Hope has risen for many youths as the proposed $9 billion Dangote Refinery will generate thousands of jobs, not only in Lagos, but throughout the country. TOBA AGBOOLA reports.
• 8,000 engineers to be train
THE Lagos State Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN), at the Lekki Free Trade Zone (LFTZ), Lagos introduced the Dangote Group of Companies President and the arrowhead of the proposed $9 billion Dangote Refinery and Petrochemical Company in the zone, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, to the host communities. This signaled the take-off of the multi-billion naira investment there.
Hope has risen for many youths as the new investment is expected to generate thousands of jobs, not only in Lagos, but throughout the country.
Dangote Group of Companies is set to train over 8,000 engineers. The project, when completed, would provide direct and indirect jobs for over 85,000 Nigerians.
The plan is to make the country self-reliant in petrochemical and petroleum products, as well as make it an industrial giant through the Lekki Free Trade Zone (LFTZ). Another is to stop the importation of petroleum products by 2016.
At the meeting, Fashala declared: “Lekki Free Trade Zone is beginning to take shape. The master plan is being realised; investors are trouping in. Tank farms and major refineries are springing up to service the demands of the country and make room for export. The refineries create a major selling point and release of the opportunities that lie ahead in this zone; create opportunities for the local people and the potential for Lagos and the Nigerian economy.”
According to Dangote, Nigeria spends about $30 billion annually on importation of petroleum products.
He said the project planned by his group would make Nigeria a net exporter of petroleum products, including diesel and aviation fuel, as well as poly-propylene and fertiliser. He said the project on completion would create massive employment opportunities.
“Now, Nigeria is going to be taken out of the list of countries that import petroleum products. We will produce 20 million metric tonnes which is equivalent to what Nigeria consumes currently.
“Without good government policies, there is no way the private sector can invest in Nigeria, because we are not Father Christmas. The policies have to be right,” he said.
Speaking on the Project, the General Secretary, National Union of Textile, Garment and Tailoring Workers of Nigeria (NUTGTWN), Issa Aremu, said with a projected daily production output of 400,000 barrels, the same capacity of the four Nigerian government-owned refineries in Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna, operating at less than 30 per cent of installed capacities, the bold initiative by the Dangote Group is a giant stride at re-industrialising Nigeria in particular and Africa in general.
His words: “African organised Labour and working people are excited about the bold corporate decision of the Dangote Group, the African conglomerate, and for blazing the trail in re-industrialising Africa through an unprecedented investment of $9 billion in oil refinery and petrochemical complex in Nigeria.
“Millions of private sector workers organised in national and global unions in Africa identify with the investment, the singular patriotism and pan-Africanism of the President and Chief Executive Officer, Dangote Group of Industries, Alhaji Aliko Dangote.
“Labour is excited that Dangote Group is changing the narrative of the continent from that of resource curse to resource beneficiation, value addition and mass employment through industrialisation and internal articulation of African economy. Industrialisation is for Nigeria if it must be part of the leading economies of the world, get millions of youth to work out of violence and crime and above all, out of poverty.
“We commend Dangote for working the talk that a shift is needed; that natural resources of Africa should be for the welfare of all Africans, not the profits of a few, mostly foreign capitalists. This refinery will definitely decrease Nigeria’s scandalous unacceptable dependence on oil imports.
The National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, (NUPENG) in a statement declared delight over the proposed refinery/petro-chemical and fertiliser complex, saying the venture is bound to partly address the unemployment problem and also end the current massive importation of petroleum products into country. The workers have equally called on other private investors including the multinational oil companies to do the same.
The statement said: “We all know how up to 18 firms that were granted licences to establish refineries under the Obasanjo administration, till now, have failed, refused or neglected to make use of the licence by establishing refineries in the country.
“Dangote refinery may just be able to make the difference. When it starts operating in 2016, it is expected to become a major foreign exchange earner in the export of refined petroleum products in the country with additional thousands of jobs. For the over 170 million Nigerian people, who have continued to suffer for what they have in abundance, there is a beam of hope. Nigerians must be seen to be better off from the rich natural resources of the nation. We cannot continue to watch a few players, with foreign capitalist interest at the expense of national interests, continue business as usual. To be sure, it is not the violent agitations in the Niger Delta that is being advocated here, but the need for genuine economic participation in the oil and gas sector. Dangote Refinery has set the pace.
“We need to develop efficient local capacity in such a leading sector of our national economy. To this end, the government must make the right policies to attract the right investors. The Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) should also be passed into law to provide the enabling regulatory and legal framework towards ensuring competitiveness, transparency and the best international practices in the petroleum industry.
“It is our hope that the Federal government will provide the enabling environment that will ensure the competitiveness of such private refineries in the country. Effective regulation of the oil and gas sector and provision of improved road infrastructure for efficient haulage and distribution across the country will enhance performance and delivery. And of course, the government must ensure that there is improved power supply in the country to enable the efficient operations of these refineries. We cannot afford to create more museum relics from plants working at 30 per cent capacity”.
A top official of LFTZ who will not want his name in print, said the zone has been split into an oil and gas logistic park, light and heavy industrial and manufacturing section, media centre and urban residential section.
The official added that for the zone to be developed quickly, as expected by the initiator, calls are being made for the development of a meaningful partnership, to build a modern international airport and sea –port, that will serve the zone, and become the aviation and maritime hub of the sub-region.
It was also gathered that real estate companies would be given a role to play in the development of the zone. The LFTZ will showcase opportunities for private companies in the oil and gas manufacturing, food processing, hospitality and leisure sectors, banking and financial service sector would be expected to develop a 21st century financial centre at the zone.
