President Bola Tinubu has explained that he supported the Dangote Refinery to encourage the private sector to invest more in the nation’s economy.

Tinubu said this on Thursday at a meeting with the board and management of the Nigerian Exchange Group at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Recounting his conversation with the late former president Muhammadu Buhari, the president said he was in talk with Buhari about the refinery and how to make it a reality even before he became president.

According to the president, when he assumed office on May 29, 2023, his administration introduced the naira-for-crude to stabilise the currency, stressing that there is no need for letters of credit and paperwork.

He said Nigeria has the the population, brains, and audacity to achieve a one-trillion-dollar economy.

Tinubu said, “We need to encourage the private sector to invest more in the economy. It’s one of the reasons I backed Dangote, even before I became president.

“God bless the soul of former President Muhammadu Buhari. We were talking about the refinery then, and we found a way to push it to the private sector.”