The President of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, has said the public offering of shares in Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals FZE is aimed at broadening ownership of the business and allowing more Nigerians to benefit from its future earnings.
Dangote stated this on Monday during the opening ceremony of the refinery’s Initial Public Offering on the trading floor of the Nigerian Exchange Limited in Lagos.
He said the offer was not primarily intended to raise funds, noting that the group had already secured sufficient resources to execute its projects and had $46bn in the pipeline for expansion under its Vision 2030 plan.
The IPO, which opened on Monday, comprises 4.1 billion new ordinary shares offered at N525 per share. The minimum subscription is 10 shares valued at N5,250, while the offer is expected to close on October 13, 2026, subject to the terms outlined in the prospectus.
The offering provides members of the public with an opportunity to own stakes in Africa’s largest refinery and one of the world’s significant industrial projects.
Speaking at the ceremony, Dangote said, “Today is not about listing a company but about listing a company for Nigerians, for Africa and for the black race.”
He invited Nigerians, Africans, Caribbeans, Europeans, Americans, Chinese and investors from other parts of the world to become shareholders in the refinery.
“Today we formally open the Initial Public Offering of Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals FZE, and we are inviting Nigerians, Africans, Caribbeans, Europeans, Americans, Chinese and everybody across the world to become shareholders in one of the world’s and Africa’s most transformational, industrious projects,” he said.
Dangote explained that the decision to offer shares to the public followed a commitment he made several years ago to open ownership of the refinery once it became fully operational, financially sustainable and a de-risked investment.
He said the company had been careful to ensure that investors were not exposed to unnecessary risks before inviting them to participate.
“This moment represents the fulfilment of a commitment I made several years ago: that when the refinery becomes fully operational, of sustainable value and de-risk investment—because we don’t want people to risk their money; when people risk and lose their money, our image will be dented,” he said.
He added, “That is why what we are selling to the people is what their generations can benefit from. That is why the ownership of the refinery is brought to the people to allow them to share in the prosperity that we have created and we will continue to create.”
Dangote said the primary objective of the IPO was to democratise wealth creation rather than raise money for the group.
“The primary purpose of making this offer is to democratise wealth creation. If it is the question of raising money, I think we have raised more than what we need as a group to execute all our projects,” he said.
“So far, we have $46 billion in the pipeline to invest and expand our various businesses to take us to our Vision 2030, and I think we are on track and we will keep tracking ourselves to make sure.
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