Author: Sasforde

The Chairman of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, has announced that the road leading to the state-of-the-art Dangote Petroleum Refinery & Petrochemicals will be named after President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in honour of his contribution to the project.

Dangote hailed Tinubu for his unwavering support of the private sector and credited him as the visionary behind the Free Trade Zone during his tenure as Governor of Lagos State.

Dangote made the announcement during President Tinubu’s tour of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals, which coincided with the official commissioning of the Deep Sea Port Access Road on Thursday, June 5, 2025.

This strategic road links the Lekki Deep Sea Port, the Free Trade Zone, and the Dangote Refinery to the Sagamu–Benin Expressway via Ijebu Ode.

Dangote told the President, “The Dangote refinery complex is, in many ways, your brainchild. Mr President, let me just say one thing — the main road leading into our refinery is now to be known as Bola Ahmed Tinubu Road.”

Following the announcement, President Tinubu rose to shake hands with Dangote in a moment that drew applause from the dignitaries in attendance.

Dangote spending N900 billion on road projects
Dangote also revealed that, despite paying N450 billion in taxes last year, the Group is committed to spending N900 billion on road infrastructure across Nigeria. He said the Deep Sea Port Access Road is one of several roads built and being developed by the Dangote Group under the Federal Government’s tax credit scheme.

The Dangote Group is currently the highest tax-paying company in Nigeria, contributing more in taxes than all the country’s banks combined.
According to Dangote, the Deep Sea Port Access Road is one of eight major road projects totalling 500 kilometres, including two in Borno State that will eventually link Nigeria to both Chad and Cameroon.
He praised President Tinubu’s leadership, describing him as a courageous leader whose administration has revived investor confidence in the private sector.
Dangote thanked the President for envisioning and implementing the Lekki Deep Sea Port project and assured him of the private sector’s support for expanding infrastructure nationwide.

Tinubu hails Dangote Refinery
Commissioning the concrete road to the Lekki Deep Sea Port, President Tinubu hailed the Dangote Petroleum Refinery as a “remarkable achievement,” calling it “a great point of reference, a phenomenal project of our time, and a massive investment” that exemplifies Nigeria’s potential for industrial and economic transformation.

President Tinubu said, “Having inspected the Dangote refinery, which is a great point of reference, a great phenomenon of our time and a massive investment, I want to thank Aliko Dangote. I am happy that the Deep Sea Port I initiated as Governor of Lagos State is a huge success today. Users save vast amounts of money using this port because they no longer need to trans-ship their goods. I commend the quality of the access road done by Messrs Dangote Industries Limited on our Tax Credit Road programme and the subcontractor, Messrs Hitech Construction Company Limited.”

Nigeria and Angola are emerging as key players in Africa’s energy transformation, poised to lead the continent’s push for energy security as refining capacity is projected to rise significantly, reaching up to 90%.

This projection was made in the Africa Finance Corporation’s (AFC) newly-released report “State of Africa’s Infrastructure Report 2025”.

The AFC stated, “If fully utilized, refining capacity could meet up to 90% of the continent’s fuel demand—compared to just 45% last year.”

“First, brownfield upgrades: over $16 billion is needed to modernize existing refineries, meet clean fuel standards, and reduce reliance on imports. Second, greenfield investment is key to meeting future demand, with Nigeria and Angola emerging as new continental hubs.”

Dangote Refinery crucial in leading the charge
According to the report, the key to achieving energy security is the state-of-the-art Dangote Refinery facility, which has a processing capacity of 650,000 barrels per day.

The state of the continent’s refining industry has left it heavily dependent on imports of petroleum products, which are still subsidized in several countries.

According to the report, “In 2023, 55% of Africa’s demand for petroleum products was met by imports. However, if refining capacity were fully utilized, this number could drop to only 10%. In that regard, the commissioning of the Dangote Refinery, along with the gradual re-opening of the Port Harcourt and Warri Refineries in Nigeria (2024-2026) could significantly transform the continent’s fuel security landscape in the short term.”

The AFC noted further, stating “the sector’s growth is closely tied to the modernization of existing refineries in West and Central Africa, overcoming feedstock and financing challenges for new projects, and addressing critical infrastructure bottlenecks in transportation and distribution networks.

“To achieve fuel security and meet the continent’s increasing demand, Africa must prioritize investment in refinery upgrades, develop efficient distribution systems—including pipelines, railways, and diversified port infrastructure. As new energy infrastructure is built, it must also be resilient and capable of supporting future energy transitions. The successful integration of these elements will be crucial for achieving long-term fuel security and energy independence across the continent,” AFC stated.

What you should know
In May 2023, Africa’s largest oil refinery, the Dangote Refinery, was commissioned in Nigeria, with hopes that it would help alleviate the country’s chronic fuel shortages.

On Thursday, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu lauded the Dangote Petroleum Refinery, describing it as a “great point of reference, a great phenomenon of our time, and a massive investment” that showcases Nigeria’s capacity for industrial greatness and economic transformation.

The President thanked the owner, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, for his interest in developing the country through continuous investments.

A new legal research paper has raised alarm over the increasing exposure of Nigeria’s oil and gas industry to data breaches and cybersecurity threats, warning that poor data governance could jeopardize the country’s most strategic economic sector.

The paper, authored by data protection lawyer and privacy expert Lynda Ugo Ezike (CIPP/C), argues that the digitization of Nigeria’s oil and gas operations has opened the sector to a wave of cyberattacks, surveillance risks, and legal liabilities tied to the misuse or unauthorized access to personal and sensitive data.

Published under the title “The Significance of Data Protection and Information Security in Nigeria’s Oil and Gas Industry: Legal Considerations,” the report explores how oil and gas companies in Nigeria, while adopting emerging technologies like cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and IoT, are falling short of the data protection responsibilities imposed by Nigerian law.

“Nigeria’s oil and gas companies are now classified as data controllers and processors of major importance under the Nigeria Data Protection Act (NDPA) 2023. This means they face stricter regulatory obligations, and failure to comply could attract fines of up to N10 million or 2% of their annual gross revenue,” Ezike wrote in the paper.

Critical infrastructure, digital vulnerability
With the sector contributing significantly to government revenue, exports, and GDP, the report warns that any data breach or cybersecurity incident can have devastating ripple effects across the economy.

Referencing a 2021 cyberattack on the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), where hackers reportedly encrypted sensitive operational data and demanded a ransom, the paper illustrates how vulnerable Nigeria’s energy assets have become.

Legal gaps and compliance failures
While Nigeria has made strides with the enactment of the NDPA and the creation of the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC), the paper notes that existing oil and gas regulations—particularly the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021—only cover customer data, leaving out other important categories such as employees, contractors, and host communities.

“The PIA references data protection in Section 164, but its scope is limited to customer information in midstream and downstream operations,” Ezike explains. “This leaves a gap for upstream activities and broader data subject categories.”

The report calls for sector-specific data protection regulations, arguing that a one-size-fits-all approach fails to account for the operational complexities and data sensitivity levels across upstream, midstream, and downstream segments.

Key risk areas in the industry
The report outlines eight areas in which oil and gas companies are most vulnerable to data breaches and legal liabilities. These include:

Human resources (handling biometric and health records)
Third-party contractors and cloud vendors
Customer payment and financial data
Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) systems
Transborder data transfers
Surveillance systems (CCTV and drone footage)
Visitor management systems
Company websites and cookie tracking tools
Each of these areas, according to the paper, involve the collection, storage, processing, or transfer of personal data—activities which are now legally regulated under the NDPA.

Recommendations for the industry
To avert major data protection failures, the report recommends several compliance and governance strategies, including:

The development of industry-specific data protection guidelines in partnership with the NDPC
Adoption of third-party data processing agreements with vendors and contractors
Staff training on data privacy rights and breach protocols
Implementation of annual data audits, privacy impact assessments, and use of privacy-enhancing technologies
Certification through recognized schemes such as ISO 27701 or BBBOnline
The report also emphasizes the importance of having incident response plans and designating Data Protection Officers to oversee compliance within oil and gas firms.

Why it matters
The push for stronger data protection comes at a time when Nigeria is seeking to deepen investor confidence in its oil and gas sector amid global shifts in energy investment.

With digitization now central to exploration, refining, logistics, and payments, a major breach could affect everything from fuel supply chains to international financing deals.

“The everyday existence of Nigerians is powered by the oil and gas sector, and any malicious cyber intrusion can cause serious economic and social disruption,” Ezike warns.

The NDPC has also stepped-up enforcement in 2025, signaling that non-compliance will no longer be treated lightly.

As Nigeria positions itself as Africa’s largest oil producer and a digital leader in energy innovation, experts say protecting data in the sector will be just as important as securing the pipelines.