ICYMI: How Dangote Refinery Was Relocated From Rivers to Lagos

The Dangote Petroleum Refinery was moved from Rivers State to Lagos State due to the actions of the Rivers State Government and some local governments in the state.

Ibifiri Bobmanuel, President of the Rivers Entrepreneur and Investors’ Forum made the revelation in an interview with DAILY POST.

Bobmanuel revealed that the forum dialogued with the management of the Dangote Group and also wrote the Federal government to prevent the refineries from being moved to Lagos.

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He disclosed that the Rivers State Government and the local governments where the refineries were to be located, Okrika and Eleme, made huge demands from the Dangote Group. These demands led the group to move the refineries to Lagos.

Bobmanuel said:
“The Dangote refinery was to be situated in Rivers State and later they made a U-turn and went to Lagos, and we were very miffed by the whole approach.

“We wrote a couple of letters to the management of the Dangote group.

“We went as far as writing to the Federal Government.

“When they called for a meeting with us, we went for that meeting. It was discovered that the investment that was meant to be situated in Rivers State, precisely Okrika and Eleme Local Government Areas, they got preliminary land acquisition and agreement and perfected all that.

“But the amount of pushback and demands that were from the state government at that time, obviously, left them with no other option but to go and situate the business at a location where they were welcomed.”

Bobmanuel observed that the Rivers State Government, local governments, and communities lacked how to negotiate with business owners to attract businesses.

He said:

“This brings us back to what we at the Investors’ Forum have always talked about. We’ve always felt the Rivers State Government, the local governments and the communities need to understand the language of businesses.

“You can only imagine the amount of impact the refinery is going to have on the IGR of Lagos State. Imagine if that investment was situated in Rivers State.”

He advised the incoming government in Rivers State to understand the importance of private participation in governance.