Shettima referred to Dangote as an organization and a cornerstone of Nigeria’s economic growth while speaking on Monday at the start of the 2025 Nigerian Economic Summit in Abuja.
He emphasized that Nigeria’s prosperity and competitiveness in the world depended on the $20 billion Dangote Refinery, which has a capacity of 650,000 barrels per day.
The vice president’s comments came amid the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria oil workers’ strike action last week over the purported termination of roughly 800 unionized personnel at the facility.
Following the intervention of National Security Advisor Nuhu Ribadu and Minister of Labor and Employment Muhammad Dingyadi, the walkout was subsequently put on hold.
Shettima claimed that everyone should applaud the billionaire businessman for making significant investments in Nigeria as opposed to outside.
“Aliko Dangote is not an individual; rather, he is an institution and a prominent figure in Nigeria’s economic parliament,” he stated. And how we behave toward this gentleman will affect how we are perceived by others. If he had spent $10 billion on Google, Amazon, or Microsoft, he would likely be valued between $70 and $80 billion today.
However, he chose to invest in his nation, and we have an obligation to the next generation to zealously defend, advance, uphold, and safeguard the interests of this magnificent Nigeria.
The vice president also cautioned that careless acts could jeopardize national growth and urged labor unions and the organized private sector to resolve industrial issues with prudence and patriotism.
In order to preserve our continuously growing economic fortunes, I would like to urge both labor and the organized private sector to exercise prudence, reflect, and feel more patriotic while defining and enhancing the connection between labor and industry. Holding the entire country hostage over a small labor dispute is not the point.
“Nigeria is superior to PENGASSAN.” Nigeria is more powerful than any of us. He continued, “I’m not approaching you as a partisan.
