As President Muhammadu Buhari officially unveiled the Dangote Petroleum Refinery in Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos, the refinery is expected to save Nigeria $25 billion and $30 billion forex annually and give the economy an inflow of $10 billion yearly.
The refinery is also expected to generate 12,000 megawatts of electricity and over 135,000 permanent jobs, the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele projected when he spoke at the official commissioning of the refinery.
Expectedly, the state-of-the-art refinery will not only make the country self-sufficient in refined products but also position Nigeria as a potential exporter of surplus products.
Number one citizens of four African countries were eminently present at the commissioning ceremony. They are the distinguished Heads of State from Ghana, Togo, Niger, Senegal, as well as a representative of the President of Chad.
President Buhari in his speech hailed the inauguration of the refinery as a significant milestone and achievement for Nigeria’s economy while recognizing its transformative impact on the downstream petroleum products market throughout the African region.
The President extended his appreciation to the Dangote Group, led by its visionary founder, Dr. Aliko Dangote for their remarkable investments that have played a pivotal role in revitalizing Nigeria’s economy.
Emefiele said that under the leadership of President Buhari, the ongoing projects and efforts have been actively implemented to diversify the economy and make the country globally competitive.
His words: “We insisted that under the leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari, the ongoing projects and efforts will be actively implemented to diversify the economy and make the country globally competitive but people still doubted us.”