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BREAKING: Tinubu is the ‘godfather’ of my refinery – Dangote
Aliko Dangote, President of Dangote Group, on Thursday, named President Bola Tinubu as the godfather of the Dangote Refinery, for being the brainchild of the Lekki Free Trade Zone, the precursor to the project, reputed to be the world’s largest single-chain refinery.
Praising the President for taking the initiative as Governor of Lagos State, he said that the initiative gave birth to the dream of establishing the refinery, the first and only privately-owned facility in Africa, he said, such a feat qualified him to be seen as the brain-child of the project.
Dangote, who spoke on Thursday during the inauguration of the Lekki Deep-Sea Concrete Road by President Tinubu, also hailed the administration’s “Naira-for-crude” exchange policy as a bold signal of Nigeria’s economic sovereignty.
“It gives me immense pleasure to welcome Your Excellency on your visit to the Dangote Refinery and Petroleum Chemicals Complex, and also to commission Deep Sea, Concrete Road, and other roads which you graciously approved,” Dangote began.
“I must emphasise that the Dangote Petroleum Refinery Complex is, in many ways, your brainchild. The Lekki Free Trade Zone, the site of this industrial complex, was established during your tenure as Governor of Lagos. Today, you are witnessing the tangible fruits of that vision. You are a visionary leader.”
He added that although Tinubu had admitted not envisioning the scale of today’s industrial hub when he initiated the zone, the results speak volumes of his foresight.
“When we were in the car, I asked you a question – did you ever really think about this kind of industrial complex when you were trying to do the Free Trade Zone? And your answer was no. But because you are a visionary leader, what you have seen today is only the beginning. We’ve just started.
“One of your administration’s most transformative initiatives is the historic ‘Naira-for-crude’ policy, which stands out as a clear testament to your commitment to economic recovery and national sovereignty. This bold policy has enabled us at Dangote Petroleum Refinery to reduce product prices consistently and guarantee availability for the overall benefit of Nigerians.”
“Some may think that petrol at less than ₦900 is expensive, but there is nowhere in West Africa where petrol is not selling above $1 – that’s ₦1,600. This policy has also helped significantly in stabilising prices of petrol, diesel, jet fuel, LPG, and polypropylene to their lowest levels ever. The effect of this development is the stabilisation of our currency, a critical element in economic policy and business planning.”
Also lauding Tinubu’s Nigeria First policy, the African Richest Man (ARM) said he was excited that the President was thinking in the direction of Nigeria reducing reliance on imports and prioritising local production and patronage, saying: “Importation means import of poverty and export of jobs.
“This policy aligns with our group’s vision of producing what we consume to promote self-sufficiency in meeting the basic needs of our people. We all have to align with this policy. In America, they practise America First. Here in Africa, you are the first to say Nigeria First. This is highly commendable.
“Our group will be expending about ₦900 billion on eight road infrastructure projects across the country. The Deep-Sea Concrete Road you’re commissioning today is just one. We are also working on roads in Borno State to link Chad and Cameroon. The refinery provides critical raw materials for several industries — plastics, pharmaceuticals, packaging, construction and more. Its operations and the broader downstream value chain will generate significant employment for Nigerians. Many filling stations that had shut down are now back in business. There are no more fuel queues, and there will never be again.”
Reaffirming the synergy between private enterprise and purposeful leadership, Dangote said: “This refinery symbolises what can be achieved when the private sector and a purposeful government work together. And I believe, Mr. President, you are the right partner to make Nigeria great. Your leadership is decisive and reassuring.
“By the time we start practising your overhauled tax regime, everyone will come to Aso Rock to thank you for that policy. You’ve directed a team of reform-minded technocrats — when I say ‘the lion,’ I think he knows himself. In 2024 alone, we paid about ₦402 billion in taxes including VAT, corporate, education, and health taxes. We remain Nigeria’s highest tax-paying company. Mr. President, you are a very courageous leader. Please continue with the great work you are doing. Mr. President, I want to just say one thing. Sir, the main road going into our refinery is going to now be called Bola Ahmed Tinubu Road.”
Peter Obi, candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), has given assignment to Nigerians to put all those aspiring to take up political positions in the country through the grill to ascertain their level of integrity, saying it was required as a sine qua non for the job they seek.
Obi, who has been a subject of discussion in the polity since the allegation of corruption was levied against him by Kenneth Okonkwo, spokesman of his campaign in 2023, over the conduct of the party’s primaries to choose candidates for the 2027 general elections, said the grilling must start with his own person.
A guest in an interview on a podcast with Rufai Oseni, a popular television anchor, the former Governor of Anambra State, stated that it was actually for this reason that he had now sworn to see the litigation he instituted against Okonkwo through.
His take is that the Nollywood actor should use the courtrooms to give all the details of bad behaviour, following his threat to expose him fully, after alleging that he was collecting money from aspirants in the said election for electoral favours.
Hear him: “The issue of taking Kenneth Okonkwo to court wouldn’t have arisen if he had stopped at those allegations. But he claimed he still has more he would expose about me in the future. So, I am very happy to take him to court so that he can expose me publicly, alongside other Nigerians. If any of them has any criminal allegations against me, they should bring them to court.
“Not just Kenneth, everybody should now say those things they know that is bad about me or I did that is wrong because it’s good for the system, it’s good for the society,” Obi said.
“So, if you know that when we were in primary school, this man was cheating or didn’t go to the primary school, didn’t go to secondary school, didn’t do, if you know this man has done something criminal somewhere, this is time to bring it up.”
For the umpteenth time, Atiku Abubakar, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has warned about the dangerous implication of using state institutions, particularly the judiciary to destroy Nigeria’s democracy, saying it is an ill-wind that blows nobody any good.
Atiku, presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), speaking on the heels of Tuesday’s verdict of the Court of Appeal, halting the de-registration order by the Federal High Court, insisted that judicial officers must not lend themselves to any act capable of undermining the nation’s democratic process.
The appellate court had ordered a stay of execution on the order made on Monday by Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court Abuja, for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to deregister the ADC alongside four other political parties).
A totally scandalised Court of Appeal, sitting in Abuja, had taken umbrage, sparing no hard words in upbraiding the lower court judge, stating that his likes were unfit to sit on the bench.
In a unanimous ruling by a three-man panel, the court held that Lifu’s action was “the highest form of judicial impertinence”, stressing that the Supreme Court previously held that a judge who acted in such a manner.
Describing his conduct as the height of judicial rascality, the upper court, stated: “Courts are enjoined to protect their integrity. This Court has supervisory authority over the trial court.
“The decision of the lower court to proceed with the judgment despite the express order of this court is a brazen violation of the hierarchy of the court and the 1999 Constitution.
This court has the duty to invoke its powers in ensuring that its orders are obeyed. The application for a stay of execution is here yet granted. The enforcement of the judgment is stayed.”
Atiku, who hailed the position of the higher court, which restored his hope to be on the ballot as presidential candidate in the 2027 election, also noted the role of INEC as “significant.”
He said: “I welcome the Court of Appeal’s decision to stay the execution of the Federal High Court judgement seeking the deregistration of our great party, the ADC, and four other political parties. It is particularly significant that INEC itself initiated the application for the stay.
“The development reflects growing public concern over judicial contradictions and politically charged rulings within the judiciary. “Any attempt to undermine Nigeria’s hard-won democracy through judicial manipulation is a grave danger to the Republic. If our democracy suffers further injury, history will demand accountability from those entrusted with dispensing justice.
Outside ADC, Lifu’s order, also included: Action Democratic Congress (ADC), Action Peoples Party (APP), Action Alliance (AA), Accord Party (AP) and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP), similarly slammed for allegedly failing to meet the constitutional requirements for continued registration and participation in elections.
“He is running in contempt of the court. Justice Lifu should be arrested because he is acting in contempt of the court which is a criminal act,” were the exact words with which the African Democratic Congress (ADC), demonstrated its angst over the court ruling on Monday, ordering its de-registration as a political party in Nigeria.
A furious Bolaji Abdullahi, spokesman of the party, told his host while appearing as a guest on Monday’s edition of Politics Today, a public affairs programme on Channels Television that the judge of the Abuja Federal High Court who gave the order was actually playing with fire because of the consequences.
Directly accusing him of playing the script of the All Progressives Congress (APC), to ensure that President Bola Tinubu emerged the sole candidate for the 2027 presidential election, the party spokesman, was emphatic that the plan would not work, as head or tail, ADC must be on the ballot in all the elections.
Hear him: “There is a Court of Appeal order saying don’t hear this case until October 27. So, on what basis? You can’t place something on nothing. The Court of Appeal said don’t act on this until I hear it on October 27. So, on what basis did he deliver the judgement
“So, for us in the African Democratic Congress, what we’re convinced and they know is what they have done has no leg to stand on legally. What they want to do is to create doubts in the minds of the people that this ADC has too many legal cases, can we actually run on this? And to distract us. But we’re not distracted.
“We’re very clear. It was in spite of all they have done since ADC came on board that we ran one of the best and one of the most comprehensive direct primaries in the history of democracy in Nigeria. So, we are strong enough to withstand this. And that’s why I’m saying that we are going to contest in 2027. We’re ADC. We don’t buckle before dictatorship.”
Stressing on the implication of the judgement, which also affected Accord Party (AP), Action Peoples Party (APP), Action Alliance (AA), and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) for allegedly failing to meet constitutional and electoral performance requirements, following a suit by the National Forum of Former Legislators, he said it portended grave danger.
He added: “We are not surprised. We know that the Nigerian people believe that there is a problem with the judiciary, but what we did not expect is the level of judicial rascality that was demonstrated today.
“What we are saying is that we reject it in its totality, and we are saying that the people behind this are playing with fire. Hundreds, if not thousands, have obtained nomination forms and contested elections and emerged as candidates on the platform of the ADC.”
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