"In any investment or project like the Dangote refinery, which can expand the borders of the continent, it would make each of our countries better and more prosperous".
Akufo-Addo said as much when he joined Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari and other African presidents to commission a $19 billion oil refinery, the largest of its kind in the world and built by Africa's richest person, Aliko Dangote.
The refinery is expected to transform Nigeria from an importer of refined fuels to an exporter to end recurrent fuel shortages, creating tens of thousands of jobs.
The refinery, 20% state owned, would operate at full capacity by 2024 and be capable of meeting 100% of Nigeria's needs for all refined products and also have a surplus for export.
Speaking at the commissioning ceremony, President Akufo-Addo said that the lands of Africa are abundantly endowed with hydrocarbon resources which fully exploited would create prosperity for the African people.
However, he said, "it would be totally unfair for the world to demand that Africa abandon the exploitation of these resources necessary to finance its development, especially at a time when many countries on the continent are just discovering them".
The development and industrialization of today's rich nations, argued President Akufo-Addo, also depended on exploiting their natural resources.
This evolution, according to the president, occurred at the expense of pollution and the emission of greenhouse gases.
Even today, the western world is responsible for 76% of carbon emissions, compared to 4% for Africa.
President Akufo-Addo has on many occasions urged African countries that have recently discovered crude oil in large quantities "to find ways to rapidly bring their substantial hydrocarbon resources into production".
"With the help of modern technology, the exploitation of these resources could produce less emissions than occurred in the past," he said.
“We must add value to these resources and not export them in their raw state if Africa wants to make the transition to the status of developed countries”, noted the President.
