Aliko Dangote, chief executive officer of Dangote Group, says Adeyeye Ogunwusi, the Ooni of Ife, helped remove over 19 shrines from the site of the Dangote refinery before construction.
Dangote spoke on Thursday at the unveiling of Dangote Group’s ‘$100bn Vision 2030: Accelerating Africa’s Industrialisation’.
He commended the traditional ruler for the role he played in building the Dangote refinery.
“I must recognise and thank the Ooni of Ife for enabling the building of our factory. What happened was that when we got there, there were over 19 shrines at the site,” he said.
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“Nobody was able to go near there to do anything. But Ooni went there, stood there and said ‘remove all of them. Let the gods come and talk to me’.
“Your royal majesty, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart because without that singular act of yours, I don’t think we would have been able to build the refinery.”
At the event, Dangote launched a N100 billion annual education support initiative for Nigerian students.
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The billionaire entrepreneur also said his refinery will pay dividends in dollars when it gets listed on the stock exchange.
He said the company is working with the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to facilitate the foreign currency dividends.
