Former First Lady Patience Jonathan has said she mentored the Group President of Azikel Group, Dr Azibapu Eruani, from his early days in business and encouraged him to aspire to the level of some of Nigeria’s leading entrepreneurs.
Jonathan made the remarks on Tuesday during an inspection tour of the Azikel Refinery in Obunagha, Bayelsa State. A video of her comments circulated widely on Thursday.
She described Eruani as a young businessman she personally encouraged to learn from prominent entrepreneurs, including Aliko Dangote and Aminu Dantata.
Jonathan said she introduced Eruani to the businessmen and urged him to learn from their experience.
“He’s a boy that I brought up. We are always together. Although he’s the little one among us when we are friends — Dangote, Seyi, Dantata, Eruani — among us, he’s the smallest. But I made sure he followed the Dangotes, he followed Dantata,” she said.
According to the former First Lady, Eruani once told her that he aspired to become as successful as Dangote, a goal she initially considered ambitious but later prayed he would achieve.
She also recalled Eruani’s efforts to secure refinery licences, saying he and others approached her during the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari after deciding to invest in refining.
Jonathan said she initially doubted whether the administration would approve the request but later learnt that Eruani had secured approval for three refineries.
“During the Buhari administration, he and others came to me and told me they were going to apply for a refinery. I told him, ‘Eruani, your brother, the President, did not give you a refinery. Is it the APC government that will give you one?’ I prayed it would happen. But later, they came back and told me they had been given three refineries,” she said.
The inspection tour coincided with the arrival of the Crude Distillation Unit for the Azikel Refinery, marking another milestone in the development of the project.
The $1bn refinery has a planned capacity of 25,000 barrels per day and is designed to process condensate into products including petrol, diesel, aviation fuel and kerosene.
The facility is expected to become one of Nigeria’s largest privately owned refineries and the first major private refinery in the Niger Delta.
Also on the inspection tour, the Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission, Samuel Ogbuku, commended Eruani for sustaining the project over the years.
Ogbuku, who said he attended the refinery’s groundbreaking ceremony about eight years ago, described the project as a potential catalyst for investment, job creation and economic growth in Bayelsa.
He urged residents, particularly youths, to take advantage of opportunities expected to emerge from the refinery.
Ogbuku also commended the Bayelsa State Government for improving road infrastructure around the refinery and called for continued support for the project.
Governor Douye Diri, represented at the event by his deputy, Peter Akpe, has also backed the refinery project, which is expected to create employment and contribute to industrial development in the state.
Other dignitaries at the inspection included the Chairman of the Bayelsa State Council of Traditional Rulers, King Bubaraye Dakolo; Azikel Group Vice President, Presley Asemota; and Isaac Yalah.
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