Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, on Tuesday, June 10, 2025, announced plans for a major shakeup in Nigeria’s petroleum industry, with another bombastic investment with specific focus on restructuring the downstream sector.
Speaking to journalists after President Bola Tinubu’s visit to the $20 billion Dangote Refinery in Lekki, Lagos, Dangote revealed that the refinery will undergo a massive expansion, with preparations underway to list it on the Nigerian stock exchange later this year. While declining to provide full details of the upcoming overhaul, he assured Nigerians that the changes would have far-reaching impacts.
Aliko Dangote is the President of Dangote Group, one of Africa’s largest industrial conglomerates. His business empire spans cement, sugar, salt, fertiliser, and petrochemicals, with the Dangote Petroleum Refinery being one of his most ambitious ventures to date. The refinery, valued at $20 billion, is positioned to drastically reduce Nigeria’s reliance on imported fuel and boost local production capacity. He also oversees Dangote Fertiliser, which he mentioned would be the first to go public in a wave of stock exchange listings.
Speaking with renewed confidence following President Tinubu’s tour of the facility, Dangote said, “Now that the President has visited and given us additional energy, we will inform you, and you will hear from us soon. This will be one of the major shakedowns in the entire country. It is not a price reduction; it will be a total overhaul of the downstream.” He emphasized that the restructuring is not focused on reducing prices but on transforming operations and infrastructure. He further hinted at an ambitious growth plan: “I told the President that he hasn’t seen anything yet; we are going on a massive trajectory, much bigger than what you’ve seen here. If you come back in the next five years, the refinery will be on the back burner.”
Dangote also confirmed that the refinery and petrochemical arms of his business would be listed on the Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX) within the second quarter of 2025, giving Nigerians an opportunity to invest and become stakeholders. The NGX Chairman, Umaru Kwairanga, echoed this, noting that the listing aligns with President Tinubu’s broader economic goal of growing Nigeria’s GDP to $1 trillion by 2030.
Commending the current administration, Dangote praised President Tinubu’s “Nigeria First Policy” and investment-friendly economic reforms, which he credited for enabling a more conducive environment for long-term industrial growth. He cited infrastructure projects like the Lekki-Epe corridor and other major roads, funded through schemes such as the Refurbishment Investment Tax Credit Scheme and the Nigerian Road Infrastructure Development Fund, as essential enablers of industrial success.