Femi-Otedola
Iyunade Grace
Femi Otedola announced plans to invest $100 million in the Dangote Refinery during a visit to the facility on Wednesday, May 20, 2026. The billionaire and chairman of First HoldCo led a delegation of senior executives from his company on a tour of the 650,000 barrels-per-day refinery and the adjacent Dangote Fertiliser plant in Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos. After the tour, he confirmed that he had secured an allocation of shares worth $100 million in the refinery’s ongoing private placement.
Otedola explained that the decision came after years of close observation and repeated visits to the project site. He said he had been to the refinery more than 25 times and had consistently appealed to Aliko Dangote for a chance to participate in the investment round. For him, the investment is both personal and strategic, reflecting his belief that the refinery represents one of the most significant industrial projects to emerge from Africa in decades.
To position himself for the investment, Otedola revealed that he had divested his stake in Geregu Power Plc. He described the move as deliberate, saying he wanted to reallocate capital toward what he sees as a transformative platform for Nigeria and the wider continent. His comments suggest he views the refinery not just as a business opportunity but as a project with the potential to reshape Africa’s energy and industrial landscape.
The $100 million commitment forms part of a broader $2 billion private placement that Dangote Refinery is conducting ahead of its planned initial public offering. Aliko Dangote has indicated that the IPO could involve selling up to 10 percent of the business, a stake that Bloomberg previously valued at around $5 billion. The private placement is intended to bring in anchor investors before the company opens up to a wider public listing later this year.
Dangote Refinery is targeting a valuation of up to $50 billion for the IPO, and the company is planning a cross-border listing to attract both domestic and international investors. The goal, according to Dangote, is to democratize wealth creation by giving ordinary Nigerians and Africans a direct stake in the continent’s industrial transformation. He has argued that Africans should have the opportunity to finance and benefit from the continent’s largest industrial projects rather than relying solely on foreign capital.
Otedola praised Dangote’s role in delivering the project, calling him a genius and one of the greatest industrialists to emerge from Africa. He said the refinery is helping to liberate the continent from decades of dependence on imported petroleum products and from the foreign exchange pressures that come with it. For Otedola, the investment aligns with a broader vision of African industrial self-sufficiency and economic independence.
The refinery reached full operational capacity earlier in 2026 and has already begun exporting refined products such as jet fuel, diesel, and gasoline to markets across Africa and Europe. That operational milestone has strengthened investor confidence ahead of the listing and demonstrated the plant’s ability to compete globally. It also marks a shift for Nigeria, which for years has exported crude only to import refined fuel at a higher cost.
First HoldCo’s involvement signals growing interest from Nigeria’s financial sector in backing large-scale industrial projects domestically. As the parent company of First Bank, First HoldCo’s leadership visit and Otedola’s investment underscore how local capital is increasingly looking inward rather than seeking opportunities abroad. It also sets a precedent for other Nigerian conglomerates to participate in the refinery’s equity raise.
The planned IPO is expected to be one of the largest on the African continent if it proceeds on the timeline and valuation Dangote has outlined. A successful listing would provide the refinery with additional capital for expansion while giving investors a chance to participate in what is already the world’s largest single-train refinery. It would also create a new benchmark for how private industrial projects can be financed and scaled in Nigeria.
For Otedola, the $100 million stake is a bet on that future. He has framed the investment as a contribution to Africa’s liberation from import dependence and as a statement of confidence in the continent’s ability to build and operate world-class infrastructure. If the IPO delivers on its promises, his early entry into the private placement could position him among the most significant local stakeholders in one of Africa’s most consequential industrial ventures.
