A Northern group, Arewa Think Tank (ATTK), has blamed the fire incident that gutted part of Dangote Refinery in Lagos on Wednesday on those who don’t want Alhaji Aliko Dangote to succeed and who don’t want the Refinery to function.
Chief Convener of Arewa Think Tank, Muhammad Alhaji Yakubu, in a statement on Wednesday described such people as enemies of Nigeria, who doesn’t want any good thing to come out of the country and would go to any length to frustrate President Bola Tinubu’s government from succeeding in making socio-economic life better for the citizens.
He said, “Enemies of Nigeria are at work, those who don’t want Dangote and Tinubu to succeed, Nigeria and Nigerians will eventually triumph.
“The fire is happening few days after the owner of the refinery, Aliko Dangote explained how International Oil Companies (IOC) are trying to frustrate him. We want to urge Aliko Dangote not to be disturbed because the journey to success is full of challenges, and it is our belief that despite the fire that gutted part of the Refinery, it will bounce back to function soon. Saboteurs and enemies of progress will definitely be put to shame because that section of the Refinery is still under construction aiming to ease the problem of fuel crisis in the country.
“It is unfortunate that some dubious persons wanted to destroy the Refinery which is the world’s largest single-train refinery owned by Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote who has been contributing to economic development of our dear country, Nigeria. We are however happy that the fire which occurred at its effluent treatment plant was swiftly contained, and there was no recorded injury or body harm to any staff on duty. Nigerians should be grateful as a people that Aliko Dangote decided to create employment by citing the Refinery in the country instead of taking it to neighbouring countries.
“We should be grateful to him for being patriotic by citing the refinery in Lagos which is situated on a 6,180 acres (2,500 hectares) site at the Lekki Free Trade Zone, Lekki, Lagos state. It is supplied with crude oil by the largest sub-sea pipeline infrastructure of the world (1,100 km long). When fully operational it will provide 135,000 permanent jobs in the region. We still remember that sometimes in April, President Bola Tinubu commended Dangote Refinery for reducing the price of Automotive Gas Oil (AGO), also known as diesel from N1,200 to N1,000 per litre.
“It is our belief that the significant reduction in the price of diesel is expected to positively affect all the spheres of the economy and ultimately reduce the high inflation rate. President Tinubu also underlined the importance of Federal Government’s 20% stake in Dangote Refinery and why such public private partnerships are essential to advancing the overall well-being of the country.
“For us at Arewa Think Tank, it is a big sabotage for unscrupulous elements to set the Refinery ablaze at a time President Tinubu is determined to take Nigeria to the next level of socio-economic advancement.”
