Billionaire businessman and Chairman of First HoldCo, Femi Otedola, has congratulated Aliko Dangote on the Dangote Petroleum Refinery achieving its full operational capacity of 650,000 barrels per day, expressing strong optimism that the development will significantly strengthen the naira.
Otedola in a statement, described the feat as transformational for both Nigeria and Africa, noting that the refinery’s capacity to supply up to 75 million litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) daily fundamentally alters the nation’s energy narrative.
“More importantly, it is transformational for Nigeria and Africa. Supplying up to 75 million litres of PMS daily changes our energy narrative and conserves foreign exchange,” Otedola said.
He argued that with domestic refining now firmly established after decades of reliance on imported petroleum products, pressure on the foreign exchange market should ease considerably.
Otedola, known for his candid economic assessments, projected that the naira could trade below N1,000 to the US dollar before the end of the year—a target increasingly within reach, in his view.
“I am optimistic that the naira will strengthen meaningfully, and trading below N1,000/$1 before year-end is increasingly within reach,” he stated.
Beyond the immediate milestone, Otedola revealed that Dangote is far from finished. He disclosed that an additional $12 billion expansion is already underway to increase refining capacity to 1.4 million barrels per day. The expansion will also include the production of 2.4 million tons of polypropylene and 400,000 metric tons of Linear Alkyl Benzene for detergent manufacturing.
“Aliko is not stopping here. He has embarked on an additional $12 billion expansion to increase refining capacity to 1.4 million barrels per day, alongside 2.4 million tons of polypropylene and 400,000 metric tons of Linear Alkyl Benzene for detergent production. Work has already commenced in earnest,” Otedola added.
He concluded his message with a personal note of admiration, describing Dangote as a brother and affirming that Nigeria remains proud of his achievements.
“Congratulations once again, my brother. Nigeria is proud of you,” he said.
The Dangote Refinery, located in the Lekki Free Zone, is the world’s largest single-train refinery and represents Africa’s single largest investment in the downstream petroleum sector.
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