Nigeria: President Buhari Inaugurates $18bn Dangote Refinery, Products To Reach Market In August 2023

By ogrepublic Last updated May 23, 2023

By Ndubuisi Micheal Obineme

Lagos, Nigeria – President Muhammadu Buhari has inaugurated Dangote Petroleum Refinery in Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos, which was constructed at the cost of $18 billion USD. The facility is expected to enable Nigeria to achieve self-sufficiency in refined products and even have surplus for export.

The President performed the ceremony on Monday 22nd May 2023, and the Presidents of Ghana, Niger, Togo, Senegal and a representative of the Chadian President were present at the commissioning.

In his words, “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.”

Furthermore, President Buhari said that there is a need for African countries to come together, integrate their economies, eliminate trade barriers, and rally their populations to achieve Agenda 2063 for the continent’s prosperity.

“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.

“We must create necessary conditions for our private sector to grow and partner with the public sector to accelerate economic growth across the continent.

“We must not allow outside powers to use some of our leaders to destabilize our economic and political trajectory.”

President Buhari acknowledged the visionary investments made by the Dangote Group, under the leadership of Dangote, in transforming Nigeria’s economy through its involvement in critical industries such as cement and fertilizer.

He noted that investment in these sectors have played a crucial role in shifting Nigeria from heavy import dependence to becoming a net exporter.

He also acknowledged that Nigeria’s economy has faced significant challenges over the years, including deficits in economic infrastructure, insurgency, and external crises such as the Global Financial Crisis, oil price collapses, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the Russia-Ukraine war.

Buhari also said: ‘‘The consequence of these challenges constitute a severe strain on our economy, limiting the Government’s ability to provide basic infrastructure without resorting to huge borrowings.

“Our Government, therefore, took the decision to focus attention on creating an enabling environment for the private sector to thrive and fill the enormous gap in investments not only in infrastructure but also in all critical sectors.

“We recognize that without the active participation of the private sector and a strong commitment to public private partnership, our economy would continue to remain severely challenged and our economic growth impeded.

“Government therefore, will and should continue to provide an enabling environment and encourage innovative public private partnerships in all sectors of our economy.”