By Chidipeters Okorie, Lagos Nigeria
Lagos, NIGERIA – As President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday inaugurated the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals at Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos State, which is currently the world’s largest single-train petroleum refiner, the Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, made a surprise appearance at the inauguration venue as invited guest.
On arrival to the venue, Obi was seen received by the Chairman of Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote who was in company of the Central Bank Governor Godwin Emefiele.
The venue was filled with dignitaries from Nigeria and across the shores. The excitement of the audience grew. With every progressive announcement of invited guests, the noise in the audience increased, from a dull roar to a thunder by applauses.
Finally it came to a climax as Peter Obi in his usual manner quietly stepped into the venue, obviously doesn’t want to be noticed, yet the audience was enraptured, the arena echoed with the cheers and pleasantries as he exchanged banters and greetings with other dignitaries.
The visibly excited Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwus, could be heard saying, this is Obi-Tsunami, the Tsunami himself is here!!!
Senior government officials from Nigeria and other African countries attended the inauguration at the Dangote Industries Free Zone, Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos State. Attendees include governors, lawmakers, government functionaries, royal fathers, captains of industries and prominent Nigerians from all walks of life.
Reacting to the project on his Twitter handle, Obi, who is a former Anambra State governor, said the world-class project would be “very beneficial to Nigeria’s economy”.
His statement reads:
“I congratulate Alhaji Aliko Dangote for this world-class project which I believe will be very beneficial to Nigeria’s economy.
“The refinery with a capacity of 650,000 barrels of crude oil per day when operated maximally, is expected to meet Nigeria’s domestic demand for petroleum products and help Nigeria to save the much-needed foreign exchange currently spent on the importation of such products.
“By supplying the surplus to the International markets, Nigeria will reposition itself as a key player in the downstream petroleum sector of the global market. In moving Nigeria from consumption to production,
“I have always argued for greater private sector participation in the economy as exemplified by the Dangote Group. I believe the Dangote Refinery will be very beneficial to the nation’s economy.
“By moving Nigeria from a net importer to a net exporter of petroleum products, this refinery will create numerous jobs and generate needed foreign exchange inflow.
“This refinery is another milestone towards the New Nigeria, to which I am committed. That new nation will be an enabling environment for a booming private sector that will see the rise of many micro,small and medium-scale businesses that will boost the nation’s economy and foster increased productivity among our people.”
Meanwhile thousands of people have taken to the social media to commend Peter Obi for attending the inauguration.
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