Femi Otedola, chairman of First HoldCo, has announced plans to invest $100 million in the Dangote Refinery. Otedola disclosed this on Wednesday after leading a delegation of top executives from First HoldCo on a visit to the Dangote refinery. “From on a personal note, I’ve appealed to him (Aliko Dangote).
I’ve been here with him 25 times, so my compensation is he’s going to allocate to me shares worth $100 million in the private placement,” the billionaire said. “That’s one of the reasons why I sold my stake in the Geregu plant to come and invest my proceeds in the IPO of Dangote Refinery,” he added.
READ ALSO: Otedola Acquires Additional N43bn FirstHoldCo Shares The Dangote Refinery opened in 2024 in what was a game-changer for the oil-rich country that frequently faces gasoline shortages. As of then, the Dangote Industries Vice President Devakumar Edwin, said that the refinery would meet the “entire requirements of the country” with only 44 per cent of its production.
Last year, Dangote said the 650,000-barrel-a-day refinery aims to become the biggest in the world in three years’ time with an expansion doubling its capacity, its owner said on Sunday. “We are more than doubling the barrels… to 1.4 million from 650,000,” said Aliko Dangote, a Nigerian businessman who is Africa’s richest person.
“This will make it the largest refinery” globally, surpassing India’s Jamnagar Refinery, he said. “This expansion reflects our confidence in Nigeria’s future, our belief in Africa’s potential and our commitment to building energy independence for our continent,” and reduce import dependence, Dangote said, adding there was “quite a lot of demand” from West Africa and East Africa.
Dangote also exports aviation fuel, mainly to the United States, Europe, and Brazil.