The Nigerian government has praised billionaire industrialist Aliko Dangote for putting national development ahead of potential profits from global tech investments, highlighting the significance of his $19 billion Dangote Refinery project.
Speaking at the Taraba International Investment Summit 2025 in Jalingo, Vice President Kashim Shettima, representing President Tinubu, said Dangote could have invested his money in major tech companies like Microsoft, Amazon, or Google, which would have made him worth about $120 billion today.
“I want to celebrate the greatest black man in the last 300 years, who single-handedly established the largest single train refinery in the world,” Shettima said.
“He started this project in 2007/2008. If he had invested the $19 billion that it took him to set up the Dangote Refinery in Microsoft, Amazon, or Google, he would be worth $120 billion now. But he decided to invest in his own country. Alhaji Aliko Dangote, we are mightily proud of you,” he added.
The Vice President emphasized that Nigeria’s economic growth must start at the grassroots and rely on locally sourced resources.
The Dangote Refinery, the largest single-train oil refinery in the world and Africa’s biggest, is Dangote’s most ambitious project to date.
Since the refinery’s launch, Dangote’s net worth doubled to $28 billion last year, up from around $13 billion, securing his position as Africa’s richest man.
The refinery, designed to process 650,000 barrels of crude oil daily, aims to reduce Nigeria’s long-standing dependence on imported refined petroleum products.
Although delayed for several years, the refinery began producing diesel, naphtha, and jet fuel in January last year, with petrol production starting in September.
The facility’s capacity exceeds that of the ten largest refineries in Europe combined.
According to the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), the Dangote Refinery is already disrupting the European oil market.
Economists believe it could eventually end the $17 billion annual gasoline trade from Europe to Africa.
This project marks a turning point in Nigeria’s oil industry, showing how local investment and infrastructure can reshape the country’s economy.
