Alhaji Aliko Dangote envisioned ending Nigeria’s reliance on fuel importation and making Sub-Saharan Africa self-sufficient in energy. This vision led to the construction of the world’s largest single-train refinery; a 650,000-barrel-per-day facility located in Lagos State.
As time passed without any petroleum products from the refinery being made available, initial excitement gave way to skepticism. However, when hope was rekindled, controversies began to surface regarding the supply of crude oil to the refinery and its subsequent refining process.
Amid these controversies, Dangote Group’s Chief Executive Officer, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, publicly accused the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL), International Oil Companies (IOCs), and a global cartel in the energy sector of denying him crude oil supplies, thereby sabotaging his efforts to make Nigeria energy-sufficient.
Despite these hurdles, the refinery began test runs for petrol production on August 23 and officially rolled out petrol on September 3, 2024, over a year after its launch in May 2023. This marks the end of an old chapter and the beginning of a new one.
As Nigeria grapples with fuel scarcity and rising prices in recent weeks, the Dangote Refinery’s rollout offers a glimmer of hope. Yet, questions linger: Will the refinery’s production bring relief from fuel scarcity? How soon will it impact the forex market? Will the naira stabilize or even appreciate against the dollar?
While citizens await the Federal Executive Council (FEC) to establish a new pricing structure for petrol produced at the Dangote Refinery, Nigerians are left asking: What’s next?
Rabi Ummi Umar, Al-Hikmah University, Ilorin.
