Dangote Group Commits to Job Creation, Calls for Industrialisation
By Patience Ikpeme
Aliko Dangote, President of the Dangote Group, has stated that his resolve to take thousands of Nigerians off the unemployment market remains intact.
He said his companies will continue to employ Nigerians and contribute to a reduction in the country’s unemployment rate.
Speaking at his refinery complex, Dangote addressed the media on the launch of the company’s new Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) trucks and the refinery’s broader economic impact.
Dangote revealed that the company’s CNG drivers are provided with life insurance, housing loans, and earn salaries that are three times the national minimum wage.
The company respects trade unions, he said, but membership is a personal choice for each driver. He dispelled notions that the new fleet would lead to job losses. “You are saying there will be a loss of jobs, will our own tankers be driven by robots? We have not displaced any jobs; we are creating many more,” he said.
He added that the company is not only employing drivers but also mechanics, fleet managers, and other professionals. The drivers, he noted, receive a living wage, life insurance, and health insurance covering themselves, their spouses, and up to four children, as well as a lifelong pension.
Dangote further disclosed that the CNG truck drivers can apply for and receive a housing loan after five years of work without an accident.
Acknowledging the numerous challenges the refinery has faced, Dangote spoke about the enormous risk involved in the project. He received repeated warnings from industry experts and investors, who argued that only sovereign nations undertake such large-scale refinery ventures.
“The journey has been challenging because we sought to transform the downstream sector in Nigeria,” he said. “The decision to build the refinery was not easy. If it had gone wrong, lenders would have taken our assets. But we believed in Nigeria and Africa.” He added that the project has made the country and the continent proud.
The refinery has already had a tangible impact on petrol prices, reducing the price from nearly N1,100 before production began to N841 in the Southwest, Abuja, Delta, Rivers, Edo, and Kwara states. Dangote anticipates that this price reduction will soon be felt nationwide with the gradual rollout of CNG-powered trucks. He revealed that between June and the first week of September 2025, the facility had exported over 1.1 billion litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), demonstrating its capacity to meet domestic demand and generate foreign exchange.
Dangote said that Nigeria’s path to sustainable economic growth lies in industrialisation. He called for the country to protect its local industries and discourage the dumping of cheap foreign goods, citing the collapse of the textile sector as a cautionary example. “Other nations were not industrialised by outsiders. We must build and industrialise our own economies. Without this, how can others invest? That is why I believe the National Assembly should enact legislation to support the Federal Government’s ‘Nigeria First’ policy,” he said.
He concluded that relying on imports means “exporting jobs and importing poverty.” He reiterated that with the introduction of CNG trucks, the refinery can deliver products to consumers anywhere in Nigeria, mitigating all associated risks, and that the refinery remains open to collaborations with other stakeholders in the downstream sector.
