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Obinna weighs in on jobs Dangote’s Lamu refinery is set to create
30th September, 2026 02:28 PM
Media personality Steve Thompson Maghana, alias Oga Obinna, has weighed in on the economic opportunities expected to come with the planned Dangote refinery in Lamu.
Obinna highlighted the potential impact of the multibillion-shilling project, particularly the number of jobs it is expected to create and its possible contribution to Kenya’s economy.
Speaking about the refinery, Obinna said Kenyans should look at the opportunities that the project could bring once it gets underway.
“I want us to talk about Dangote’s refinery. You have seen the job creation it is going to there; you have seen the number of people it is going to employ,” Obinna said on Wednesday, September 30, 2026.
“You have seen how it is going to improve our GDP or not,” he added.
His comments come as attention turns to the employment opportunities expected from the Lamu refinery, which Dangote Group President and CEO Aliko Dangote has said could require more than 60,000 people at the height of construction and development.
Dangote said the company would seek to train Kenyans and develop a pool of qualified workers who can take up opportunities created by the project.
“We will try as much as possible to train a lot of people here because at the height of the project we will need over 60,000 people working there,” Dangote said.
He clarified that the figure should not be interpreted simply as the number of people who would be directly employed by the refinery, noting that the project would create a wider economic ecosystem around it.
“Sixty thousand people is not about number; it’s about qualified people to be there at the site,” Dangote said.
Job creation
The employment conversation has already extended beyond the refinery’s eventual workforce.
Dangote has announced engineering opportunities targeting degree and diploma holders, highlighting the demand for skilled workers as the project gets underway.
The refinery is also expected to generate indirect opportunities in sectors such as accommodation, food, transport and retail as thousands of people work around the project.
Dangote has described the Lamu refinery as the foundation of a wider industrial complex, with plans that could include petrochemicals and power generation. The proposed facility is designed to process up to 700,000 barrels of crude oil per day.
The project is scheduled to begin construction in Lamu on September 30, 2026, with Dangote and President William Ruto expected to preside over the groundbreaking ceremony. Reuters reported that the refinery is projected for completion in 2030.
For Obinna, the scale of the project and the employment opportunities attached to it are among the issues Kenyans should be watching as the Lamu refinery takes shape.
