The President of the Rivers Entrepreneur and Investors’ Forum (REIF), Ibifiri Bobmanuel, has alleged that the Rivers State Government and some local governments in the state were the reasons why the newly commissioned Dangote Petroleum Refinery was not sited in Rivers State.
He said the state government and the local governments where the refineries were to be located, Okrika and Eleme made huge demands from Dangote Group.
Bobmanuel, who made the disclosure in an interview with a national daily, said the Dangote refinery was to be situated in Rivers State but later made a U-turn and went to Lagos.
“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, 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,” he stated.
The REIF president said the Rivers State Government, local governments, and communities must understand the rules of negotiation with business owners to attract businesses.
According to him, “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.”
Meanwhile, the President of The Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, has said that the new refinery would generate direct job roles for Nigerians.
He made this known when he spoke at the commissioning of the 650,000 barrels per day Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals on Monday in Lagos.
The refinery, which is the largest in Africa, is expected to produce Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), diesel (AGO), aviation jet fuel, and Dual-Purpose Kerosene (DPK), among other refined products.
, Ibifiri Bobmanuel, has alleged that the Rivers State Government and some local governments in the state were the reasons why the newly commissioned Dangote Petroleum Refinery was not sited in Rivers State.){kind=link}