JUST IN: Reps Leaders Visit Dangote Refinery [PHOTOS]

A delegation of lawmakers from the House of Representatives, led by Speaker Hon. Tajudeen Abbas, visited the Dangote Petroleum Refinery in Lagos on Wednesday.

The group arrived at the Lekki Free Trade Zone facility around 11am, where they were greeted by Aliko Dangote, Africa’s richest man and President of Dangote Group, along with top refinery executives.

During their visit, the lawmakers are scheduled to tour the 650,000 barrels per day refinery, which is poised to begin petrol supply next month.

This marks the second visit by federal lawmakers to the refinery in just two months, coming at a critical time as the refinery faces challenges in accessing crude oil from international oil companies.

In June, Senate President Godswill Akpabio led the leadership of the Senate on a tour of the refinery, praising the project and pledging support for it.

The “whole Nigeria couldn’t make refineries function in Kaduna, Port Harcourt, and Warri, but that Dangote and his team have proven that it is possible to dream and achieve it in Nigeria,” Akpabio said during his visit, highlighting the significance of the project.

Aliko Dangote, Senator Asuquo Ekpenyong, Senator Oyetola Ashiru, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, Senate President, Godswill Akpabio; Vice President, Oil & Gas, Dangote Industries Limited, Devakumar Edwin during the National Assembly delegates visit to Dangote Petroleum Refinery, Petrochemicals and Fertiliser Plant in Lekki Lagos, on Saturday, June 8, 2024.

Commissioned in May by ex-President Muhammadu Buhari after years of delay, the facility in Lagos State is billed as Africa’s largest oil refinery.

Built by Africa’s richest man Aliko Dangote with the ability to process 650,000 barrels a day when at full capacity, the facility was expected to begin operations in June but did not owing to a lack of crude oil supply.

Despite being Africa’s most populous nation and one of the continent’s largest crude producers, the country has depended on imports to meet local demand because of under-performing state-run refineries.

Nigeria swapped crude worth billions of dollars for gasoline it previously subsidised for its domestic market. But the huge drain on foreign exchange at a time of dwindling oil revenue pushed the government to remove the subsidy.

Recall that former president, Muhammadu Buhari, inaugurated Dangote Petroleum Refinery in Lagos on 22nd May 2023.

However, with the new oil plant getting shipped, the facility is poised to be a game changer.

“Our focus over the coming months is to ramp up the refinery to its full capacity. I look forward to the next significant milestone when we deliver the first batch of products to the Nigerian market,” the President of Dangote Group Mr. Aliko Dangote said.

The new facility lies on 2,635 hectares (6,500 acres) of land in the Lekki Free Zone and costs an estimated $19 billion.