Dangote: Our CNG drivers have life insurance, earn 3 times minimum wage

President of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, says his companies remain committed to creating jobs for Nigerians, with special benefits for drivers of the company’s newly deployed Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) trucks.

Speaking at the refinery complex on Monday, Dangote said employees, particularly CNG truck drivers, enjoy salaries three times the minimum wage, alongside life and health insurance, pension, and access to housing loans.

“We are not trying to take anybody out of the market. These trucks didn’t stop anyone from working. Our drivers receive a living wage, life insurance, health insurance for their spouses and up to four children, as well as a lifelong pension. After five years without accidents, they can also access housing loans. We are creating jobs, not displacing them,” he said.

Dangote stressed that union membership for drivers is optional, while noting that the refinery has created jobs for mechanics, fleet managers, and other professionals to support the CNG fleet.

On the broader impact of the refinery, he said the facility has cut petrol prices from nearly ₦1,100 to ₦841 in several states, while also exporting over 1.1 billion litres of petrol between June and early September 2025. He added that the refinery has the capacity to meet Nigeria’s fuel needs and boost foreign exchange earnings.

Reflecting on the project’s challenges, Dangote admitted that building the 650,000 barrels-per-day refinery involved enormous risks, with warnings from experts and investors that such ventures were only suitable for sovereign states.

“If it had gone wrong, lenders would have taken our assets. But we believed in Nigeria and Africa,” he said.

Dangote also called for stronger policies to protect local industries, warning that dependence on imports is “exporting jobs and importing poverty.” He urged the National Assembly to back the Federal Government’s “Nigeria First” policy to drive industrialisation.

He reaffirmed that the refinery would not enter the retail fuel business but will continue collaborating with stakeholders in the downstream sector.