The Federal Government on Monday underscored the vital importance of the 650,000-barrel-per-day Dangote Refinery, insisting that it must be supported at all costs to ensure its success.
Vice President Kashim Shettima and Minister of Budget and National Planning, Senator Atiku Bagudu, made this known during the opening of the Nigerian Economic Summit 2025 in Abuja.
They described the $20 billion facility as a national asset that requires collective protection and commitment to function optimally.
Following the recent industrial action by members of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), Shettima reaffirmed the government’s stance, stressing that “Nigeria is greater than PENGASSAN.”
He added, “Aliko Dangote, he’s not an individual, he’s an institution, and he’s a leading light in Nigeria’s economic parliament. And how we treat this gentleman will determine how outsiders will judge us. If he had invested $10 billion in Microsoft, in Amazon, or in Google, he probably might be worth $70 to $80 billion by now.
“But he opted to invest in his country, and we owe it to future generations to jealously protect, promote, preserve, and protect the interests of this great Nigeria.
“I wish to call for caution, retrospection, and a deeper sense of patriotism from both labour and the organised private sector in defining and improving the relationship between labour and industry in the interest of maintaining our steadily improving economic fortunes.
“It’s not about holding the whole nation to ransom because of a minor labour dispute.
“Nigeria is greater than PENGASSAN. Nigeria is greater than each and every one of us. I’m not coming to you as a partisan.”