President Muhammadu Buhari Tuesday declared that Nigeria\u2019s dependence on imported products in the agriculture sector will soon be a thing of the past with the inauguration of Dangote Fertilizer Plant, which has an installed capacity of 3.0 million metric tonnes of Urea per annum.<\/p>\n
Speaking at the commissioning of the plant in Ibeju Lekki, Lagos State, the President said the plant will further advance Nigeria\u2019s drive towards achieving self-sufficiency in food production, create jobs, increase the inflow of foreign exchange and accelerate economic growth.<\/p>\n
He commended the Chairman, Board and Management of Dangote Industries Limited for their business initiative in conceptualizing and building this plant, which is the second largest in the world.<\/p>\n
The President expressed confidence that the investment in the plant will replicate the Group\u2019s earlier exploits in the cement sector, where Dangote Cement holds the enviable record as the continent\u2019s largest cement producer, with footprints in ten other African countries.<\/p>\n
\u2018\u2018This new plant is a renewed testament to the widely acknowledged patriotism of Alhaji Aliko Dangote and the leadership of Dangote Industries Limited. It also demonstrates their commitment to the socio-economic development of our country and the well-being of our people.<\/p>\n
\u2018\u2018The Group\u2019s investment in integrated cement plants, spanning the value chain from quarry to \u2018bagging, has effectively ended Nigeria\u2019s dependence on imported cement products.<\/p>\n
\u2018\u2018Along with the several other subsidiaries, Dangote Industries Limited has created thousands of jobs across Nigeria. It is the second biggest employer of labour in this country, after the Federal Government.<\/p>\n
\u2018\u2018This is very pleasing because job creation by private sector operators is vital to security as it takes thousands of youths off the street,\u2019\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n
On other benefits of the plant, the President expressed delight that with the commencement of exports to other countries including the United States, India, and Brazil, Nigeria is already gaining extensively in earnings of foreign exchange from the excess production of, and export from, the plant.<\/p>\n
He noted that coming on stream of the plant had created huge opportunities in the areas of job creation, trade, warehousing, transport, and logistics, which would, in turn, create significant wealth, reduce poverty, and help in securing the future of the nation.<\/p>\n
\u2018\u2018In the agricultural sector, another focal point of our economic policy, we expect a boom as fertilizer is now readily available in greater quantities and better quality.<\/p>\n
\u2018\u2018Many Nigerians who hitherto practiced subsistence farming because of nonavailability of necessary inputs can now take up agriculture as a business.<\/p>\n
\u2018\u2018We expect the rise of a new breed of agropreneurs who will add value to farming and make the nation self-sufficient in food production,\u2019\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n
President Buhari used the occasion to reassure Nigerians that his government is focused on providing an enabling environment for the private sector to thrive, pledging continuity in improving infrastructure, power and security as well as enacting relevant laws and regulations to drive investments in the economy.<\/p>\n
\u2018\u2018We are partnering with the private sector, through a tax credit scheme, in the rehabilitation of roads across Nigeria under Presidential Order No. 7.<\/p>\n
\u2018\u2018As we know, good roads contribute to easy movement of goods and services across the nation, thus reducing the cost of doing business and improving productivity.<\/p>\n
\u2018\u2018We are also rehabilitating our railway lines and building new ones to lessen the burden on our roads and create more effective multi-modal transportation networks,\u2019\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n
\u2018\u2018I look forward to coming back to inaugurate the Refinery and petrochemical plant later in the year.<\/p>\n
\u2018\u2018Projects of this magnitude and complexity require the support and collaboration of many persons and organisations. I am grateful to all of them.<\/p>\n
\u2018\u2018In particular, I would like to commend the Central Bank of Nigeria, the Development Finance Institutions and the Local and Foreign Commercial Banks that have supported the investor to make these projects a reality,\u2019\u2019 the President declared.<\/p>\n
Lauding Dangote for helping to rebrand Nigeria through his mega investments across Africa, President Buhari said:<\/p>\n
\u2018\u2018He has fueled job-led growth and transformation of several African economies. I am proud of his contribution to affirming Nigeria\u2019s leadership status in the continent, and I wish him many more successes in the future.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
After the historic inauguration, President Buhari inspected the Group’s\u00a0650,000 barrels per day Petroleum Refinery and 900,000 tonnes per annum Polypropylene Plant sited within the Dangote Free Trade Zone Complex.<\/p>\n
In his remarks, Dangote said the fertiliser complex, which occupies 500 hectares and built at a cost of $2.5 billion will\u00a0drastically reduce the level of unemployment and\u00a0youth restiveness in the country, through generation\u00a0of direct and indirect employment.<\/p>\n
”Agriculture accounts for over 20 per cent of Nigeria\u2019s GDP, and the country is a leading producer of various agricultural commodities. The sector has the potential of becoming the biggest source of income for our Nation, providing employment and raw materials for industries.<\/p>\n
”However, low fertilizer\u00a0usage has been a major reason for low productivity\u00a0 in the sector. It is common knowledge that non availability of the product, in quantity and quality,\u00a0 rather than affordability, is the primary constraint to\u00a0the use of fertilizer.<\/p>\n
”Our goal is to make fertiliser available in sufficient\u00a0quantities and quality for our teeming farmers\u00a0assuring greater agricultural output,” he said.<\/p>\n
The Chief Executive of Dangote Industries expressed immense gratitude to President Buhari, for his sustained support and\u00a0encouragement, and for honoring the invitation to\u00a0come, in person, and inaugurate the plant.<\/p>\n
He also commended the leaders of the host communities and their people for providing a peaceful and conducive environment for the project to thrive, recognizing the\u00a0many years of enthusiastic teamwork, labour, toil\u00a0and sweat of the Management and Staff of Dangote\u00a0 Group for their commitment to high performance,\u00a0 perseverance and resilience.<\/p>\n
The governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, recounted the role played by a former governor of the State, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, in the establishment of the fertiliser plant and the refinery.<\/p>\n
”The idea of having a free zone in the Ibeju Lekki was conceived by our leader Asiwaju Bola Ahmed\u00a0 Tinubu.<\/p>\n
”I was with him in 2003, when we took a trip to China and we were trying to conceive a free zone and this is where we are.<\/p>\n
”The free zone is not only home to the largest fertilizer plant in Africa but will certainly be home to the largest refinery,” Sanwo-Olu said.<\/p>\n
He thanked the President for coming to Lagos, adding that he looked forward to receiving him in a few months\u2019 time to commission more projects.<\/p>\n
\u25aa\ufe0e Report by Garba Shehu<\/strong>, Senior Special Assistant to the President, (Media & Publicity)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" President Muhammadu Buhari Tuesday declared that Nigeria\u2019s dependence on imported products in the agriculture sector will soon be a thing of the past with the inauguration of Dangote Fertilizer Plant, which has an installed capacity of 3.0 million metric tonnes of Urea per annum. Speaking at the commissioning of the plant in Ibeju Lekki, Lagos […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":56704,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5779],"tags":[31,1363,4560],"class_list":["post-56703","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-agriculture","tag-buhari","tag-dangote","tag-fertiliser"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56703","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=56703"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56703\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=56703"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=56703"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=56703"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}