President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is set to visit the Dangote Petroleum Refinery on Thursday (today), marking his first official tour of the massive facility since assuming office.
A senior source involved in the visit’s planning confirmed the development to Petroleumprice.ng, noting that the President’s presence is expected to send a strong signal of federal backing for domestic refining.
Located in the Lekki Free Zone, the 650,000-barrel-per-day plant is Africa’s biggest oil refinery and is designed to produce petrol, diesel, cooking gas, aviation fuel, and other petroleum products.
Ahead of the visit, operations at the refinery’s gantry were temporarily scaled down on Wednesday. A source familiar with the refinery’s logistics said this was part of the protocol to prepare for the President’s tour.
“The adjustment is purely temporary. Operations will resume normally once the presidential convoy departs,” the source explained.
Analysts see Tinubu’s planned inspection as a strategic endorsement of local refining efforts, especially at a time when Nigeria is grappling with high import bills and naira depreciation.
“Every litre refined locally means less pressure on the naira and fewer dollars spent on importing petrol,” said one energy expert, who welcomed the development.
The plant, owned by billionaire industrialist Aliko Dangote, is expected to boost fuel security, create thousands of jobs, and increase tax revenues for Lagos State and the federal government once fully operational.
On Tuesday, Dangote was seen alongside President Tinubu during an event honouring Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist Bill Gates with a national award. The joint appearance has been viewed by observers as a sign of growing cooperation between the billionaire and the presidency.
The upcoming tour underscores the strategic importance of the Dangote Refinery in Nigeria’s industrialisation and energy policy roadmap.
Once fully ramped up, the refinery is projected to not only meet Nigeria’s domestic fuel needs but also export refined products across West and Central Africa.
The facility is touted as one of the largest single-train refineries in the world, with the capacity to reshape the region’s fuel supply dynamics and contribute to foreign exchange stability through export revenues and reduced fuel importation.