The presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 elections, Peter Obi, has joined others in congratulating Aliko Dangote on the commencement of operations at the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals in Lagos State, News About Nigeria reports.
The former governor of Anambra State took to his handle on X, formerly Twitter, on Monday to express his excitement over what he referred to as giant strides, stating that this new development would aid in the growth of businesses.
He noted that the commissioning of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals, which is the world’s largest single-train petroleum refinery, would greatly benefit the economy of Nigeria, which is currently in troubled waters.
Obi disclosed that the refinery, when operated maximally, will boast a capacity of 650,000 barrels of crude oil per day and is also expected to meet the domestic demand for petroleum products in Nigeria while helping the country save the much-needed foreign exchange currently spent on the importation of such products.
He also noted that the refinery will, by meeting domestic demand and supplying the surplus to international markets, aid Nigeria in taking its place as a key player in the downstream petroleum sector of the global market.
While maintaining that the private sector will play a crucial role in the struggle to move the nation from consumption to production, Obi added that this will help in creating jobs, help generate much-needed foreign exchange, and encourage the growth of other small-scale businesses in the industry.
The refinery, which is located in Lagos and owned by Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, is said to have commenced operations with 350,000 barrels a day, as it recently received its first one million barrels of Agbami crude grade, which represents the first phase of the six million barrels to be supplied to the refinery by several suppliers.
