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Dangote’s refinery, catalyst for Nigeria’s economic growth – ACF
“By all accounts, genetically and by orientation, I can claim to be of the old school. We have passed the threshold of three scores and ten years on this earth, so we can, even if only in our own estimation, lay claim to being old genetically. Genetics, in this case being the state of how genes and traits are passed down from one generation to the next. I am also of the old school by training inclination and orientation, because I would rather see things for my self than form an opinion on any issue on the basis of what I am told, or facts I learn from usually unreliable, and usually self serving and biased sources.
Why am I saying all these things? It is simply because for quite sometime now, both the mainstream and the social media have been awash with negative reports on the state of things on, and about the multi billion dollar DANGOTE RETROLEUM REFINARY AND PETROCHEMICALS FZE. Rather being identified as the ultimate success story that it is, conceived and actualized by an entrepreneur per excellence, a Nigerian of repute, a detribalized person of northern extraction, and one of the very, very few persons who, without ever being a politician, rose to be a GRAND COMMANDER OF THE ORDER OF THE NIGER (GCON). I repeat, only people who have risen to the status of number 2 in the political hierarchy of the country ever achieve that status. All sorts of negative things have been said and printed about Aliko DANGOTE and his gigantic project. His offer to make the country self sufficient in petroleum project has been portrayed as a concerted effort to create a monopoly in the sector. His effort to make consumers of petroleum products in Nigeria access the products with ease, and ultimately at cheaper prices, was further portrayed as a concerted effort to hold the country to ransom in the future. Worst of all, the complex was alleged to be incomplete, old fashioned!
Many of us who knew the type of person Aliko DANGOTE strongly doubted all the allegation. We said that much and many things more in his defence, but in the absence of hard facts, there was nothing much we could do, most especially when those within the regulatory architecture of the petroleum industry are amongst those meting out the allegations. Those of us of the Arewa Consultative Forum, ACF, committed to fighting for northern interests, of course within the larger Nigerian interests, in the end decided to take the old school practical steps of verifying the true fact of the case. We decided to undertake a fact finding trip to the DANGOTE at our own instance and at the expense of the Forum.
It was against that foregoing backdrop that on Tuesday, 30th July 2024, the leadership of the ACF, along with some prominent northern leaders, embarked on a visit to the DANGOTE REFINERY, FERTILIZER AND PETROCHEMICAL COMPLEX located at the Lekki Free Zone in Lagos State. This visit was crucial in light of circulating reports questioning the legitimacy and completeness of the complex. As I have stated in the background to this piece, allegations had surfaced suggesting that the entire enterprise was merely a ploy by Aliko DANGOTE to secure undue advantages from the Federal Government, and that the complex was unfinished. That even when finally finished , its capacity would fall short of meeting the nation’s petroleum product needs.
After conducting an extensive inspection of the complex, what we saw both amazed and even compounded us. We are pleased to report that the claims against the person of DANGOTE and the complex are entirely baseless. There is no basis of foundation for it other than pure envy and the quest to destroy whatever will project and protect the interests of the Nigerian State and its people in the petroleum sector. After touring the whole DANGOTE complex, we found that it stands as a testament to technological prowess and operational excellence. And contrary to the baseless rumors, the complex is not only fully complete, but is also operational, ready to cater to the demands of Nigeria and the West African subregion and the world at large.
Our findings further reveal that the DANGOTE REFINERY, FERTILIZER AND PETROCHEMICAL COMPLEX is well-positioned not just to meet local demands, but to potentially exceed them. There are prospects and facilities for exporting surplus products to other global markets. This reaffirms DANGOTE’s commitment to enhancing national and regional economic growth through sustainable industrial development.
This is just my first take on the matter, as It is essential to set the record straight by dispelling unfounded claims. I intend to write a more comprehensive piece and get engaged in radio and tv shows to showcase to the whole world, the remarkable achievements and potential of the DANGOTE complex.
For now, I make bold to say that through our visit, we attest to the readiness of this world-class facility to contribute significantly to the energy and chemical landscape, benefitting Nigeria and the international community at large.
Let this serve as an assurance to Nigeria and the World that the DANGOTE PETROLEUM REFINERY AND PETROCHEMICALX COMPLEX is a beacon of innovation, efficiency, and capacity, poised to make a transformative impact in the region’s industrial sector. We commend President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR for fully identifying with the project and call on the Federal Government to continue to support this worthy son of Arewa, a worthy son of Africa, a visionary who is all out to help the government to take Nigeria to a much higher social, economic, political levels. One ready and willing to partner with the government in improving the lives and livelihoods of the people of Nigeria.
I conclude by pointing out that it is the same strategy used to ensure that public refineries have remained out of commission and productivity that is being tried to destroy the DANGOTE complex. A lot of dollars have been pumped into these, but the very authorities that are saddled with responsibility of turning them around are the very interests that are sabotaging their coming on stream. The strategy is stop these from being productive and your ensure the continuation of importation of products. Facilitate the continuation of Petroleum products and you guarantee the perpetuating of corruption in the downstream Petroleum sector. So in the same vein, allow the DANGOTE complex to come on stream, and you check the corrupt tendencies involved in the importation of products. Destroy it, or at least stop it from operations, through the various tactics that are being applied and you leave the road clear for the continuation of the importation and it’s attendant corruption. Period!
Thank you Mr. Presiend for seeing through these tactics, and thank you again Mr President for the recently announced for ensuring that DANGOTE Refinery does not only survive, but also prosper!
WAZIRI (Sen) Ibrahim M. Ida, Ph.D, CON
WAZIRIN KATSINA”
