The Vice President of Oil and Gas at Dangote Industries Limited, Mr. Devakumar Edwin, has said the Chairman of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, should be praised for taking the challenge that international oil companies (IOCs) could not take for Nigeria.
Devakumar Edwin said unlike Shell, ExxonMobil and Chevron as well as other international oil companies, a Nigerian company built the world’s largest single-train refinery. This, he said, was to boost the economy of Nigeria and address perennial issues plaguing the oil sector.
He stated this while receiving members of the Senate Committee on Trade and Investment at the refinery complex in Lekki, Lagos State.
Edwin told the senators, led by the Chairman of the Committee, Sadiq Umar, that Dangote Refinery deserves to support of the country to grow and achieve its objective.
“Here, a Nigerian company took up the challenge that nobody, like Shell, Chevron or ExxonMobil, has ever done in any part of the world. So, the Nigerian company, Dangote Projects Limited, took up the challenge and built the refinery on time. And this is the world’s largest single-train refinery,” he said.
On his part, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Trade and Investment, Umar, assured the refinery of the National Assembly’s support.
According to him, the $20 billion project is a national asset that must be protected.
He explained that it was the responsibility of the government and Nigerians to protect the national assets.
“For us as legislators, you can rest assured that we know what you have done here; we know what it means to the country. We will do anything within our power to see how we can support you to succeed so that Nigeria can succeed.
“This investment we have seen here is an investment for the country and the world, not necessarily for Dangote himself. It is our responsibility to see what we need to do to encourage him.
“I am sure you can see a lot of actions in what the president has done to support him so that the country will be better for it,” Arise quoted Umar.