Seven African Presidents Join Buhari To Open Dangote Refinery

LAGOS, Nigeria’s commercial nerve centre, will today play host to many oil and gas industry heavyweights who would be arriving the city from different parts of the world to witness the inauguration of the world’s largest single-train refinery, a 650,000 barrels per day facility built by Africa’s richest man, Alhaji Aliko Dangote.

This newspaper gathered that the refinery, which will be inaugurated by President Muhammadu Buhari and seven African presidents, would alter the international energy landscape and try to sanitise the country’s petroleum sector by ending the smuggling of imported petrol outside the country.

Presently, 80 per cent of fuel in Africa, from Cape Town to Dakar and other parts of the continent, are imported. This, the refinery is expected to address.

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

President Paul Kagame of Rwanda, who would not be physically present, would present his goodwill message virtually.

At the time of filing this report, all the 36 state governors and most of the governors-elect, ministers, senators, and captains of industry in Nigeria and others from outside the country had indicated their readiness to grace the ceremony.

Nigeria’s president-elect, Bola Tinubu, whose administration as the governor of Lagos, in 2002, floated the Free Trade Zone in Ibeju-Lekki, where the refinery is located, is also expected at the event.

The Governor of Osun State, Senator Ademola Adeleke, described the facility as, “A continental game changer with huge capacity to positively transform Nigeria and African economy.”

President of Afreximbank, Professor Benedict Oramah, disclosed that the bank was the largest financer of the over $19 billion Dangote Refinery, the world’s biggest petroleum refining facility that would come into operation this month.

Renowned economist and Chief Executive Officer, Financial Derivatives Company Limited, Bismarck Rewane, noted that the Dangote refinery could help strengthen Nigeria’s macroeconomic stability, when fully operational.
A source told THISDAY by telephone that many top guests from Nigeria, including ministers, governors, senators, as well as heads of relevant government agencies and establishments were being expected.

According to the source, global commodity traders in the oil and gas industry, including Singapore-based Trafigura, one of the world’s largest independent traders of oil and petroleum products; and Vitol, a Swiss-based Dutch multinational energy and commodity trading company, would all be in attendance.

“A lot of people are coming: governors, senators. This one is like the highpoint of inauguration; it’s an inauguration week. All these oil traders -Trafigura, Vitol and others will all be there,” the source said.

Some of the big names expected to attend the inauguration from Nigeria include Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), Mallam Mele Kyari; Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Mr. Gbenga Komolafe; and Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Mr. Ahmed Farouk.

Others are Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Mr. Gabriel Aduda; Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele; Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed; Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr. Adeniyi Adebayo; and Femi Otedola, among others.