LAGOS BUZZ AS 6 PRESIDENTS, TINUBU ATTEND DANGOTE REFINERY INAUGURATION

President Muhammadu Buhari will commission the Dangote Refinery and Petrochemicals, the world’s largest single-train refinery in Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos, today.

Five other presidents would be joining President Buhari in the epoch-making event that is expected to positively transform Nigeria’s oil and gas sectoral landscape.

Expected at the historic event, apart from international dignitaries, are the Presidents of Togo, Gnassingbé Eyadéma;  Ghana’s Nana Akufo-Addo;  President of Senegal, Macky Sall; President of Niger Republic, Mohamed Bazoum; President of Chad, Mahamat Déby; and a host of ambassadors.

Nigeria’s President-elect, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, whose administration as the governor of Lagos in 2002 floated the free trade zone in Ibeju-Lekki where the refinery is located, is expected to be at the event.

All the 36 state governors and most of the governors-elect, ministers, senators, and captains of industries in Nigeria and others from outside the country, global oil traders, top international bankers, international multilateral agencies have indicated their readiness to grace the ceremony. 

The commissioning of Dangote Petroleum Refinery is significant given that it is the first time that a refinery of such magnitude built by an individual is being commissioned.

Dangote’s petroleum refinery is expected to meet the needs of Nigerian consumers and those in neighbouring countries, while allowing for export beyond the African continent.

The refinery will drive the promotion of the African Continental Free Trade Area; as over 50 countries in the trade bloc depend on imported refined petroleum products.