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Ex-Governor denies claims he frustrated Dangote’s refinery project in Rivers.
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He says Africa’s richest man only sought land for a gas plant near Onne Seaport.
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However, the Allegations brewed heated reactions among Rivers elders and stakeholders.
Former Rivers State Governor, Rt Hon Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi, has rejected allegations that he denied Rivers people the multibillion-dollar Dangote Refinery.
He insisted that Africa’s richest man, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, never sought land in the state for such a project but only made a request for a gas plant near the Onne Seaport.
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The statement has revived debates in Rivers State politics over how the state lost out on hosting the landmark refinery.
Amaechi’s clarification followed claims by former federal lawmaker, Hon Chidi Wihioka, who alleged that the ex-governor frustrated Dangote’s plan to situate the refinery in Port Harcourt because of personal demands.
Responding through Chief Eze Chukwuemeka Eze, a former National Publicity Secretary of the defunct New People’s Democratic Party (nPDP), Amaechi described the claims as false and deliberately misleading.
He explained that Dangote had already begun construction of the Lagos refinery when he visited Port Harcourt, clarifying that the visit was only to request land for a gas plant.
According to him, a site opposite Onne Seaport was allocated for the purpose, but the investor never returned to develop the location.
“I never asked Dangote for anything. I willingly gave him land opposite Onne Seaport, but he never came back. The refinery project was already in Lagos before his visit to Rivers,” Amaechi said.
The controversy deepened after Wihioka, who represented Ikwerre/Emohua Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, alleged that Dangote abandoned Rivers because of Amaechi’s “unreasonable demands.”
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The claim triggered heated debates among Rivers stakeholders, with prominent voices urging the former governor to clear the air given the economic importance of the refinery.
One of such voices, Chief Bob Wali, stressed the urgency for Amaechi to provide clarification, pointing to the scale of the refinery, which today stands as Nigeria’s single largest private-sector investment.
The Dangote Refinery, now located in Lagos, has a production capacity of 650,000 barrels per day and was inaugurated in 2023.
It is projected to drastically reduce Nigeria’s reliance on imported petroleum products and alter the nation’s energy market.
