Former Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola, has disclosed that his administration offered the Dangote Group a discount on the cost of land in the Lekki Free Zone to ensure that the multibillion-dollar refinery project was sited in Lagos.
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Fashola said the decision was taken after negotiations over the land allocation nearly stalled because the Dangote Group considered the state’s fixed land price too high.
He made the disclosure while delivering a keynote address titled, “From Presence to Power: Advancing Women’s Influence in the Boardroom,” at the Chartered Institute of Directors Nigeria Women Directors’ Biennial Conference held at the National Arts Theatre in Lagos.
According to him, the intervention of the then Lagos State Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, Mrs. Olusola Oworu, was critical in persuading the State Executive Council to prioritise the long-term economic value of the refinery over immediate revenue from land sales.
Fashola explained that Lagos had a fixed-rate pricing system for land under its allocation schemes, but Oworu advised that the state should not lose a major investment opportunity because of disagreement over land cost.
Recalling her advice to the council, Fashola quoted Oworu as saying, “Look, Governor, you have 16,000 hectares of land. The Chinese are in 3,000 hectares. We have barely built 200. Thirteen thousand is waiting for investors. You have now found an investor who wants to take 2,000 hectares and build a refinery of $19 billion and you are quibbling over the cost of the land. Offer the land at a discount. Once it comes in, others will follow. And then you can make money from your land.”
Fashola said the argument changed the direction of the deliberation and eventually led the state to grant the discount.
“That was a thinking decision. And the whole of council then looked to me and I surrendered,” he said.
The former governor said the decision helped Lagos retain the refinery project after the initial disagreement over land pricing, describing it as an example of strategic thinking in public-sector decision-making.
He used the episode to support his broader argument that leadership should be judged by competence, preparation and impact rather than gender.
“Ineffectiveness is not a gender thing; it is a human thing,” Fashola said.
He said Oworu’s contribution demonstrated the value of giving women real influence in decision-making spaces, not merely appointing them for representation.
The Dangote Group had initially planned to build the refinery in the Olokola Free Trade Zone, spanning Ogun and Ondo states, before the project was relocated to the Lekki Free Zone in Lagos.
The refinery, which commenced production on January 12, 2024, has a nameplate capacity of 650,000 barrels of crude oil per day, making it Africa’s largest refinery and one of the world’s largest single-train refineries.
The conference also featured calls for organisations to move beyond increasing the number of women on boards and focus on ensuring that women have real influence over strategic decisions.
CIoD Nigeria First Vice President, Mrs. Amina Oyagbola, said although more women now serve on corporate boards and lead institutions across the public and private sectors, they remain underrepresented in board chair and executive leadership positions where major decisions are taken.
She urged organisations to strengthen mentorship and sponsorship programmes to build stronger leadership pipelines for women.
Also speaking, CIoD Nigeria President and Chairman of the Governing Council, Otunba Adetunji Oyebanji, said board appointments should be driven by competence, skills and integrity rather than traditional leadership pathways that have historically limited women’s access to top positions.
Speakers at the conference said expanding women’s participation in leadership requires organisations to focus not only on board representation, but also on ensuring that women are empowered to shape policy, strategy and institutional direction.
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