Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, has praised Nigerian engineers, saying they proved their excellence while building his $20 billion, 650,000-barrel-per-day Dangote Refinery.

Speaking at a recent media briefing, Dangote revealed that the engineers he hired outperformed their Indian counterparts and have since been recruited for high-paying roles in Qatar.

“I can tell you today, when we built this refinery, the Nigerian engineers we hired performed better than the Indians. Eighteen of them are now expatriates in Qatar,” he said.

Dangote stressed that job creation remains one of his biggest concerns, adding that his new fertiliser plant will also rely heavily on Nigerian professionals.

“For this new fertiliser plant we are building, the majority of the engineers will be Nigerians,” he added.

His comments come amid a dispute with the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), which accused the refinery of anti-labour practices in the engagement of drivers for its Compressed Natural Gas trucks. The Dangote Group has strongly denied the claims.

Despite opposition from some stakeholders in the downstream oil sector, Dangote maintained that his refinery’s recent move into fuel distribution is in the best interest of Nigeria. The refinery, which started fuel rollout in September last year, officially launched its petrol distribution scheme on Monday.

With this bold statement, Dangote not only defended his company’s efforts but also highlighted the global competitiveness of Nigerian engineers.