Dangote marked one year of refinery operations, highlighting exports, cheaper petrol, CNG trucks, and job creation while dismissing union criticisms.
Aliko Dangote, Africa’s richest man, on Monday marked the first anniversary of petrol production at the Dangote Refinery, declaring that Nigeria’s decades-long battle with fuel queues had ended.
“The past one year has been a very rough journey, I must confess. It wasn’t an easy journey because we came in to change the narratives,” Dangote said at the refinery. He stressed that the facility has exported over 1.8 billion litres of petrol in the past three months. “If we don’t have the capacity, why are we exporting?” he asked.
Dangote said the refinery had brought down petrol prices from nearly ₦1,100 to ₦841 in some states, with further reductions expected through the rollout of 4,000 CNG-powered trucks. “We have not displaced any jobs; we are creating many more,” he added, estimating 24,000 new jobs.
He also hit back at critics, particularly NUPENG, which described the refinery’s fuel price cut as a “Greek gift.” Dangote retorted: “They said we gave Nigerians a Greek gift, why don’t you give the French one.”
Anthony Chiejina, Dangote Group’s spokesperson, said over 1,000 CNG trucks have already been deployed, calling it a “big transformation” in fuel distribution.