Otedola seeks $100m Dangote Refinery shares as FirstHoldCo team tours facility

Chairman of FirstHoldCo, Femi Otedola, has appealed to President of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, to allocate $100 million worth of shares to him in the proposed initial public offering of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery.

Otedola made the disclosure during a visit by the boards and management teams of FirstHoldCo group companies to the 650,000 barrels-per-day refinery and Dangote Fertiliser Limited in Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos.

According to him, he divested his stake in Geregu Power Plc to position himself for investment in the refinery’s IPO, which he described as a landmark industrial project capable of reducing Africa’s dependence on imported petroleum products.

“He is a genius and one of the greatest men to emerge from Africa. What he has achieved is helping to liberate the continent from economic dependency and import reliance,” Otedola said while commending Dangote for building what he described as the world’s largest single-train refinery.

“I have visited this refinery more than 25 times, and I have consistently appealed for $100 million worth of shares during the private placement. That informed my decision to sell my stake in Geregu so I can reinvest in the Dangote Petroleum Refinery,” he added.

Otedola also expressed confidence in plans by the Dangote Group to expand refining capacity to 1.4 million barrels per day, noting that rising demand for refined petroleum products across Africa supports further investments in domestic refining infrastructure.

Responding, Dangote assured that ordinary Nigerians and Africans would have the opportunity to participate in the refinery’s IPO and benefit from the wealth being created.

“We want ordinary Africans to participate in the value being created. What companies like Amazon and Apple achieved globally in terms of wealth creation is what we seek to replicate in Africa. We want people to invest, grow with us and share in the prosperity,” Dangote stated.

He further disclosed plans to establish a refinery in East Africa with a projected refining capacity of 700,000 barrels per day, alongside polypropylene and base oil production facilities.

According to him, the proposed project could commence within the next three to four years once construction begins.

Dangote said the planned expansion was not initially captured in the group’s Vision 2030 strategy, indicating that the company was already exceeding its long-term growth targets.

Chief Executive Officer of FirstBank Group, Olusegun Alebiosu, described the refinery as a symbol of industrial ambition and vision capable of inspiring similar investments across the continent.

“If you see this refinery and realise that an individual conceived and delivered a project of this magnitude, already helping to stabilise energy supply across Africa, you cannot help but be inspired,” Alebiosu said.

Dangote also highlighted the group’s operations in cement production across 11 African countries, noting that cement manufacturing capacity had risen to 55 million tonnes annually, supported by clinker export terminals aimed at strengthening regional trade.

“Africa must stop exporting raw materials and importing finished goods. That amounts to exporting jobs and importing poverty,” he added.

He disclosed that investor demand for the refinery’s planned listing on the Nigerian Exchange remained strong, with subscriptions during the private placement already exceeding $2 billion.

“There is significant interest in both the IPO and the private placement. While we are not able to meet all requests, the strong demand reflects investors’ confidence in the refinery and in Africa’s industrial future,” Dangote said.