Peter Uzoho
A former Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babatunde Fashola (SAN), has revealed that the state government deliberately discounted the price of land allocated to the Dangote Group to ensure that the multi-billion-dollar refinery project remained in Lagos.
Fashola said the decision made by his administration proved to be a strategic investment that ultimately paved the way for what has become the 650,000-barrel-per-day Dangote Petroleum Refinery in the Lekki Free Zone.
Speaking at the Chartered Institute of Directors (CIoD) Nigeria Women Directors’ Biennial Conference in Lagos, where he delivered a keynote address titled “From Presence to Power: Advancing Women’s Influence in the Boardroom,” the former governor was quoted by Nairametrics as saying that the breakthrough came after then Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, Mrs. Olusola Oworu, urged the state government to look beyond immediate revenue from land sales.
According to him, negotiations with the Dangote Group had reached a stalemate after the company considered the state’s asking price for the land too high.
Fashola explained that Lagos operated a fixed pricing regime for land allocations, making it difficult to depart from established rates. However, Oworu argued that attracting a transformational investment was more valuable than insisting on the land’s full price.
Recalling the deliberations at the State Executive Council, Fashola quoted the former commissioner as saying that with thousands of hectares in the Lekki Free Zone still awaiting development, it was economically wiser to offer a concession to an investor willing to commit about $19 billion to build a refinery.
According to him, she argued that once such a landmark investment took off, it would attract other investors and significantly enhance the value of the remaining land.
“That was a thinking decision. The whole council then looked at me, and I surrendered,” Fashola said, noting that the intervention altered the course of the discussions and ensured that Lagos retained the project.
He said the experience demonstrated that effective leadership should be judged by competence and strategic thinking rather than gender.
“Ineffectiveness is not a gender thing; it is a human thing,” he added.
Fashola cited the episode as an illustration of the value women bring to leadership when allowed to influence critical decisions, stressing that organisations should place greater emphasis on competence, preparation and impact.
Earlier, speakers at the conference urged public and private institutions to move beyond increasing the numerical representation of women on corporate boards and instead create opportunities for them to shape strategic decisions.
First Vice-President of CIoD Nigeria, Mrs. Amina Oyagbola, observed that although more women served on boards and occupied leadership positions, they remained underrepresented in board chairmanships and executive offices where major corporate decisions are taken.
She called for stronger mentorship and sponsorship programmes to better prepare more women for top leadership roles.
In his remarks, President and Chairman of the Governing Council of CIoD Nigeria, Adetunji Oyebanji, said board appointments should be based on competence, integrity and professional capability rather than traditional pathways that have historically limited women’s access to senior leadership positions.