By Bayo Wahab

Vice President Kashim Shettima has praised Alhaji Aliko Dangote for his $19bn Refinery investment in Nigeria.

The Vice President said Dangote would be worth $120bn now if he had invested the money spent on building the refinery in tech companies like Amazon, Google or Microsoft.

Shettima said this at the Taraba International Investment Summit in Jalingo on Wednesday.

?He started this project in 2007/2008. If he had invested the $19bn that it took him to set up Dangote Refinery in Microsoft, Amazon, Google, he?s going to be worth $120bn now but he decided to invest in his own country,? the VP said.

Shettima, who represented President Bola Tinubu at the event, described Taraba as the ?agricultural powerhouse of Nigeria.?

Speaking at the event, Dangote urged both government and private stakeholders to work together to transform Taraba State into an economic hub.

The industrialist also called on the government to encourage domestic investment before seeking foreign direct investment. 

He said, ?Foreign direct investment is good, but foreign investors will only come when they see that local investors are thriving. The government must encourage domestic investments first.?

In his remarks, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar advised Governor Agbu Kefas of Taraba State to prioritise in infrastructure and leverage the private sector.

?What the governor is doing reminds me of the challenges we faced in rebuilding Nigeria?s economy then. He must leverage the private sector, bridge resource gaps, and prioritise investment in infrastructure, education, and health to improve human capital,? Atiku stated.

Vanguard News

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