Insecurity: FCTA demolishes over 400 illegal buildings along Airport road

The Federal Capital Terriory Administration has confirmed the demolition of over 400 illegal structures that constitutes security threat along the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport Road. The Chairman, FCT Ministerial Committee on City Sanitation, Mr Ikharo Attah, led the exercise on Sunday in Abuja. Attah, who led the exercise, said the operation was necessitated by the desire of the administration to enhance security of lives and properties in Abuja. The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the demolition, which affected Lugbe-Across, Lugbe-Berger, Car wash and Lugbe Zone 5, lasted for eight hours with heavy security personnel to avoid breakdown of law and order. The security team comprised men of the Nigeria Police Force, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Nigeria Army, Nigeria Immigration Service, Nigeria Air Force, Abuja Environmental Protection Board as well as officials of the FCT Department of Development Control. Attah explained that the FCT Administration had received disturbing reports that some illegal makeshift structures were being erected along the Airport Road despite several demolitions. “Last week we were here and after clearing this place people have rebuilt some structures. And we cleared many structures again today. “This time around we have taken more drastic measures. We also appeal to some of them who are building back after seven days of clearing to stop. ”They said they had approached the Federal Capital Development Authority for it,” he said. On his part, the FCTA Director of Security Services, Mr Adamu Gwary, vowed that the administration would not fold its hands and watch criminals overrun the city. Gwary said that the FCT Minister, Malam Muhammad Bello, was not happy with illegal structures posing security threat on the city. Read Also Passengers stranded in bush as Abuja-Kaduna train breaks down FCTA worries over Airport road, demolishes 349 illegal structures Kidnapped ex-Kogi lawmaker, eight others regain freedom He assured that with the minister’s will to removal of illegal structures would be sustained. “The FCT Minister is not happy with the development along the Airport Road and as such he ordered the removal of all activities that will deface the vicinity and also create security threat to the nation’s capital. “You can see that there are so many nuisances which come along with its own security implications. Recently the minister presented a paper on items vandalised. “We have the support of the security agencies and all the departments in FCT are at work. You can see that we came out in the rain, once there is that go-ahead, there is no going back, we will sustain it. “If we identify where there are nuisance, we will pencil it down for operation. It is not only the Airport road but the Airport road has you know is the eye of the city so, we cannot afford to joke with it,” he said. Also, the Chief Security Officer to the FCT Minister, Mr Ahmed Rashid, disclosed that the administration had identified strategies that the scavengers, criminals and the illegal settlers are adopting. “And where they are hibernating, we are dislodging them. As you can see the security challenges are increasing and we cannot wait until the criminals enter the main city before we deal with them. “We are clearing all the illegal motor parks to reduce the number of one-chance. We also notice that they will strike in the city and go back to their safe haven. ”By the time we clear all their safe haven there will be no hiding place for them,” he said. (NAN)

NDLEA arrests mother of three with 100 wraps of cocaine tucked in her private part, handbag By Odita Sunday

*Intercepts drugs going to US, Australia; seizes 410kg opioids in Plateau, Kwara Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), have arrested a Nigerian woman based in Brazil, Mrs. Anita Ugochinyere Ogbonna, at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA), Abuja, with 100 pellets of cocaine concealed in her private part and handbag. The mother of three according to NDLEA spokesman, Femi Babafemi, was arrested on Friday night on arrival in Abuja via Qatar Air from Sao Paulo, Brazil through Doha. “Upon a proper search, 12 wraps of cocaine inserted in her private part were extracted while another 88 pellets stuffed in socks were discovered hidden in her handbag. During interrogation, Mrs. Ogbonna who is a mother of three children, all resident in Brazil, claimed she lost her husband three years ago. “She confessed she decided to traffick the illicit drug to raise money for the burial of her father scheduled for July 23, in Imo State. She said one Emeka, alias KC also based in Brazil gave her the drug to deliver in Nigeria for a fee of $3,000. She said she pushed the wraps of cocaine into her private part after her attempts to swallow the pellets failed. “The suspect who owns a shop where she sells African foodstuffs in Brazil further claimed she had to drop her three young children with a Kenyan lady who is her neighbour in Brazil before she embarked on the quick-money-journey.” In a related development, narcotic officers attached to a courier company in Lagos have intercepted 500grams of ketamine concealed in the walls of a wooden box filled with bitter kola that originated from Douala, Cameroon and heading to the United States of America, while another 500grams of methamphetamine hidden in automobile parts going to Australia were also seized at the firm. Meanwhile, over 410 kilograms of assorted illicit drugs have been intercepted and seized by NDLEA operatives in Plateau and Kwara states. A commercial bus with registration number EKY 184 CQ Lagos was intercepted in Plateau with Diazepam weighing 39kg; Exol-5 tablets weighing 35kg and 1.7kg of Flumtrazepam tablets discovered in the vehicle. A follow up operation led to the arrest of a drug dealer, Livinus Nnadi at Bauchi motorpark on June 26, 2021 while on the same day, a blue Sharon minibus with registration number FKG 539 GR, going to Bauchi from Jos was also intercepted and 7.9kg of pentazocine injection recovered from it. In the same vein, operatives of the Kwara state command of the Agency have recovered 67.2kg of Tramadol heading to Benin republic at a checkpoint close to Ilesha in Osun state while a 53-year-old drug trafficker, Zakiru Abdullahi has been arrested on Ilorin-Jebba highway on Thursday, July 1, with 260kilograms of pentazocine injection meant for Kaduna. Reacting to all the successful operations, Chairman/Chief Executive of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd) commended officers and men of Abuja airport, Plateau, Kwara commands of the Agency as well as those in the Directorate of Investigations and Operations, DOGI, attached to the courier firms for their diligence and commitment to work. “Let me again commend all the gallant and vigilant officers and men in these commands and DOGI for their resilience and commitment to the mandate President Muhammadu Buhari has given us in the Agency to rid our towns, communities and even forests of illicit drugs and the criminal elements profitting from the unconscionable trade. With the recent launch of the War Against Drug Abuse, WADA, we must all aim for the ultimate goal of winning this battle sooner than expected. We can and we must”, Gen. Marwa charged on Sunday.

Set Date for National Convention Now, Group Tell Buni, calls for his Sack immediately

We will resist attempts to perpetuate the Caretaker Committee in Office Many would have not believed that the current caretaker committee of the APC led by Gov. Mai Buni of Yobe State would still be in existence after it was constituted in June 2020 to organize a tentative National convention that would resolve the leadership squabbles within the APC, all with the aim to restore a fully democratized internal leadership framework within the party. Despite calls by the All Progressives Congress Governors Forum (PGF) to roll out a date for a National Convention and possibly a National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting, the Buni led Caretaker/Extraordinary Planning Committee (CECPC) has surreptitiously obtained another 6 months extension on their tenure from the Presidency on the 25th of June 2021, making this caretaker committee, an aberration in itself, stay in office illegitimately for a year and half The illegality of the prolonged existence of this caretaker committee breaches public trust and the Constitution of the All Progressive Congress Party, hence the call to every concerned individual, group, and stakeholders that an extension of the Buni-led caretaker committee tenure is unacceptable, and a date for the National Convention should be announced immediately. It is observed that Gov. Buni seeks to play on public emotions and sympathy by using the series of defections facilitated from the opposition party as an alibi to perpetuate himself in office, ignoring the legal conundrum that his continued stay in office might cause the party. For instance, not a few legal luminaries believe that the Caretaker Committee lacks powers to conduct primaries – a legal booby trap for the APC in the case of the Anambra gubernatorial primaries. The fact that the All Progressives Congress (APC) is without a democratically elected Chairman and National Working Committee (NWC) for over a year makes a mockery of our position as a ruling party, questions our adherence to the rule of law, and makes us a laughing stock globally. How can Africa’s largest political party be run by a caretaker committee which implicates itself in its legality of purpose and morality of existence? A pronouncement lately made by the Supreme Court stated that they found the leadership of our party as “irresponsible and reckless”, owing to the fact that a political party could not possibly contravene its constitution by having a Governor serving as a party interim leader at the same time. Some politically related legal cases also hinge on this weakness in our party’s structure to question the legality of a candidate as not being duly signed by the rightful Chairman of their party, because by law APC currently has none. There is a strong impression heating the polity currently which can be confirmed by every well-meaning Nigerian and party members. A Notable APC leader from the North Central who begs anonymity believes that Gov. Buni’s “Giant Strides” is slowly endearing him to many party members whilst shadowing the propensity and influence of the President and true Leader of The All Progressives Congress, President Muhammadu Buhari. Many would have normally ignored these claims as normal hearsays and attempts to discredit Gov Buni and his Caretaker committee, but strong speculations and suggestions point to the fact that if Gov. Buni’s extra six months extension concludes by the end of December 2021, he would make another smart attempt to play on the intelligence, sincerity and favours of the Presidency in seeking more continuity for his committee. This can be highly regarded as an utter insult to our sensibilities as party men and a disgrace to our intelligence. We must see the signs written on the walls and perceive the hijack to our political ideology of inclusiveness and democratization. APC will be truly repositioned and our winnings consolidated for a greater future if a date for the National Convention is speedily announced and the Gov. Buni l-Led Caretaker Committee is dissolved. As we speak, no nomination and interest form are presently on sale for the congresses, therefore informing Mr President of a supposed commencement of congresses this July, whereas nothing is on the ground to justify that claim can be best be described as a fallacy, in its entirety. Let’s build a stronger party with sincere hearts and a mindset. Thanks and God Bless APC.

Constitution requires Buhari to crush Kanu, Igboho, says NBA Vice President By Robert Egbe

Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) 1st Vice President, John Aikpokpo-Martins, Saturday said any President of Nigeria is constitutionally bound to crush secessionists like Nnamdi Kanu and Sunday Adeyemo, alias Sunday Igboho. Mr Aikpokpo-Martins said under Nigerian law, self-determination agitations are “simply unconstitutional”. He faulted secessionists’ claim that agitation for self-determination is a fundamental right, noting that Chapter 4 (fundamental human rights guaranteed provisions) of the 1999 Constitution does not include the right to expressions seeking to divide the country. The NBA official stated this in his personal capacity in a post on his Facebook page titled, STIRRING THE HORNET’S NEST; THE MENS REA. He began his post by differentiating between the agitations of a former Niger Delta militant leader, Government Ekpemupolo, alias Tompolo on the one hand, and that by Boko Haram, the Independent People of Biafra (IPOB) and Igboho, on the other. Mr Kanu, the leader of IPOB that is calling for the independence of Biafra from Nigeria, was presented before a federal high court in Abuja last Tuesday, days after his arrest at an undisclosed location abroad. A team of joint security operatives invaded Mr Igboho’s house in Soka, Ibadan, capital of Oyo State around 1an last Thursday, barely 72 hours to his plan to hold a rally in Lagos to further canvas for the Yoruba nation. Defending the government’s actions “strictly based on the law”, Aikpokpo-Martins said: “Let it be known that there is a major difference in the agitation of the Niger Delta militants as led by Tompolo etc to the agitations of Boko Haram, IPOB and Sunday Igboho. “Tompolo never agitated for a different country; this is very very significant and must reflect on how he is treated. “Whereas Boko Haram, IPOB and Sunday Igboho are agitating to carve different countries out of Nigeria, Tompolo never did that; he is a Nigerian and advocates for justice and equity albeit as a Nigerian and in Nigeria. “Constitutionally, no President (whether he is a Buhari, Nnamdi, Babatunde, Ahmed, Osahon, Wike, Aper etc) worth his job will treat those agitating for self-determination with kid’s gloves; he is constitutionally and legally mandated and obliged to crush such people. “You may mouth fundamental human rights to self-determination etc, but the fact is, the Nigerian constitution described Nigeria as one indivisible country; see section 2(1) of the 1999 constitution.” He explained that Buhari took an oath to defend the constitution, “so how can a President who swore to defend the constitution which contained a clause providing for the indivisibility of the country turn around to condone agitations for self-determination whether by peaceful and or violent agitations, when such agitations are directed at the core of the validity/legitimacy of the constitution he swore to defend?” According to him, such agitations are “simply unconstitutional and the President is constitutionally bound to crush same.” He contended further that Chapter 4 (fundamental human rights guaranteed provisions) of the constitution that many rely on to defend protests, agitations and rallies to demand for a division of Nigeria into different countries “did not guarantee such expressions when such expressions or assemblages are directed at the validity and/or legitimacy of the constitution itself ie seeking a divisible Nigeria! “It is a legal, ideological and philosophical absurdity to rely on a constitution to which you seek to destroy to protect a right to destroy the same constitution! “The constitution must inherently and naturally protect and defend itself by denying any person or agitator any right that is inimical to its existence. “So, those agitating to divide Nigeria cannot seek the protection of the constitution; it will not avail them. They can only seek to actualized their demands outside the purview and protection of the 1999 constitution by whatever means that they deem fit. “The constitution and all organs and authorities that take legitimacy from the constitution will automatically be biased against such agitators, so they should not expect to be granted any benefits as of right. “They must brace up to receive any indignity hurled at them by the system with stoic equanimity. Any right granted them by the system is simply magnanimous except such rights can be founded in international statutes.” Aikpokpo-Martins advised that for the agitators to enjoy the benefits of the constitution and be free from the biases of those in authorities vide the constitution, they must first “renounce their claims to the unconstitutional calls for the divisibility of Nigeria ie calls to be carved out of Nigeria. “Except and until the constitution provides for the right to self-determination, any expression or assemblage where such agitations are made are not only unconstitutional but also treasonable. “So, I urge the agitators for different countries to be carved out of Nigeria to first agitate for the right to self-determination and referendum be included in the constitution. “Then and only then will a President who seeks to crush such agitations be said to be acting unlawfully, illegally and unconstitutionally and only then too can agitations for Boko Haram Caliphate, Odua Republic and the Biafra Republic be lawful and constitutional. He described those who disagree with his argument as blind. According to him; “Many persons may not agree with me, but then such people may be blinded by sentiments, ignorance or both. My analysis is strictly based on the law as I know it, and the law is not sentimental. “Lastly, Tompolo was asking for a better deal for his people WITHIN the country called Nigeria as a Nigerian, he never professed any other nationality nor sought for the break up of Nigeria. “This fundamental is the ideological difference between him and the others. His methods may have been unlawful, but certainly not unconstitutional, so he deserves different treatment to Sunday Igboho, Nnamdi Kanu, Shekau and all Boko Haramists. “The actus reus may be the same, but the mens rea is not.”

Nobody can accuse me of corruption – Buhari by Stephen Angbulu

THE President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), has insisted that the current polarisation and inherent injustices in the country are neither fuelled by ethnicity nor religion, but Nigerians themselves. Buhari said this while receiving members of the Muhammadu Buhari/Osinbajo Dynamic Support Group recently at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. According to him, nobody can accuse him of corruption after serving as a governor, minister, head of state and currently a second-term President. His Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, made the full text of the President’s address to his guests available to journalists on Wednesday under the headline ‘Forget ethnicity, forget religion. We, the people, are the problem of Nigeria, says President Buhari’. The President again narrated his struggles to get justice at the courts, after disputed results of presidential elections in 2003, 2007, and 2011, concluding that people who ruled against him were of his own ethnic stock and religious persuasion, while those who stood up for him were of other faiths and ethnicity. He said, “Our problem is not ethnicity or religion, it is ourselves. After my third appearance in the Supreme Court, I came out to speak to those who were present then. I told them that from 2003, I had spent 30 months in court. “The President of the Court of Appeal, the first port of call for representation by presidential candidates then, was my classmate in secondary school in Katsina. We spent six years in the same class, Justice Umaru Abdullahi. “My legal head was Chief Mike Ahamba, a Roman Catholic and an Ibo man. When the President of the court decided that we should present our case, my first witness was in the box. “Ahamba insisted that a letter should be sent to the Independent National Electoral Commission to present the register of constituencies in some of the states to prove that what they announced was falsehood. It was documented. “When they gave judgment, another Ibo man, the late Justice Nsofor, asked for the reaction from INEC to the letter sent to them. They just dismissed it. He then decided to write a minority judgment. That was after 27 months in court. “We went to the Supreme Court. Who was Chief Justice of Nigeria? A Hausa-Fulani like me, from Zaria. The members of the panel went in for about 30 minutes, came back to say they were proceeding on break. They went for three months. When they came back, it didn’t take them 15 minutes, they dismissed us. “In 2007, who was the CJN? Kutigi. Again, a Muslim from the North; after eight months or so, he dismissed the case. “Again, in 2011, because I was so persistent, Musdafa, a Fulani man like me, from Jigawa, neighbour to my state, was CJN. He dismissed my case. I’ve taken you round this to prove that our problem is not ethnicity or religion. It is ourselves. “I refused to give up; I had tried to wear Agbada after what happened to me in khaki. Something was done to me, because I did something to others. You know it. In the end, I was arrested, sent to detention, and they were given back what they had taken. I was there for three and a quarter years. This is Nigeria.” The President expressed optimism that history would capture the progress the country has made in the justice system. He added, “Thank God that over the years, they can’t accuse me of corruption. And I’ve been everything; Governor, Minister of Petroleum Resources, Head of State, President and in my second term.” PUNCH.

AstraZeneca: Nigeria faults EU’s rejection, says decision political by Deborah Tolu-Kolawole and Solomon Odeniyi

The African Union, the Federal Government and COVAX, a coalition consisting of the World Health Organisation, Gavi and Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, on Thursday, expressed surprise about the European Union’s decision not to accept AstraZeneca vaccine manufactured in India. The Director of the African Centre for Disease Control, Dr John Nkengasong, and the African Union Special Envoy on COVID-19, Mr Strive Masliywa, who stated this during a virtual press briefing with some journalists, urged the EU to review the decision. Also on Thursday, COVAX, consisting of the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, the WHO and the United Nations Children’s Fund, lamented that the EU’s move was already undermining confidence in life-saving vaccines that were safe and effective. On its part, the Federal Government described the EU’s decision as political. Recall that the EU said that only those with the EU Digital COVID-19 certificate which enabled people who had received two doses of a vaccine approved by its medicine regulator, the European Medicines Agency, would be able to travel freely within the bloc. But the pass only recognises AstraZeneca doses (branded Vaxzevria) made by EMA-approved manufacturers in Europe, United States, South Korea and China, not those manufactured by the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer, the Serum Institute of India branded Covishield. COVAX, a coalition whose aim is to ensure COVID-19 vaccines are available worldwide to both higher-income and lower-income countries, donated to African countries, AstraZeneca vaccine, manufactured in India. But Thursday Nkengasong said the EU decision was shocking. He stated, “It came as a big surprise. The AstraZeneca vaccine that came from India was funded by COVAX, supplied by COVAX and COVAX was funded mainly by the Europeans until recently when the Americans joined,; so that came as a big surprise to us that the vaccine which was being supported by the Europeans and supported by WHO and COVAX will not be recognised by the green digital certificate in Europe. “We have always said since the start of this pandemic that we should use science and data to take decisions and I don’t think this one was driven by science. “If the vaccines were producing less quality antibodies, we would argue it, but the antibodies produced are of good quality.” EU firms rejected African countries’s request for COVID-19 vaccines – AU Masliywa agreed with Nkengasong, saying, “In Europe, there are vaccine manufacturing plants, when we approached them when the pandemic started, we were told they could not spare any and we were referred to India. “The Europeans themselves financed COVAX, the vaccines purchased from COVAX were purchased by their money. Now we are calling on them to open up their facilities to sell their own vaccines to us. We are not asking for donations now, we have the money. Even the poorest of the African countries have raised money to finance the vaccine acquisition.” He added that the US would begin shipping the first batch of COVID-19 vaccines it had donated to Africa from this weekend. On its part, COVAX, in a statement on Thursday said the coalition was built on the principle of equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines to protect the health of people all across the globe. It stated, “As travel and other possibilities begin to open up in some parts of the world, COVAX urges all regional, national and local government authorities to recognise as fully vaccinated all people who have received COVID-19 vaccines that have been deemed safe and effective by the World Health Organization and/or the 11 Stringent Regulatory Authorities approved for COVID-19 vaccines, when making decisions on who is able to travel or attend events. “Any measure that only allows people protected by a subset of WHO-approved vaccines to benefit from the re-opening of travel into and with that region would effectively create a two-tier system, further widening the global vaccine divide and exacerbating the inequities we have already seen in the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines. “It would negatively impact the growth of economies that are already suffering the most. Such moves are already undermining confidence in life-saving vaccines that have already been shown to be safe and effective, affecting uptake of vaccines and potentially putting billions of people at risk. At a time when the world is trying to resume trade, commerce and travel, this is counter-effective, both in spirit and outcome.” EU’s decision political, not based on scientific facts – FG The Federal Government described the EU’s decision on the digital COVID-19 certificate as political. The Secretary of the Presidential Steering Committee on COVID-19, Dr Mukhtar Muhammed, said this in an interview with The PUNCH. He said the decision lacked scientific facts. Muhammed said, “I think people have to make a distinction between a scientific decision and also a political decision and from a scientific decision, there is no difference between a vaccine that is got from COVAX and a vaccine produced in Europe “The vaccines are the same. The manufacturing processes are the same, the storage and packaging are actually the same. “We know also that there are political decisions which the European Union has made several mistakes since the commencement of this pandemic, they had Oxford AstraZeneca, they didn’t release it but were vaccinating their people. “These are all political decisions that they have made “And in this particular instance I want to believe that they are not disputing the efficiency of the Covishield but rather it is just a political decision to say that particular manufacturer has not been approved in Europe and that is not something that should be in the news “They could have just told the manufacturers to make sure that they register their products in Europe. “It is really unfortunate that we are making politics out of science. It is sad as we are going through a lot with this pandemic.” PUNCH.

Dangote Refinery on track to be the 5th largest company in Africa by Ajibola Akamo

Diversification: Dangote refinery may be Nigeria’s most impactful in the short term The Dangote Refinery is an oil refinery owned by the Dangote Group Chairman, Aliko Dangote. Although the refinery is still under construction in Lekki, Lagos State, Nigeria, it is said that it will have the capacity to process about 650,000 barrels per day of crude oil, making it the largest single-train refinery in the world. Aliko Dangote is said to have invested over $7 billion which is just over 60% of his total net worth, currently valued at $11.6 billion according to Forbes. Once completed the refinery is expected to be Africa’s biggest oil refinery and the world’s biggest single-train facility. Production Capacity In terms of production capacity, the Dangote refinery is the largest in Africa, producing 650,000 barrels per day of crude oil. A close second in Africa would be Egypt’s Bashandyoil fossil crude oil refinery which produces 300,000 barrels per day but it is also under construction. In Asia, the Dangote refinery will be ranked #6 in the continent. In China, only the Sinopec Zhenhai Refinery comes close to the capacity of the Dangote refinery as the refinery can only handle 345,000 barrels per day. The production capacity of the Dangote refinery also outperforms big oil nations refineries like Saudi Arabia. The country’s largest refinery controlled by Aramco is the Ras Tanura Refinery, which has a production capacity of 550,000 barrels per day. In the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the Dangote refinery will be ranked 2nd. This is because the Ruwais Refinery (Abu Dhabi Oil Refining Company), produces 817,000 barrels per day. In Iran, the Dangote refinery will be outperforming Abadan Refinery, which has the largest capacity in the country with 450,000 barrels per day. Trustfund Pensions Limited In Singapore, the ExxonMobil Jurong Island Refinery, which is the largest in the country does not meet up with the Dangote refinery, producing only 605,000 barrels per day. In South Korea, the Dangote refinery will be ranked 5th in the country in terms of capacity, being able to only outperform 1 out of the 5 refineries in the country. In Europe, Dangote Refinery outperforms all major refineries belonging to well-known oil companies like ExxonMobil, OMV, Royal Dutch Shell, Total S.A and Vitol. Although only one refinery in Russia, called the JSC Antipinsky Refinery, outperforms the Dangote refinery with a capacity of 896,500 barrels per day. In North & Central America, Dangote’s refinery outperforms all major refineries on the continent, even in big oil states like Texas, America. In Texas, the refinery that comes close to the capacity of Dangote’s is the popular Port Arthur Refinery which is owned by Motiva Enterprises, an American company that operates as a fully owned affiliate of Saudi Aramco. The refinery has a capacity of 636,500 barrels per day. In South America, the largest refinery, Paraguana Refinery Complex, is considered the world’s third-largest refinery located in Venezuela. Its production capacity is 956,000 barrels per day. Dangote’s refinery will come in second in the region. Compared to Companies in Nigeria Dangote Refinery, being valued at $19 billion, represents ₦9.5 trillion when using the Nigerian parallel market rate of ₦500 to $1. Compared to the Nigerian Stock Exchange equity market capitalization, the value of Dangote’s refinery is almost half of the equity market capitalization, representing approximately 48% of the value. The Stocks Worth Over One Trillion (SWOOT), which includes Dangote Cement, MTN, Airtel Nigeria, BUA Cement and Nestle Nigeria have a current valuation as of the close of yesterday’s market at ₦13.3 trillion. When compared to Dangote refinery, although altogether they are more valuable, the refinery takes up 72% of the total value of the SWOOTs. Compared to the first-tier banks in Nigeria, represented by the acronym “FUGAZ”, which includes First Bank of Nigeria, United Bank of Africa, Guaranty Trust Bank, Access Bank and Zenith Bank, Dangote refinery is bigger than all their market capitalization put together by 389%. Compared to Companies in the World In the oil and gas industry, the refinery will be ranked #30 dethroning OMV, an Austrian multinational integrated oil, gas and petrochemical company. This makes Dangote refinery the largest oil and gas company in Africa with South Africa’s Sasol coming in at second position with a market capitalization of $9.75 billion. Sasol is ranked 44th in the world according to companiesmarketcap.com. In Africa, Dangote Refinery will be ranked the 5th largest company on the continent, dethroning Anglo American Platinum, the world’s largest primary producer of platinum, accounting for about 38% of the world’s annual supply, which is currently valued at $13.05 billion. In America, Dangote Refinery will be ranked #422, dethroning Cincinnati Financial Corporation, an American insurance company that offers property and casualty insurance. That being said, the refinery will be bigger than some popular and well-known companies such as Domino’s Pizza ($18.11 billion), United Airlines ($16.91 billion), GameStop ($15.15 billion), American Airlines ($13.60 billion), McAfee ($12.03 billion) and Western Union ($9.40 billion). In the United Kingdom, Dangote Refinery will be ranked #34. This means that the refinery is bigger than EasyJet, which is currently valued at $5.95 billion. In China, the refinery will be ranked #92 in the country, being more valuable than China’s Hua Xia Bank, which is currently valued at $14.74 billion. In Saudi Arabia, it will be ranked #9, taking the spot from the Saudi British Bank, which is currently valued at $17.25 billion. Why this matters The Dangote Refinery, when fully operational is set to be the largest refinery in Africa, the fifth-largest company by market capitalisation on the continent, and the largest single-train refinery in the world. It will put Nigeria in the spotlight for crude oil refining, competing with world refining superpowers in countries such as the United States, China and Saudi Arabia. Jaiz bank Last year, Mr Devakumar Edwin, Group Executive Director (Strategy and Capital Projects), Dangote Industries Limited, told newsmen that the refinery is a strategic win for the Nigerian economy, with the capacity to create at least 250,000 jobs when it is fully operational. The refinery alone is set to outproduce Nigeria’s three major refineries – the Kaduna, Warri, and Port Harcourt refineries with a combined nameplate capacity of 445,000 bpd. The locally refined petroleum products will not only serve the Nigerian market (thus reducing the forex expended on importation of these products) but will also serve international markets, earning more forex for the nation.