*Says in 5 years, 3 million metric tons per annum facility to make country biggest agric nation in Africa

*Oshiomhole: I prefer Dangote Refinery’s monopoly to petrol importation

Chuks Okocha in Abuja and Peter Uzoho in Lagos

In a record-breaking joint venture partnership between an indigenous African private investor and a government, the  Dangote Group has taken its investment on the continent to a greater level with the commencement of a $2.5 billion joint urea fertiliser plant in Gode, Ethiopia, with a capacity to produce three million metric tons of the product per annum (mtpa).

This emerged as Senator Adams Oshiomhole, representing Edo North Senatorial District, yesterday, declared his support for Dangote Refinery in the heat of its disagreement with the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN).
Africa’s richest man and President/Group Chief Executive Officer of Dangote Industries Limited, Alhaji Aliko Dangote disclosed the latest investment in Ethiopia during his speech at the   groundbreaking ceremony of the project in the country.

Dangote said the project, which is a partnership between the Dangote Group and the Ethiopian Investment Holdings (EIH), the strategic investment arm of the Government of Ethiopia, would make the country the biggest agricultural nation on the African continent.
“I am delighted to welcome you all to this historic groundbreaking ceremony of the $2.5 Billion, 3 Million Metric Tonne Urea Fertiliser Production Complex here, in Gode, Ethiopia. This new plant is a partnership between the Dangote Group and Ethiopian Investment Holdings (EIH), the strategic investment arm of the Government of Ethiopia”, he said.

“It is a new dawn, marking the first time, a private investor from Africa is entering into a partnership with an African country to build an industrial complex”  Dangote stressed.
He stated that the partnership with Ethiopian Investment Holdings represents a pivotal moment in their shared vision to industrialize Africa and achieve food security across the continent.
According to Dangote, the strategic location of Gode, combined with Ethiopia’s abundant natural gas resources from the Hilal and Calub reserves, makes this an ideal location for what will become one of the world’s largest fertilizer complexes.

He said Dangote Group was committed to bringing its decades of experience in large-scale industrial projects to ensure that the venture becomes a cornerstone of Ethiopia’s industrial transformation and a catalyst for agricultural productivity throughout the region.

“We recognise the country’s plan to expand cultivated land, and this project will aid agricultural transformation in Ethiopia and neighboring countries.

“I want to state at this juncture that this project is just the beginning as we intend to invest in the production of other types of fertilizers including ammonium nitrate, ammonium sulphate, NPK and calcium ammonium nitrate, to support this aspiration.

“This will further cement Ethiopia’s position as a regional fertilizer production hub. With this and other investments, Ethiopia will be on track to reach its fertilizer application target of 80kg per hectare. Your Excellency, it is my firm belief that with this project, within five years, Ethiopia will become the biggest agricultural nation on the African continent”, the billionaire investor stated.

He noted that the latest investment in urea fertiliser project was the group’s second industrial investment in Ethiopia, adding that their subsidiary, Dangote Cement, has been active in Ethiopia for over a decade with a 2.5Mta cement plant in Mugher.

“We have announced a $400 million investment plan for a second production line at the cement plant, a move that would double the facility’s annual output”, he said.

He said Dangote Group’s investments across Africa were driven by the firm belief that only Africans can develop Africa because of their understanding of the terrain; the challenges, culture, as well as common language.

He maintained that his group was deeply committed to driving Africa’s economic surge from a continent heavily reliant on imports to one that is ultimately self-sufficient in producing finished goods.

He said the Dangote Groyp believes that manufacturing is crucial to Africa’s economic future and transformation.

As Africa’s leading indigenous industrial conglomerate, Dangote said the group’s cement business – Dangote Cement, has a total installed capacity of 55Mta and currently operates in 11 African countries.

Dangote specially thanked their Chief Host and Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Abiy Ahmed Ali, and his cabinet for creating an investment-friendly environment amongst other enablers, which he said, now draws investments from across the world into the country.

According to him, Ethiopia today is one of the most attractive investment destinations in Africa, as a result of the reforms and liberalisation of its economy.

Through these far-reaching reforms, Dangote said Ethiopia has opened up key sectors to private investments, thereby creating opportunities that now attract global investors.

“No nation can advance industrially without having a secure energy base. Congratulations on this landmark achievement. All these have transformed Ethiopia to a gateway for regional and global trade/investment on the continent. I never get tired of visiting this beautiful country and seeing its transformation with each visit. I must congratulate His Excellency and his cabinet for his commitment, energy and vision for his people and nation,” he added.

Meanwhile, speaking in an interview on ARISE News, Oshiomhole, a former President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), hailed the Dangote Refinery, stressing that the priority should be creating jobs locally rather than depending on foreign imports.

The former Edo State Governor also described the refinery’s challenges and the labour dispute as “a very complex issue on a good day.”

Commenting on unionisation of workers, Oshiomhole said, “I believe that it is not even a constitutional right. It is a God-given right for human beings to associate in pursuance of their common interests as defined by them. These are hard core values I subscribe to and they also were guaranteed to the Nigeria constitution under section 40.”

He maintained that the escalation of the strike by PENGASSAN was uncalled for, stressing that it risked harming other workers and the wider economy.

“What I’m not sure is right is the ease with which PENGASSAN resorted to escalating the matter to a secondary level, what you call the secondary solidarity, to a point of shutting down the oil sector. I think that it is to protect a particular set of workers you do not then risk the job of several other workers.

“For example, those people selling tomatoes who can’t get for it to buy because there’s a quarrel between one Dangote refinery as a company and one union called PENGASSAN. Those are things I thought that PENGASSAN ought to take into account and pursue this principle.”

On Dangote’s refinery operations, Oshiomhole noted that the company was still in a delicate growth stage and should be given all the support, instead being disrupted.

“I know that Dangote was commissioned just before President Buhari left office, but it commenced production several months after. So basically about a year, a year and a half. Given the size of the business and all the controversies and issues arising from where you get your crude, whether NNPC sells to you, whether ROC can sell the crude overseas, you pay a premium before you can get it. All of those issues are still there. I thought that PENGASSAN should recognise that an employer has to resist, mature, be strong enough to guarantee good pay and jobs,” he added.

On the broader debate about Dangote’s role in the market, Oshiomhole was unequivocal: “I really think that Dangote Refinery has faced too many pressure points that we begin to wonder. I mean, when people say Dangote Refinery is a monopoly, I’m like, would you prefer a monopoly that creates jobs in Nigeria than an import monopoly, which is the PPPRA?”

He added, “What I know everywhere in the world is that unions support industrial policies that encourage local investment. Where they have located here, and they have started producing, we can go and organise their workers.”

On strengthening unions, Oshiomhole pointed to lapses in government oversight. “There’s is missing the role of the government, of the Ministry of Labor. You know, if you look at the labor laws, there is enough room for the Ministry of Labor to ensure that the process and procedures are observed before you invoke that weapon. But oftentimes this is lost.”

He also raised concerns about labour practices in Nigeria’s private sector, particularly in banks. “It shocks me that as we speak, about 60% or more of bank employees are contract staff. What it means is that these employees who dress well as if they are bankers, when they are thrown out, they have no gratuity. They are contract staff. They are not employees of the bank. Those for me are practices that must be stopped.”

Oshiomhole accused some unions of being compromised. “What I found out later is that they just pay what I call protection fee. Every month, they issue a check to the unions. But the union don’t really exist. They don’t have negotiating rights. Because if they do exist, they could not allow 80 percent, 70 percent of their employees to be contract staff.”

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