In Lagos State’s Shekungba, Ikosi/Ejinrin Local Council Development Area, the sod was recently turned.
The dignitaries were escorted to the vast area of land in the Ikosi/Ejinrin Local Council Development Area by Mrs. Elizabeth-Omolara Akintonde, the Executive Chairman of Midoil.
Leaders and community members were given confidence by Akintonde that the refinery will bring about quick development and provide jobs, both direct and indirect
She gave the village chiefs credit for not falling for the lies of those who attempted to buy them out of their commitments.
With a 100,000 barrel per day refining capability, the Midoil refinery would improve Nigeria’s energy environment, according to Akintonde, whose 74th birthday fell on the same day as the sod turned.
“Every bush you see now, you won’t see it in a few months,” Akintonde promised, reaffirming her commitment to seeing the project through to completion.
Hajia Amina Abdullahi, the Chairman of Serenecity Staff Housing Estate and one of the Directors of Midoil, expressed her happiness that the project had finally started after more than ten years of delay.
“We trust that the refinery will be inaugurated in our lifetimes. “We have taken the right step with the turning of the sod today, but we know this is a big project that will go through many processes,” she said.
Retired Justice Olusola Hunponu-Wusu, a founding member of the proposed refinery, believed that in order to increase the nation’s refining capacity and eliminate petroleum imports, more refineries were needed.
Hunponu-Wusu encouraged the nation to increase its low oil production at the moment, expressing confidence that feedstock would not be a problem once the Midoil refinery is operational.
Ifedola Okupevi, the Bishop of the Lagos Anglican Communion, prayed for the timely completion of the project while turning the sod.
On March 17, 2024, the chairman of Midoil signed contracts with the representatives of Ererufu, Shekungba, and Arogbo and gave checks to the host villages.
She said the land allocation letter was received from the Lagos State Government on April 24, 2014, and that a sizable portion of the land was obtained from the government of former Lagos Governor Babatunde Fashola.
“Thereafter, we received the licenses to construct the refinery from the Department of Petroleum Resources on January 24, 2017,” she said.
“Midoil has taken ten years to secure interested investors who are willing to invest in Nigeria and our project,” stated Akintonde. But thank God Almighty, we now have three investor consortiums eager to join forces with us to invest $5 billion.
“The primary cause of the delay has been obtaining the necessary funding from outside.”
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