Udora Orizu in Abuja
Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, and Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, have congratulated Africa’s foremost businessman, Aliko Dangote, on the inauguration of his 650,000 barrels per day Dangote Refinery.
According to Obaseki, the inauguration of the Dangote Refinery and Petrochemical plant, the world’s largest single train refinery, opens a new vista of opportunity for the country’s economy. He noted that the country could save over $3 billion annually from the importation of petroleum products.
Speaking to journalists at the inauguration of the refinery, Obaseki described the plant as a game changer for Nigeria. He hailed the genius, dexterity and inimitable entrepreneurial spirit of Dangote.
Obaseki said, “Beyond the commissioning, the fact that we have finally got to the position where we can begin to refine products, particularly petrol and diesel locally, is a breakthrough.
“What this means is that we will be saving up to $3 billion in a year for not importing. That’s more than the amount we spend today on all our infrastructure, education, and health.
“That sort of money is coming back to the government for growth.
“But beyond it, there is the certainty of supply, and capacity to not only produce for your market, but to be able to export to the rest of the continent. And not just importing the kind of products you used to import, you are now processing and refining better quality products of international standard.”
According to him, “Before now, the bulk of what we used to buy was low grade, so it affected our vehicles. The maintenance status of our vehicles was lower than anywhere else. Today, we are producing something that’s of international grade and you can now sell an end product.
“So, for me, this is the game changer for Nigeria because you don’t only save what you used to spend but are now given the capacity to earn more. So, you are saving and also earning more.”
The governor added, “Look at the other materials that will come out of the refinery, particularly, the petrochemical plants. I mean, everything up here is all plastic, all petrochemicals. That means we now have a base material to produce most of these things that we need for packaging, for equipment like everywhere else and that’s a big export for us.”
For his part, Gbajabiamila also described the multi-billion dollar facility that was inaugurated by President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday, as a game changer.
Gbajabiamila said the coming to fruition of the refinery had the potential of repositioning Nigeria as the true economic giant of Africa and a key player in the global energy sector.
Gbajabiamila said Dangote’s patriotic pan-Nigerian posture was worthy of emulation by other Nigerian investors, stating that the government and Nigerians are earnestly waiting to start reaping the gains of the record-breaking investment.
The speaker wished Dangote well in his endeavour towards making Nigeria a virile economic giant in Africa.
