By Ahmad Deedat Zakari
Barely seven days before the expiration of his final tenure, President Muhammadu Buhari launched the long-awaited Dangote Refinery in Lagos. The newly commissioned refinery is the first private-owned oil refinery in Nigeria.
The President was flanked by many dignitaries from within and outside Nigeria during the unveiling. He described the refinery as a ‘game changer’ for the country’s economy.
“This clearly makes this event a notable milestone for our economy and a game changer for the downstream petroleum product market not only in Nigeria but the entire African continent,” He said.
The accomplished businessman and owner of the refinery, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, gave the welcome remark at the unveiling ceremony.
He thanked President Muhammadu Buhari for his support and said he was his source of inspiration at times he felt like giving up.
He also appreciated the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, for ‘moving mountains’ in the course of the project.
The billionaire also revealed that the first product of the $12 billion facility “will be in the market before the end of July, beginning of August this year”.
“Beyond today’s ceremony, our first goal is to ramp up production of the various products to ensure that within this year, we’re able to fully satisfy our nation’s demand for higher quality products,” he said.
The Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemical is the largest single-train refinery in the world and has a capacity of 650,0000 capacity a day.
