Africa’s richest man and Chairman of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, has confirmed that the group plans to take its fertiliser business public in 2028, while also acknowledging the viral social media jokes from Nigerians who recently acquired shares in the Dangote Petroleum Refinery.
Dangote made the disclosure during an interview at the Qatar Economic Forum on Sunday while discussing the group’s ownership structure and plans to bring more investors into its businesses.
Explaining the group’s approach to ownership, Dangote said the company had traditionally operated without external partners but was now looking to broaden its investor base.
“No, we have actually everything we do by ourselves. We don’t have partners. But that’s why we are now looking for all these massive number of people to now become our partners.”
He also reacted humorously to the wave of social media posts by new retail investors in the Dangote Petroleum Refinery, many of whom have jokingly portrayed themselves as co-owners and executives of the business.
“You must have seen that they’ve been calling me now for a board meeting,” Dangote said.
The comments come amid the ongoing initial public offering of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery, which has been promoted as a “people’s IPO”.
Following the share offer, some retail investors have flooded social media with memes and humorous posts depicting themselves as newly appointed executives of the refinery. Some have circulated certificates carrying titles such as “chief investment officer” and “co-founder and partner”, while others have joked about monitoring the refinery’s performance and holding meetings with Dangote.
The “board meeting” reference has subsequently become one of the recurring jokes surrounding the refinery’s share offer.
Meanwhile, Dangote confirmed that the group’s fertiliser business would also be offered to public investors.
“Oh, yeah, yeah. I mean, we will IPO it. It’s going to be the biggest fertilizer company on earth.”
Asked when the planned listing would take place, Dangote gave a specific timeline.
“Yes, it will be 2028.”
The Dangote Fertiliser plant in Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos, represents a $2.5 billion investment and has an annual production capacity of approximately three million tonnes of urea.
The Dangote Group has also announced plans to significantly increase its fertiliser production capacity, with an ambition to reach about 12 million tonnes annually by 2028 through the expansion of its Nigerian operations and a proposed plant in Ethiopia.
Dangote has previously said the expansion would strengthen the fertiliser business’s position among major urea producers globally.
The planned 2028 listing would therefore mark another significant step in the group’s strategy of bringing more of its businesses into the public investment market.
The development comes as the Dangote Petroleum Refinery’s IPO continues to generate interest among Nigerian retail investors, giving members of the public an opportunity to acquire an ownership stake in the refinery.
