AS President Muhammadu Buhari commissions Africa’s largest Dangote Granulated Urea Fertiliser complex Fertiliser Limited at Lekki Lagos on Tuesday, Comrade Issa Aremu, the Director General of the Michael Imoudu National Institute for Labour Studies (MINILS) has commended Dangote Group for creating additional five thousand direct and indirect jobs in Nigeria.
Aremu, who also hailed the conglomerate for saving $125 million in fertilizer import substitution for Nigeria, in his congratulatory message to the President and Chief Executive of Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, added that the new $2.5 billion Dangote Fertiliser Limited “once again stands Dangote Group out as Africa’s leading industrializer and largest employer of labour.”
Aremu observed that with the expected largest petroleum refinery project with capacity to refine 650,000 barrels-per-day, which he said is more than enough to meet Nigeria’s petrol needs and for export, Dangote has changed the narrative of Nigeria and Africa from the pessimism of exporter of raw materials, importers of finished products to that of manufacturing, value addition and mass job creation.
“Aliko Dangote is often reported as the richest man in Africa. But what is even more significant is that he is a lead-industrializer, lead employer of labour, based on value adding manufacturing activities ranging from production of cement, sugar and flour and now to fertilizer and petroleum products, among others,” Aremu said.
The Director General praised the collaboration between Dangote Group, federal and Lagos State governments which he said “facilitated the conception and completion of the new plant. He added that “the historic event would accelerate the implementation of Nigeria’s Industrial Revolution Plan as contained in the new National Development Plan recently unveiled by President Muhammadu Buhari.”
Aremu said as Nigeria prepares for 2023 general elections; it was time for all stakeholders in Nigeria’s project to be part of what he called “new Partnership for Development, Diversification and Mass Employment”.
He also stated: “We should build on the strengths of Nigeria’s raw materials, large market and abundant human resources and minimize the weaknesses of policy inconsistency and weak infrastructure to grow the non-oil extractive sector. In this respect we must commend the investment patriotism and pan African orientation of the President/Chief Executive of Dangote Group of industries, Alhaji Aliko Dangote in changing the narrative of Africa from that of ‘resource curse’ to resource beneficiation. It is an open knowledge that Dangote Group is a leading “Doing Group” in Africa.”
Dangote Fertiliser Plant is Africa’s largest Granulated Urea Fertiliser complex. The plant occupies 500 hectares of land in Lekki Free Trade Zone, Lagos Nigeria. It was built at a cost of $2.5 billion. With Nigeria estimated to need about 5 to 7 million metric tonnes per annum of fertiliser and with the current level of fertiliser consumption in the country which is 1.5 million metric tonnes, Dangote Fertiliser complex was established to produce 3 million metric tonnes per annum of urea fertiliser in phase 1.
Analysts anticipate Dangote Fertiliser Plant to contribute about $400 million in foreign exchange earnings to the economy by way of exported products on completion.
“The coming on stream of Dangote Fertiliser would surely make Africa self-sufficient in food production and a net exporter of food to the world,” the company said, as fertiliser from the plant could help curb the acutely low yields in Nigeria, a situation partly resulting from limited access to the product.
