The Federal Government has said that the 650,000-barrel-per-day Dangote Refinery must be supported at all costs to succeed. FG recently revealed that the $20 billion facility is a national asset that must be backed to function.
Speaking at the opening of the Nigerian Economic Summit 2025 in Abuja, Kashim Shettima declared that Nigeria is greater than PENGASSAN.
After last week’s industrial action by oil workers under the aegis of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, PENGASSAN, the Vice President described Aliko Dangote as an institution, not an individual, stressing that the Billionaire is a leading light in Nigeria’s economic parliament.
He stated that how Dangote is treated will determine how the world sees Nigeria as a country.
“Aliko Dangote, he’s not an individual, he’s an institution, and he’s a leading light in Nigeria’s economic parliament.
And how we treat this gentleman will determine how outsiders will judge us. If he had invested $10 billion in Microsoft, in Amazon, or in Google, he probably might be worth $70 to $80 billion by now.
But he opted to invest in his country, and we owe it to future generations to jealously protect, promote, preserve, and protect the interests of this great Nigeria,” he said.
Shettima further urged both labour and the organised private sector to improve their relationship to enhance Nigeria’s economic fortunes.
He concluded by saying that holding the entire country to ransom because of a small labour dispute is never the way to go.
“I wish to call for caution, retrospection, and a deeper sense of patriotism from both labour and the organised private sector in defining and improving the relationship between labour and industry in the interest of maintaining our steadily improving economic fortunes.
It’s not about holding the whole nation to ransom because of a minor labour dispute.
Nigeria is greater than PENGASSAN. Nigeria is greater than each and every one of us. I’m not coming to you as a partisan,” he added.
