They made their views known in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Lagos.

NAN reports that Chief Timipre Sylva, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, had announced the approval after the virtual FEC meeting presided over by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on Wednesday at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Sylva had said the acquisition was in the sum of $2.76 billion.

Reacting to the development, Prof. Chris Onalo, Registrar and Chief Executive Officer, Institute of Credit Administration, said oil and gas remains the major source of revenue for the government which requires massive investment in the sector.

Onalo said the Dangote Group had taken the bull by the horns to make a huge investment that was needed to jumpstart the industry and therefore needed the support of all and sundry including the government.

He said the investment from the NNPC was to support the billions already committed by Dangote Group in the world largest single train refinery.

“The refinery is an expression of massive confidence in the oil and gas economy of this country. It shows that the sector can take Nigeria out of economic woes. I think it is a welcome development and those of us who are in the public domain can’t wait too long to see that happening. So, I will say kudos to the Dangote Group for its investment drive across the economy of this country,”Onalo said.

He added that the NNPC’S support to the refinery and others coming on stream soon would increase investors’ confidence in the sector thereby attracting the more investments.

Also, Muda Yusuf, an economist and immediate-past Director General of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), said the Dangote Refinery was of strategic national importance.

“My views have always been that even though this is a private sector project, it makes both commercial and nationalistic sense for NNPC to express a interest in it.

“This project has a good prospect to put an end to fuel importation and the associated leakages of public funds while also preserving our foreign exchange reserves,” Yusuf said.

He said the refinery would also stimulate the economy in areas such as job creation, agriculture and exportation of petrochemicals to other countries.

Yusuf said: “The proposal by NNPC to take 20 per cent equity stake in the Dangote Refinery is a move in the right direction. The reality is that the Dangote refinery is a project of significant and strategic national importance, even though it is promoted by the private sector.

“Taking a stake in the project also makes a great deal of business sense, especially given how far the project execution has gone and our heavy dependence on importation of petroleum products.

“It also makes both commercial and nationalistic sense for NNPC to express an interest in a project that has a good prospect to put an end to fuel importation and the associated leakages of public funds.

“It would also ensure the preservation of our foreign reserves as we currently spend billions of dollars annually on importation of petroleum products.”

He said in addition to the several multiplier effects of the refinery arising from related spin off industries like petrochemicals, fertilizer plants resonates well with the country’s aspiration for self reliance and backward integration. He added that the export prospects of the Dangote Refinery were also quite bright.

Yusuf stated that another exciting thing about the investment proposition by the NNPC was that the national oil company would be a minority shareholder and would therefore not take responsibility for the management of the refinery.

He noted that the undoing of Nigeria’s public enterprises had been the quality of management, saying as a country, Nigeria had paid a huge price for this in the form of inefficiency, corruption, wastages and many more.

The LCCI DG further said that the model being proposed with the Dangote refinery was similar in a way to the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) Limited’s model, which according to him, remains the best example of how government funds should be invested.

“It is a model that shields the investment from interference by politicians and bureaucrats. This proposition is much better than the decision to commit scarce public funds to the rehabilitation of decrepit government owned refineries,” he added.

Similarly, Wilson Opuwei, Chief Executive Officer, Dateline Energy Services Limited, said the approval was a step in the right direction for the country.

“It makes sense for the NNPC to invest in ventures that will bring returns to the company. Every business need good investments and this is what the NNPC is doing with the Dangote Refinery.

He said that the refinery will ensure energy security as the Refinery is capable of meeting Nigeria’s gasoline requirements while generating revenue in hard currency from export of diesel, jet fuel, polypropylene among many others.

Chief Operations Officer, Dangote Oil Refining Company, Giuseppe Surace told the marketers that the refinery has been designed to process a variety of light and medium grades of crude, including petrol and diesel as well as jet fuel and polypropylene.

He said the refinery was billed to produce up to 50 million litres of petrol and 15 million litres of diesel a day, roughly 10.4 million tonnes of the product, 4.6 million tonnes of diesel, and 4 million tonnes of jet fuel yearly.

According to him, this is in addition to having a fertiliser plant, which would utilise the refinery by-products as raw materials.

He disclosed that the refinery which has recorded 90 per cent completion, was expected to address the challenge of petroleum product importation in Nigeria and other African countries.

He said, “If you look at the overall percentage completion, we have achieved good, considerable progress. But that overall includes engineering and design, which is 100 per cent over.

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On the 17th of February 2021, the MOMAN CEOs had a virtual meeting with Alhaji Aliko Dangote, the President of the Dangote Group and Edwin, where the Dangote Group presented its project and which culminated to this physical site visit.

The marketers, who toured the 650,000 barrels-per-day single train refinery in Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos recently, expressed belief that the Dangote Oil Refinery would help remove the various bottlenecks associated with importation of petroleum products into the country.

The Association members who visited Dangote Oil Refinery include the Managing Director 11 Plc/ Chairman MOMAN, Adetunji Oyebanji; Executive Secretary of MOMAN, Clement Isong; Managing Director, Total Nigeria Plc, Imrane Barry; Managing Director, MRS Oil Nigeria Plc, Marco Storari; Managing Director, ARDOVA Plc, Olumide Adeosun; Managing Director, NNPC Retail Limited, Elizabeth Aliyuda; and 22 others.

Speaking after a tour of the refinery complex, Oyebanji, said the marketers are eagerly waiting for the completion of the refinery, which is expected to make Nigeria self-sufficient in petroleum refining.

Oyebanji stated, “It is our desire to see our members buy refined products from Dangote Refinery when it comes on stream. We are open to discuss commercial terms with the management of Dangote Oil Refinery regarding lifting of refined products. The impact it will have on the market chain will be changed from a situation whereby a marketer will have to wait for four to five months through imports lead time before getting products.

“The turn-around time is going to be much faster. It will be more efficient. Getting products from Dangote Refinery will also give us the possibility of getting the product by vessels or by trucking. It is going to have a positive impact on the way we do business in the downstream sector. Hopefully, we believe Dangote Refinery is going to result in delivering decent margins for our members; enough margins for us to begin to rebuild or/upgrade the assets in the industry” he added.

He said that Dangote Refinery would move Nigeria from an import dependent nation to self-sufficiency in petroleum products. “This refinery will move us from import dependent in petroleum product to becoming totally self-sufficient. It will move Nigeria from a situation whereby all the products that we consume will be available locally. It is going to be a very big development and a game changer for us and we are looking forward to its completion,” the chairman added.

Oyebanji expressed hope that the coming on stream of Dangote Refinery would facilitate the deregulation of the downstream oil sector. “I have always agitated for the deregulation of the downstream oil and gas sector. Now, with Dangote Refinery, it makes it easier to achieve. I believe deregulation will come pretty soon the when Dangote Refinery starts working,” he said.

He therefore urged the Federal Government to encourage more investors who have obtained licenses to establish private refineries in the country. “If you have a policy that allows you issue significant numbers of licenses and only a few are utilised, this tells you that there is a problem somewhere, which requires government’s attention. Government needs to have a discussion with the licensees to find out their challenges and how it can be of assistance to them,” he said.

Chief Operations Officer, Dangote Oil Refining Company, Giuseppe Surace told the marketers that the refinery, which has been designed to process a variety of light and medium grades of crude, including petrol and diesel as well as jet fuel and polypropylene.

He said the refinery is billed to produce up to 50 million litres of petrol and 15 million litres of diesel a day, roughly 10.4 million tonnes of the product, 4.6 million tonnes of diesel, and 4 million tonnes of jet fuel yearly, in addition to having a fertiliser plant, which would utilise the refinery by-products as raw materials.

He disclosed that the 650,000 barrels-per-day capacity refinery, which has recorded 90 per cent completion, is expected to address the challenge of petroleum product importation in Nigeria and other African countries.

He said, “If you look at the overall percentage completion, we have achieved good, considerable progress. But that overall includes engineering and design, which is 100 per cent over. Procurement is about 98 per cent over. So, it covers various aspects.”

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The training, which was flagged-off by Dangote Group Executive Director, Strategy, Capital Projects and Portfolio Development, Devakumar Edwin, is aimed at curbing unemployment among the youths.

The programme cuts across a wide range of vocational skills including welding, electrical technician, plumbing, auto mechanic, radio and television repairs, refrigerator and AC repairs, building and furniture making.

Edwin said the initiative was in line with the vision of Aliko Dangote, President of the Dangote Group, to provide employment opportunities for youths, especially those found within the company’s host communities.

He said addressing Nigeria’s unemployment crisis requires providing platforms for youths to learn various vocational trades that would enable them to develop themselves and also become employers of labour.

“We know that there are a lot of graduates out there looking for jobs and that is why you should focus and take this training by the NDE seriously. We will train you; we will equip you, and also ensure that you will be employable or become entrepreneurs.

“My advice is that you should take advantage of this training to better your lives and contribute positively to the society,” Edwin said.

He commended NDE for making a success of the first batch training programme, which he said has totally transformed the lives of those who were trained.

The Lagos State Coordinator of the NDE, Mrs. Serena Edward, lauded the Dangote Group for initiating the vocational training for the youths in the community, which began in 2019.

Edward said: “We are training the youths to acquire skills in various trades through master trainers. This is the beginning of good things for the youths. Their lives are going to be totally transformed.

“The objective of the training is to give youths skills that they will be able to generate wealth and curb unemployment. The skills will make them useful to themselves and the society. They will become self-employed and also generate employment for others.”

She disclosed that some Ibeju-Lekki Youths who graduated from the 2019 pilot scheme of the programme were employed by Dangote Refinery and its contractors, while others chose to operate on their own.

Edward noted that the training would be conducted in line with the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) guidelines due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Chief Operations Officer, Dangote Oil Refining Company, Giuseppe Surace encouraged the trainees to use the opportunity provided by Dangote to acquire new skills.

On his part, the Oni-Lekki of Lekki, Oba Olumuyiwa Ogunbekun, commended Dangote Refinery for initiating the training and for the support to the communities in the locality.

Ogunbekun, represented by the Awo of Lekki, Chief Adewale Salami, advised the participants to fully utilise the training to improve their lives and make positive impact in the society.

Speaking on behalf of the participants, Mr. Abiodun Ajayi said they were excited to be given the opportunity of acquiring vocational skills that would impact their lives positively.

Ajayi, who thanked the Dangote Refinery Group for the training, promised that the participants would be focused in order to actualise its objectives.

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