William Ruto Tours Lagos Refinery Ahead of Lamu Groundbreaking

President William Ruto toured the Dangote Petroleum Refinery in Lekki, Lagos, Nigeria, on September 25, 2026, to inspect the facility's 700,000 barrels-per-day capacity and maritime infrastructure. The visit served as a precursor to the September 30 groundbreaking ceremony for the East Africa Refinery in Lamu, Kenya, a project valued between $15 billion and $17 billion.

Supported by the Africa Finance Corporation, the Lamu refinery will process crude from Kenya's Lokichar oilfields. Ruto stated the project will generate approximately 60,000 jobs and enhance energy security across East and Central Africa. During the visit, Aliko Dangote proposed including a 1,000MW power plant at the Lamu site, offering to sell 500MW of that capacity to the Kenyan government. The plant would likely utilize liquefied natural gas imported from Tanzania, potentially reviving a stalled 2021 pipeline agreement.

While Kenya Power is currently negotiating a power purchase agreement, terms regarding pricing and gas supply remain unresolved. Additionally, Ruto's delegation expressed interest in purchasing a 10% equity stake in the refinery project, valued at approximately $500 million. Following the Lagos tour, Ruto is scheduled to conduct a weeklong working tour of Kenya's Coast region to commission various projects and issue nearly 200,000 land title deeds.