Vice President Kashim Shettima has called on Nigerians to respect and protect the multibillion-dollar investment of Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, describing it as essential to the nation’s economic stability and growth.

He emphasized that the 650,000-barrel-per-day Dangote Refinery represents a national asset critical to Nigeria’s industrial expansion and global competitiveness.

His remarks came amid the recent industrial action by oil workers under the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) over the alleged dismissal of about 800 unionized employees.

The strike was later suspended after the intervention of Labour Minister Muhammad Dingyadi and National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu.

Shettima lauded Dangote’s decision to invest heavily in Nigeria rather than taking his capital abroad.

He said, “Aliko Dangote, he’s not an individual, he’s an institution, and he’s a leading light in Nigeria’s economic parliament. And how we treat this gentleman will determine how outsiders will judge us. If he had invested $10 billion in Microsoft, in Amazon, or in Google, he probably might be worth $70 to $80 billion by now. But he opted to invest in his country, and we owe it to future generations to jealously protect, promote, preserve, and protect the interests of this great Nigeria.”

The Vice President also urged labour unions and the private sector to exercise restraint and patriotism when handling industrial disputes, warning that rash actions could jeopardize the nation’s progress.

“It’s not about holding the whole nation to ransom because of a minor labour dispute. Nigeria is greater than PENGASSAN. Nigeria is greater than each and every one of us. I’m not coming to you as a partisan,” he added.