Former Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola has said a female member of his cabinet played the decisive role that helped Lagos secure what later became the Dangote Petroleum Refinery, using the story to argue that women should be judged by the quality of their decisions and leadership.
Fashola made his position known in a keynote address titled “From Presence to Power: Advancing Women’s Influence in the Boardroom,” at the Chartered Institute of Directors (CIoD) Nigeria Women Directors’ Biennial Conference held at the National Arts Theatre in Lagos earlier this week.
He said the intervention came from then Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, Mrs. Olusola Oworu, after negotiations between the Lagos State Government and the Dangote Group stalled over the price of land in the Lekki Free Zone.
The conference focused on increasing the influence of women in leadership positions rather than limiting attention to the number of women serving on corporate boards. Fashola used the refinery story as practical evidence that capable women can shape decisions with lasting economic value.
He recalled that the Dangote Group had already selected Lagos as its preferred location for the refinery project and the state had identified a suitable site. However, talks slowed because the company considered the government’s land price too high.
Fashola said Lagos operated a fixed pricing system for land allocations, making the issue difficult to resolve until Oworu proposed a different approach.
He quoted her as telling the State Executive Council: “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 advice changed the discussion.
“That was a thinking decision. And the whole of council then looked to me and I surrendered,” he said.
He also told participants that effectiveness should not be judged by gender.
“Ineffectiveness is not a gender thing; it is a human thing,” he said.
Other speakers at the conference also called for stronger roles for women in corporate leadership.
CIoD Nigeria First Vice President, Mrs. Amina Oyagbola, said more women now serve on company boards and lead institutions in both the public and private sectors. She, however, noted that fewer women occupy board chair and executive leadership positions where major decisions are taken.
She encouraged organisations to strengthen mentorship and sponsorship programmes to prepare more women for senior leadership roles.
CIoD Nigeria President and Chairman of the Governing Council, Otunba Adetunji Oyebanji, said board appointments should be based on competence, skills and integrity instead of traditional pathways that have limited opportunities for women.
Participants also agreed that organisations should give women stronger influence in strategic decisions rather than focusing only on board representation.
The Dangote Group first planned to build the refinery in the Olokola Free Trade Zone, which covers parts of Ogun and Ondo states. The company later moved the project to the Lekki Free Zone in Lagos after disagreements with the Ogun State Government under former Governor Ibikunle Amosun.
The refinery began production on January 12, 2024. It has a refining 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.
In February 2026, the company announced that it had reached its full designed processing capacity after optimising its crude distillation unit and motor spirit production block.
The company is also seeking about $1 billion through a private placement after the refinery was valued at $39.1 billion. Its information memorandum showed that expressions of interest had already passed $2 billion.
Fashola’s position placed the spotlight on the role of informed leadership in major investment decisions, presenting the Dangote Refinery project as an example of how competence and sound judgement can influence outcomes with lasting economic value.