By President of the ECOWAS Commission, Dr Omar Alieu Touray, descrided declared the Dangote Refinery as a beacon of hope for Africa’s future, and a clear demonstration of what the private sector can achieve in the drive for regional industrialisation.
Touray made the remark when he led a delegation that included ECOWAS Commissioner for Infrastructure, Energy and Digitalisation, Sediko Douka; Commissioner of Internal Services, Prof. Nazifi Abdullahi Darma; Director of Private Sector/SME, Dr Tony Luka Elumelu; and Dr Touray’s Chief of Staff, Abdou Kolley to the refinery.
“What I have seen today gives me a lot of hope, and everybody who doesn’t believe in Africa should come here. Visiting here will give you more hope because this is exactly what our continent should focus on,” Touray remarked, visibly moved by the scale and sophistication of the facility.
“We have seen something I couldn’t have imagined, and really the capacity in all areas is impressive. We congratulate Alhaji Dangote for this trust in Africa because I think you do this only when you have the trust, and he has a vision for Africa, and this is what we should all work to encourage.”
Touray noted that the refinery, which produces fuel to Euro V standard, is critical for enabling the ECOWAS region to meet its 50ppm sulphur limit for petroleum products-a standard many imported fuels fail to meet, posing health and environmental risks across member states.
“We are still importing products below our standard when a regional company such as Dangote can meet and exceed these requirements,” he said. “The private sector must take the lead in ECOWAS industrialisation.”
The ECOWAS Commission President used the visit to call for stronger collaboration between governments and the private sector, stressing that policy decisions must reflect the real challenges and opportunities experienced by African industrialists.
“We believe our visit also serves as an opportunity to hear directly from Mr Dangote, about what the private sector expects from the ECOWAS community,” Dr Touray remarked, noting that as ECOWAS celebrates its 50th anniversary, the community is more committed than ever to bringing the private sector to the table-to listen to their perspectives and to understand how best to create an environment that works for them.
“We cannot continue to make decisions on behalf of the private sector from a distance. Visits like this provide us with first-hand experience and direct insight into the challenges they face—challenges that authorities and government officials must work to address,” he added.
President of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, led the ECOWAS delegation on a detailed tour of the facility, explaining the challenges and milestones involved in bringing the world’s largest single-train refinery to life.
He reiterated his longstanding position that Africa’s continued dependence on imported goods is unsustainable and hinders economic sovereignty.
“As long as we continue importing what we can produce, we will remain underdeveloped,” Dangote said. “This refinery is proof that we can build for ourselves at scale, to global standards.”
He noted that the Dangote Refinery is fully equipped to meet the petroleum needs of Nigeria and the entire West African region, countering claims that the facility would not produce enough for local and regional demand.
“There have been many claims suggesting that we don’t even produce enough to meet Nigeria’s needs, so how could we possibly supply other West African countries? But now, they are here to see the reality for themselves and, more importantly, to encourage other nations to embark on similarly large-scale industrial projects,” he said.
