Dangote Refinery can meet region’s needs– ECOWAS President

THE President of ECOWAS Commission, Dr Omar Alieu Touray, said over the weekend that Dangote Petroleum Refinery has become a symbol of ambition, vision and industrial self-reliance for an entire continent.

Dr. Touray, who stated this during a high-level visit to the state-of-the-art 650,000 barrels-per-day facility in Lagos, noted that the refinery had become a beacon of hope for Africa’s future, and a clear demonstration of what the private sector could achieve in the drive for regional industrialisation.

The delegation also included ECOWAS Commissioner for Infrastructure, Energy and Digitalisation, Sediko Douka; Commissioner of Internal Services, Prof. Nazifi Abdullahi Darma; Director of Private Sector/SME, Dr Tony Luka Elumelu; and Dr Touray’s Chief of Staff, Abdou Kolley, among others.

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Touray, said: “What I have seen today gives me a lot of hope, and everybody who doesn’t believe in Africa should come here. Visiting here will give you more hope because this is exactly what our continent should focus on.

“We have seen something I couldn’t have imagined, and really the capacity in all areas is impressive. We congratulate Alhaji Dangote for this trust in Africa because I think you do this only when you have the trust, and he has a vision for Africa, and this is what we should all work to encourage.”

He noted that the refinery, which produces fuel to Euro V standard, was critical to enable ECOWAS meet its 50ppm sulphur limit for petroleum products, a standard many imported fuels fail to meet, posing health and environmental risks across member states.

“We are still importing products below our standard when a regional company such as Dangote can meet and exceed these requirements. The private sector must take the lead in ECOWAS industrialisation,’’ he said.

The ECOWAS Commission President called for stronger collaboration between governments and the private sector, stressing that policy decisions must reflect the real challenges and opportunities experienced by African industrialists.

“We believe our visit also serves as an opportunity to hear directly from Dangote about what the private sector expects from the ECOWAS community,” Dr Touray remarked, noting that as ECOWAS celebrates its 50th anniversary, the community was more committed than ever to bringing the private sector to the table to listen to their perspectives and understand how best to create an environment that works for them.

“We cannot continue to make decisions on behalf of the private sector from a distance. Visits like this provide us with first-hand experience and direct insight into the challenges they face—challenges that authorities and government officials must work to address,” he added.

Dr Touray said the time was ripe for the region to pursue an industrial strategy capable of addressing deep-rooted challenges such as youth unemployment, poverty, and insecurity.

He said: “We often speak about poverty eradication and youth employment, but the government alone may not have the capacity to achieve these goals.

‘’Only the private sector can deliver the scale of impact required, and it is essential that we listen to them, understand how these objectives can be met, and identify the bottlenecks they face so that they can be effectively addressed.

‘’This is the only realistic path to creating jobs and fostering genuine prosperity across our economies.”

He pledged the commission’s full support to enable regional giants, such as Dangote Group, access wider ECOWAS markets and urged other African nations to follow Nigeria’s example by building infrastructure that serves the continent, not just individual countries.

On his part, President of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, who led the ECOWAS delegation on a detailed tour of the facility, explained the challenges and milestones involved in bringing the world’s largest single-train refinery to life.

He reiterated his longstanding position that Africa’s continued dependence on imported goods was unsustainable and hindered economic sovereignty.

He said: “As long as we continue importing what we can produce, we will remain underdeveloped. This refinery is proof that we can build for ourselves at scale, to global standards.”

He noted that the Dangote Refinery was fully equipped to meet the petroleum needs of Nigeria and entire West African, countering claims that the facility would not produce enough for local and regional demand.

“There have been many claims suggesting that we don’t even produce enough to meet Nigeria’s needs, so how could we possibly supply other West African countries?

‘’But now, they are here to see the reality for themselves and, more importantly, to encourage other nations to embark on similarly large-scale industrial projects,” he said.

While noting that Africa would benefit greatly by encouraging trade among its countries, especially through value addition to the continent’s abundant resources, Dangote stressed how the refinery had helped Nigeria bring down the cost of refined products and production costs across many sectors of the economy.

“Last year, when we began diesel production, we were able to reduce the price from N1,700 to N1,100 at a go, and as of today, the price has crashed further. This reduction has made a significant impact across various sectors.

‘’It has supported industries, benefited those of us in mining, and provided vital relief to the agricultural sector. The effect has been far-reaching,” he said.

He also noted that Nigerians were benefiting from local refining as the price of petrol has dropped significantly, compared to neighbouring countries.

“In neighbouring countries, the average price of petrol is around $1 per litre, which is N1,600. But here at our refinery, we’re selling at between N815 and N820. Many Nigerians don’t realise that they are currently paying just 55% of what others in the region are paying for petrol.

‘’We also have a much larger initiative in the pipeline, something we’ve not yet announced but Nigerians should know that this refinery is built for them, and they will enjoy the maximum benefit from it,” he said.

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