Nigerian businessman Femi Otedola has revealed that he sold his stake in Geregu Power Plc to position himself for investment in the proposed initial public offering of Dangote Petroleum Refinery.
Otedola made the disclosure during a visit by the board and management of FirstHoldCo to the 650,000-barrel-per-day Dangote Refinery and Dangote Fertiliser Limited in Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos.
During the visit, Otedola praised the President of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, describing him as one of Africa’s greatest industrialists and commending the refinery’s impact on the continent’s economic independence.
“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.
“I have visited this refinery more than 25 times, and I have consistently appealed for $100m 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 said.
Otedola also expressed confidence in Dangote Group’s plans to expand refining capacity to 1.4 million barrels per day, noting that Africa’s increasing demand for refined petroleum products makes further investment in local refining necessary.
In his remarks, Dangote assured that the refinery’s IPO would allow ordinary Nigerians and Africans to participate in the value being created.
He also disclosed plans for a proposed East Africa refinery with a projected capacity of 700,000 barrels per day, alongside polypropylene and base oil production facilities.
Dangote stated that investor demand for the refinery’s private placement had already exceeded $2bn, reflecting strong confidence in the project and Africa’s industrial future.
