Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has inaugurated the multi-billion dollar Dangote Fertiliser Plant in Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos, as the oil-rich West African nation drives towards attaining self-sufficiency in food production and creating more jobs for its citizens.
Inaugurating Fertiliser Plant on Tuesday in Lagos, President Buhari expressed delight that the plant would further advance his administration’s drive towards achieving self-sufficiency in food production in Nigeria.
“I commend the Chairman, Board, and Management of Dangote Industries Limited for their business initiative in building this plant to reduce our dependence on importation of fertiliser, create jobs on a massive scale, increase the inflow of foreign exchange and accelerate economic growth,” he said.
According to him, the new plant is a testament to the widely acknowledged patriotism of Aliko Dangote and the leadership of Dangote Industries Limited and also demonstrates their commitment to the socio-economic development of Nigeria and the wellbeing of the people.
“I am confident that the investment in this plant will replicate the group’s earlier exploit in the cement sector where Dangote Cement holds the enviable record as our continent’s largest cement producer with footprints in 10 other African countries. The group’s investment in integrated cement plants, spanning the value chain from quarry to bagging has effectively ended Nigeria’s dependence on imported cement products.”
According to the Nigerian leader, Dangote Industries Limited, along with several other subsidiaries, has created thousands of jobs across the country.
He described the company as the second biggest employer of labour in Nigeria after the Federal Government, stressing the importance of job creation by private sector operators to national security.
In his remarks at the ceremony, the President of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, said that the plant would make Nigeria self-sufficient in fertiliser production, with excess capacity to export to other African markets and the rest of the world.
According to Dangote, the plant is the largest granulated urea plant in Africa and the second-largest in the world.
He assured that the plant would help Nigeria retain about $125 million in import substitution and provide $625 million from exports of its products.
GIK/APA