Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) for the 2027 election, has backed the ongoing Initial Public Offering (IPO) of Dangote Petroleum Refinery.
Obi made the position known in a post on X on Wednesday.
According to Obi, Nigerians in the country and abroad had sought his opinion on whether they should participate in the refinery’s stock market offering.
“In the course of my engagements with Nigerians at home and in the diaspora, many of them have sought my opinion on investing in the ongoing Dangote Petroleum Refinery Initial Public Offering,” Obi said.
He said he was encouraging Nigerians to buy shares in the refinery and also expressed pride in Aliko Dangote’s investment in Nigeria’s productive sectors.
“While encouraging them to buy, I must say that I remain very proud of the commitment and breakthrough of Alhaji Aliko Dangote’s investment in the real sector of our country’s economy, across different sectors,” he said.
According to Obi, the development supports his position that Nigeria must move from an economy driven by consumption to one focused more strongly on production.
“This validates my position that we should move Nigeria from consumption to production,” he said.
The NDC candidate also called on other Nigerian businesses to invest more in productive sectors and provide opportunities for ordinary Nigerians to become shareholders.
He said such public offerings would allow Nigerians to participate in the ownership of major businesses while supporting the country’s re-industrialisation.
“I, therefore, encourage other Nigerian businesses to invest in the productive sectors of the Nigerian economy and also give fellow Nigerian citizens the opportunity to be part of the re-industrialization of the country by offering their shares to the public through public offerings,” Obi said.
Dangote Refinery’s IPO commenced on the Nigerian Exchange earlier this week in what has been described as Africa’s largest-ever IPO. The company is offering 4.1 billion shares at N525 each, seeking to raise N2.15 trillion to support its expansion plans.
The refinery currently has a production capacity of about 700,000 barrels per day and plans to expand its capacity to 1.4 million barrels per day. The IPO is open to retail investors, with the minimum subscription set at 10 shares, costing N5,250. The offer is scheduled to close on October 13.
POLITICS NIGERIA reports that the refinery has also attracted significant attention over its valuation and the effect of the IPO on Dangote’s estimated wealth.
According to Forbes’ Real-Time Billionaires List, Dangote’s estimated net worth rose to $51.3 billion, placing him 36th on the global billionaires list. Reports said the figure represented a 63.37 percent increase from the $31.4 billion valuation recorded previously and an increase of about $19.9 billion.
However, the reported increase should be understood as a change in the estimated value of Dangote’s assets rather than $19.9 billion in cash received by him from the IPO.
A fact-check published after the reports noted that the revaluation was linked largely to a $2.5 billion private placement completed in July, which provided a new reference point for valuing the previously private refinery.
