The Group Managing Director of Sujimoto Luxury Construction, Sijibomi Ogundele, has praised the Dangote Petroleum Refinery for overcoming the challenges that initially led some professionals to doubt whether the project could be completed.
Ogundele made the remarks while speaking with journalists in Ibadan, Oyo State, where he reflected on the lessons he drew from the development of the refinery and its progress since becoming operational.
He said the project faced major concerns from the outset, including its huge cost, technical demands, foreign exchange difficulties, crude oil supply and Nigeria’s history of unsuccessful refinery projects.
According to him, some professionals in the oil and gas, banking and investment sectors privately questioned whether Aliko Dangote could deliver the refinery, with some suggesting that the businessman had taken on a project beyond his capabilities.
Ogundele recalled visiting the refinery in Ibeju-Lekki about five years ago and said the scale of the facility influenced how he viewed the ambitions of his own company.
He said the experience later shaped Sujimoto’s approach to undertaking large-scale real estate developments, particularly during the construction of its Lucrezia project in Banana Island.
Ogundele, however, stressed that entrepreneurs should not dismiss professional criticism when pursuing ambitious projects. Instead, he said expert advice should be used to identify risks and improve execution without allowing conventional thinking to limit innovation.
He also pointed to the refinery’s performance beyond its commissioning, noting that the project had to demonstrate its commercial viability through production, crude supply, pricing and financial results.
He cited the refinery’s reported processing capacity of about 700,000 barrels per day in 2026, revenue of more than $13bn in the first half of the year and a net profit of $1.82bn, compared with a $476m loss reported for 2025.
The businessman also noted plans to increase the refinery’s capacity to about 1.4 million barrels per day by 2029, as well as the proposed N2.15tn public offering of shares in Dangote Petroleum Refinery.
Ogundele said the refinery’s journey demonstrated that identifying the risks surrounding an ambitious project was different from concluding that the project could not succeed.
He urged business owners to combine expert knowledge with confidence in their long-term vision, while subjecting major investments to proper analysis and learning from setbacks.
He said experience should guide entrepreneurs in making decisions without determining the limits of what they can ultimately achieve.
