Nigerian billionaire businessman Femi Otedola has disclosed that he sold his stake in Geregu Power Plc to invest in the planned public offering of the Dangote refinery project owned by Aliko Dangote. Mr Otedola made the disclosure while speaking to journalists during a visit to the Dangote Refinery.
He praised Mr Dangote’s industrial projects, describing the businessman as “a colossus” and “one of the greatest men that has come out of Africa.” Otedola stated, “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.”
The businessman said he had repeatedly appealed to Mr Dangote to allocate shares to him in the refinery’s private placement. As part of his compensation, Mr Otedola requested shares worth $100 million during the private placement phase.
Mr Otedola described the Dangote refinery project as a transformational investment capable of freeing Nigeria and Africa from economic dependence. “I wish Aliko Dangote is a colossus, a genius, probably one of the greatest men that has come out of Africa for delivering us out of economic slavery in Nigeria and by extension Africa,” he said.
Last December, Mr Otedola offloaded his interest in Geregu Power Plc, the electricity generation company he took public in October 2022 at a market value of N250 billion. The deal was valued at $750 million.
In his remarks, Mr Dangote revealed that preparations were underway for an Initial Public Offering (IPO) of the refinery, which he said could be launched by September. According to him, investor demand for the offering has already reached “billions of dollars.”
Mr Dangote said the goal was to allow early investors to benefit from the refinery’s future growth in the same way investors benefited from early stakes in global technology firms. “We want it to be like when you buy Amazon or Apple… everybody has become a millionaire and that is what we want to bring into Africa,” he said.
The Dangote refinery, located in Lagos, began fuel production last year and is expected to significantly reduce Nigeria’s dependence on imported petroleum products. The facility has been widely described as Africa’s largest refinery and one of the biggest single-train refineries globally.
Mr Otedola also described the Dangote refinery, fertiliser plant and the Eko Atlantic project as among the “wonders of the world,” adding that Nigeria could emerge as one of the world’s leading economies if visionary investments are sustained.
He recalled partnering with Mr Dangote in 2007 to acquire refinery assets, stating he held a 20 per cent stake in the venture. “Unfortunately, a team of visionless people destroyed it,” he said, referencing the controversial privatisation and subsequent reversal involving the Port Harcourt and Kaduna refineries.
Mr Otedola suggested that Nigeria’s economic progress would depend on supporting long-term industrial investments rather than undermining them through political interference and policy reversals.
