Vice President Kashim Shettima has cautioned the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), to be careful on how it relates with Dangote refinery as their actions and inactions will form a perception foreign investors will have on the business climate in Nigeria.
Recall that last week, PENGASSAN and Dangote refinery were embroiled in a crisis following the sacking of 800 Nigerian nationals workers from the refinery and replacing them with Indian expatriates. PENGASSAN insists that Dangote group obeys the laws of the land by allowing its members join its union, a position Dangote group kicked against. Their disagreement led to an industrial action.
Speaking at the opening of the 31st Nigerian Economic Summit (NES #31) in Abuja on Monday, Shettima described Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, as “not just an individual but an institution”, urging Nigerians to protect and promote the multi-billion-dollar refinery as a national economic asset.
“Aliko Dangote is not an individual. He is a leading light in Nigeria’s economic firmament and how we treat this gentleman will determine how outsiders will judge us.
If he had invested $10 billion in Microsoft, Amazon, or Google, he would probably be worth $78 billion today. But he chose to invest in this country, and we owe it to future generations to future generations to jealously promote, protect, preserve and project the interest of this great Nigerian” he said
