Billionaire businessman and Chairman of Geregu Power Plc, Mr. Femi Otedola, has commended fellow billionaire businessman and friend, Aliko Dangote, for the unveiling of the Dangote refinery’s first output of Petroleum Motor Spirit (PMS), commonly known as petrol.
This comes after the Dangote refinery rolled out its first shipment of PMS/ petrol on Tuesday.
Dangote, who is the President of Dangote Group, presented the first sample during a broadcast at his refinery, which has completed its testing phase and will now introduce its products to the local market.
The 650,000 barrels per day Dangote refinery located in Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos State, which officially begun production of petrol on September 3, is expected to start supplying an initial 25 million litres of PMS into the domestic market this month.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) would buy Dangote refinery’s products exclusively, according to Reuters, which quoted an official of the company.
In a post on his official X (formerly Twitter) account on Tuesday, Otedola described the first sample rollout from the refinery as ‘miraculous.’
“My Dear Brother Aliko… it feels like just yesterday, but it has been 25 long years since we first set our sights on transforming Nigeria’s energy landscape…You never gave up on the dream we shared.
“You carried the torch forward, igniting a spark that has today become a roaring flame. And now, 25 years later, here we stand on the precipice of history, with the first fuel shipment from the Dangote Refinery – a feat that is nothing short of miraculous,” Otedola wrote.
He added, “While the Kaduna and Port Harcourt refineries have remained dormant, their promise unfulfilled despite billions of dollars spent on so-called turn-around maintenance, you have achieved what many said was impossible. You have beaten all the skeptics, silenced the naysayers, and proved wrong those who doubted your resolve, even those who never wanted this project to succeed.
“You have not just built a refinery; you have liberated us from the chains of economic dependence that have held this nation back for far too long. The days of bowing to foreign powers for our fuel needs are over, thanks to your vision and determination. You have dealt a death blow to the so-called local cabals who have fattened themselves for years, feeding off our nation’s economic slavery.”
Nigeria, which reportedly consumes over 50 million litres of petrol daily on the average, has four major oil refineries which have failed to meet the expectations in Africa’s largest producer of crude oil.
