President of Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote has decided to wade in and address the debilitating power challenge in Lagos.
According to the billionnaire businessman and Africa’s richest man, plans have been concluded by his company to construct a gas pipeline to address power supply challenges in Lagos State.
Dangote who was on a courtesy visit to the office of the Lagos State governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, on Thursday, said that when the scheme is concluded the state will never experience power blackouts again.
Power is seen as one of the major challenges to Nigeria’s industrial growth and development.
Dangote Group has had to generate its electricity to power it operations in most of its plants.
He “We also assured him that we are going to do a Gas Pipeline from Bonny (River State) to pass under the sea (to Lagos.) When it is completed, Lagos state will never ever experience blackout. There will be electricity 24 hours a day,” Dangote told journalists after the meeting with Ambode.
Dangote said they also discussed the ongoing construction of the largest fertilizer plant of two to three million tonnes of Uranium and Amonia in the Lekki Free Trade Zone, Ibeju-Lekki.
The company, he added, is also building ”the largest ever single refinery of 650,000 barrels per day, which is by far more than the consumption of Nigeria and that would satisfy our consumption at least for the next seven to 10 years by the time we finish.”
he said, ‘’We will have challenge in getting people to work there, because at the height of it, there will be close to 38,000 people working at the same location, this is something that we have to partner with the state government.
‘’Having 38,000 people on one site, not every one of them will be from the community, others will be from other states, there would be cultural issues and all that, we need to integrate everybody to ensure that the whole thing works out fine.”
Dangote only last week opened a cement plant in Ethiopia as he extends the frontiers of his business as part of the objective to be dominant cement company on the continent.
He stressed that the visit afforded him the opportunity to assure the governor of his commitment to complete these ongoing projects already embarked upon by the company.
The business mogul promised to continue to support the state government initiatives geared towards securing lives and properties, adding “I have assured him that we really love doing business here, it’s a friendly state for doing business.”
He said, “There are quite a lot of things that will come along with creating so many jobs. I think Lagos will be one of the fastest growing cities in Nigeria and Africa as a whole.
‘’ I can assure you that we would do our own bit in terms of your efforts in policing Lagos, for security and whatever the need is, feel free to call us, we would partner with you and whatever you want us to do to make Lagos a better place”.
Responding, Ambode vowed to embark on strategies that would open the state for new investors, aimed at reducing the rate of unemployment in the state.
He said “I will just call on other investors that wherever it is that we can assist we are willing and ready to make sure that investors have comfortable life and comfortable business profile in Lagos State.”
The governor promised that his administration would open up the state to attract new investors and growth of existing business in the state, adding that the bottom line “is to create jobs for our youths.”
