BY TEMITOPE ADEBAYO
Students across tertiary institutions in the country under the aegis of National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) have passed a vote of confidence on the Dangote Refinery.
They described the recent demarketing of the world’s largest single train refinery by the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL) as the greatest disservice to the nation’s economy.
Speaking after a tour of the Refinery facility yesterday in Lagos, leaders of the students’ body comprising of those from Universities, Polytechnics and Colleges of Education, said it would take an enemy of Nigeria to rubbish the gigantic project that would stop importation of fuel once and for all and save the nation of the scarce forex.
The NANS Senate President, Akinteye Afiz said, “they had the mandate of Nigerian Students to come and assess the situation of the refinery having been told that the refinery was uncompleted and inferior in all standards.
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“We had a meeting on the situation in the country vis a vis the uncertainty in the oil and gas industry, especially the current fuel scarcity and we resolved to visit Dangote refinery to see things for ourselves, having gone round the facility, our heart melted at the humongous size of the refinery. We are speaking the minds of all Nigerian students that government should direct all marketers to patronize Dangote refinery and ease the current fuel hardship. If anyone wants to compete with Dangote let them go and build their own.”
Earlier, the vice-president, Dangote Industries Limited, Devakumar Edwin, while welcoming the student leaders to the refinery said, President Bola Tinubu has intervened, commending the president for the directive for crude to be sold to Dangote Refinery in naira currency, as this is a good development for all Nigerians.
Edwin said, the concern of the students was well placed as all Nigerians should be worried indeed because about 90 percent of Nigeria forex goes into importation of fuel and that Dangote Refinery could help solve the problem as 43 percent of its capacity production could satisfy domestic demand while the remaining will be exported to generate more forex into the country.
He explained that “what we want to do in Refinery, we have done it in other businesses, Nigeria used to be the biggest importer of Sugar, we came in and change the narrative. We led the backward integration scheme of the federal government, and we now produce sugar locally for domestic consumption and others have joined us. We did same in Cement by opening up production plant and today Nigeria exports cement to other countries.”
The Dangote Industries boss said the Company would continue to focus on its business strategy which is to add value to Nigeria economy through investments and job creation for the teeming Nigerian masses.
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