Oluchi Chibuzor
The Minister of State for Industry, John Enoh, has stated that the President/Chief Executive of Dangote Industries, Aliko Dangote is the driving force behind the successful launch of the Nigeria Industrial Policy (NIP), even as he said his ministry was targeting a rise in manufacturing sector contribution to gross domestic product (GDP) to about 20 per cent by 2030 and 25 per cent by 2035.
Enoh gave the commendation while leading a high-level delegation on an extensive tour of the 700,000 barrels-per-day Dangote Petroleum Refinery, the Dangote Petrochemicals complex and Dangote Fertiliser Limited in Lagos.
He was accompanied by officials of his ministry, including the Special Assistant to the President on Industrial Training and Manpower, the Director-General of the Industrial Training Fund and the Director-General of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN).
Enoh who described Dangote as Nigeria’s foremost industrialist, stated; “He is Nigeria’s champion. I mean, it’s even understated when they call him Africa’s wealthiest man,” the minister said, adding that Dangote’s presence at the NIP’s launch in February “gave it the prominence it now has.”
The minister disclosed that his ministry had met its first 90-day implementation benchmark under the industrial policy, and said the manufacturing GDP targets were closely tied to continued investment from Dangote’s businesses. He also confirmed that discussions were ongoing with relevant authorities over a naira-for-crude arrangement for the refinery, expressing hope that talks would conclude favourably.
On the visit’s outcomes, Enoh said his ministry would present Dangote with a three-point request built around industrial training and skills development, including support for an estimated 65,000 additional trained personnel required for the refinery’s next phase of expansion; downstream value-chain development around the petrochemicals complex; and closer collaboration on free trade zone projects such as the one recently commissioned in Ondo State.
The minister also expressed delight about the level of the refinery’s automation, which he said had reduced human presence on site largely to security personnel.
Responding, Dangote commended President Bola Tinubu for appointing Enoh to the industry portfolio, describing the minister’s commitment to the sector as unmatched by his predecessors.
“I must also thank His Excellency, Mr President, for appointing people like Senator Enoh. We’ve had a lot of ministers of industry, but the commitment that we have from him, I can tell you, is none compared to the rest. His commitment is absolute,” he said.
Dangote also threw his weight behind Tinubu’s ambition to grow Nigeria into a $1 trillion economy, declaring that his own conglomerate had carved out a $100 billion target from that vision by 2030.
“The vision of Mr President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, a $1 trillion economy, I think is more than achievable. That’s why we took out from that vision of $1 trillion to carve our own vision, we have seen that, yes, we can do $100 billion out of that $1 trillion,” he said.
He disclosed that the refinery alone now processes about 10 per cent of America’s total refining capacity and accounts for roughly 2.5 per cent of the world’s traded crude, buying into what he described as a daily global trade volume of about 66 million barrels out of 100 million barrels produced.
He linked the refinery’s scale to Nigeria’s broader push for foreign exchange stability, predicting that sustained industrial growth could pull the naira down to about N1,000 to the dollar by the middle of 2028, from levels above N1,380 currently. He recalled that the refinery was conceived when the exchange rate stood at N156 to the dollar, and that construction continued through subsequent devaluations partly financed through an unsecured, unrated corporate bond, the first time, he said, that a private Nigerian company had raised debt priced below the sovereign’s own rating.
Dangote also used the visit to press home a separate appeal for the Bank of Industry, urging the Federal Government to help unlock funds so the development bank could extend cheaper credit to manufacturers, recalling that he had once borrowed at an interest rate of 44 per cent to build the Obajana cement plant in Kogi State.
He disclosed that Dangote Cement alone paid about N1 trillion in taxes last financial year, and projected the figure could rise to N1.5 trillion this year based on half-year results, while combined investment in the petrochemicals and fertiliser businesses stood at close to $9 billion. He urged the government to prioritise policy consistency over fresh incentives, arguing that Nigerian manufacturers no longer needed additional tax breaks, and to deepen engagement with domestic investors as the surest route to attracting foreign capital.
The refinery, the Petrochemicals complex and Dangote Fertiliser Limited form the core of the Dangote Group’s downstream diversification from cement and sugar, and have been positioned by the Federal Government as central to Nigeria’s industrialisation agenda under the Nigeria Industrial Policy.