I ll End Fuel Importation Into Nigeria In 4 Years..Aliko Dangote

Africa’s richest man and President of Dangote Group Alhaji Aliko Dangote yesterday promised to end fuel importation in Nigeria in four years when his proposed refinery comes on stream.

Work would commence later in the year on the proposed 400,000 barrels per day refinery which is expected to cost $4.25 billion, to be located in Ondo State, Dangote said in an interview after the Annual General Meeting of Dangote Cement in Abuja.

Dangote group would provide half of the money while the rest would be sourced from two foreign banks and Nigerian banks.

“We hope to start something by end of the year. We have put down 50 percent of the money. We have secured $4.25 billion from two foreign banks and the rest from local banks,” Dangote said.

Dangote is worth over $16 billion in net assets, according to Forbes Magazine, making him the richest on the continent.

He said while his investing in Nigeria is an ongoing business, he hopes to top it to over $20 billion in the next three years. His investment outside Nigeria is in excess of $5 billion.

Speaking on security threat to businesses, Dangote said his business was not significantly affected.

He said while the government is doing a lot in terms of tackling the security situation, people should support the government to make sure “they do what is right instead of confusing them and making noise all over the place.”

“In the north east and also parts of north west, we would be creating about 120,000 jobs, which has never happened in the history of Nigeria. This is what we intend to do in sugar alone. We thank government for bringing up this new sugar policy,” he said.