able to fully satisfy the nation’s demand for quality products.
“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.”
When fully operational, the plant has the capacity to produce about 650,000 barrels of petroleum products a day – more than enough to meet Nigeria’s needs. The plant also includes a power station, deep seaport and fertiliser plant.
Experts hope the refinery will bring an end to the country’s recurring fuel shortages that has affected businesses and investments over the years.