Dangote Says Refinery Currently Employs 33,000 Nigerians, Targets 100,000 Jobs

Aliko Dangote, Chairman of the Dangote Group, has disclosed that the newly commissioned Dangote Refinery will make 100,000 jobs available when it becomes fully operational. The billionaire businessman said the refinery currently employs 33,000 Nigerians.

He revealed that the 650,000bpd capacity refinery targets the youth population in its employment drive.

Africa’s richest man disclosed this at the commissioning of the refinery, which was hailed as the biggest in Africa and the world’s largest single-train facility. He added that the refinery would generate over $21 billion in revenue and save Nigeria the much-needed foreign exchange which would have been used for fuel imports.

The statement suggests that the refinery will sell refined products to Nigeria in the local currency, contrary to speculations that it plans to sell them in dollars. According to him, 40% of products from the refinery will be available for export, generating raw materials for plastic and others.

At the refinery’s commissioning, members of Nigeria’s National Assembly, eminent persons, and other dignitaries were in attendance. In their goodwill messages, the Presidents of Ghana, Senegal, Niger, Benin Republic, and Chad expressed satisfaction that the Dangote Refinery would serve the West African region and that their countries would be beneficiaries.