Economy
Refinery: How Dangote Chose Nigeria Over Saudi Arabia, UAE
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Vice-President of Dangote Industries Limited, Mr Devakumar Edwin, has claimed that the $20 billion Dangote Refinery in the Lekki area of Lagos State, Nigeria, could have cited in Saudi Arabia or the United Arab Emirates (UAE) but the owner, Mr Aliko Dangote, decided to establish it in his home country.
He made this disclosure when a coalition of 28 Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) recently visited the facility, which can refine 650,000 barrels of crude per day.
The group was set up to monitor the compliance of the Nigeria National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited to the presidential directive to sell crude oil to Dangote Refinery in Naira.
Recall that last week, President Bola Tinubu directed the NNPC to sell crude oil to the refinery and others in local currency.
He described Dangote Refinery as a value-adding facility as it would stop the exportation of Nigeria’s crude and importation of finished products and wondered why the government would be against such a vision for Nigeria.
He said the disposition of the NNPC Limited and the regulatory agencies was a clear indication that they deliberately held down the nation’s refineries so that they could continue importing petroleum products.
According to him, many African countries have minerals but do not add value to their economies because those minerals are exported raw and the finished products are imported back into the country whereas vice versa should have been the order of the day.
“This is what Dangote refinery seeks to correct, we did the same in the cement and sugar sectors where Nigeria was a leading importer of those products and with the coming of Dangote leading the backward integration programme of the government, others came into the sector and together Nigeria now exports cement to other countries.
“What we want to do in Refinery, we have done it other businesses, Nigeria used to be the biggest importer of sugar, we came in and changed the narrative. We led the backward integration scheme of the federal government, and we now produce sugar locally for domestic consumption and others have joined us. We did the same in Cement by opening up a production plant and today Nigeria exports cement to other countries.
“In a business, no one was interested in investing in, Dangote delved into it determined to ensure Nigeria no longer imports fuel, invested massively and came up with the world’s largest single train refinery.
“He said he would not take his money to Dubai or Swiss banks as others are doing, he decided to invest at home and now they are saying he wants to create a monopoly.
“We didn’t ask for any favour other than that we want to buy crude to produce, first they said there was no crude, later they said we would have to pay some dollars above the prevailing crude market price. And this is a global market where you can track crude prices anytime.
“We resorted to buying crude from Brazil and the United States. Later they said we should not be announcing the price of the products.
“Even the US, the leading proponent of a free market economy protects its local industries by imposing huge duties on imports just to protect local industries. This is a man that Saudi Aramco once approached to come and cite his refinery in Saudi Arabia, promising a steady supply of cruse.
“Abu Dhabi also invited him to do the same on their soil but he rejected insisting he would build at home, now he did that and a facility that is supposed to add value to Nigeria’s economy is being frustrated,” he said.
Speaking on behalf of the CSOs, Mr Solomon Adodo of the Rise Up for A United Nigeria said what his group had seen was a world-class facility and wondered how a regulatory agency of the government could take sides with importers of petroleum products when a local refinery is now available to bail the nation out of the forex quagmire which has made the price petroleum products to skyrocket.
He disclosed that the CSOs have concluded to petition the Presidency on the need to adopt Dangote Refinery as a national asset that should be used to liberate the country from the shackles of importation of fuel while it exports crude.
“We are ready to defend this facility with everything as civil society organizations. We are not speaking on our behalf but on behalf of all Nigerians and on behalf of our fatherland. It leaves much to be desired how an agency of government with oversight function to guide to grow such a project as this would now be disparaging same project. This is too bad.
“We have seen for ourselves and we have cleared all doubt as to the completion of this refinery and the readiness to supply all our domestic needs. We will expose them all. Anyone who is not ready to ensure Nigerians have a new lease of life must give way. Now it is a fight to finish.
“Going forward, we are going to set up a situation room to monitor the compliance of the NNPCL with the directive of Mr President that Dangote Refinery would be supplied with Crude in Naira because we know that the enemies of the people would want to adopt another strategy to sabotage the presidential directive.
Mr Adodo said that the CSOs would mount serious advocacy to make the government accede to the demands of Nigerians which is not just granting the sale of crude to Dangote Refinery in Naira but also ensuring Dangote fuel is available at petrol stations for Nigerians to buy.
The group appealed to the management of Dangote Refinery not to be discouraged but to trudge on as the group would mount a serious campaign in favour of the refinery.
“Even if it means we should protest, we will. We can’t allow this international embarrassment to stand.”
He also argued that all the claims about monopoly against Dangote Refinery were wrong.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The Debt Management Office (DMO) on Monday allotted bonds worth N929.3 billion to investors from the N1.7 trillion bids it received from subscribers.
The exercise, which took place on Monday, July 20, 2026, was oversubscribed by market participants, reflecting the confidence investors have in the government’s ability to redeem the debt instrument on maturity.
On offer for sale for the July auction was N1.2 trillion worth of the FGN bonds, but the DMO allotted below this, despite receiving bids above the offer.
The papers were offered in 10-year, 15-year, and 20-year tenors, at N400 billion each.
For the decade-old note, investors staked N444.47 billion, but the debt office sold N245.73 billion at an 18.34 per cent coupon rate. For the one and a half-decade-old paper, bids valued at N518.00 billion were received by the DMO, with a non-competitive bid of N50.00 billion, with N302.13 billion allotted to investors at 18.40 per cent, and for the two-decade paper, the DMO got competitive bids of N665.19 billion and N381.46 billion was sold to bondholders at 18.35 per cent.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Yemi Cardoso, disclosed that Nigeria’s external reserves had risen to $52.5 billion, enough to finance about nine months of imports.
He disclosed this on Tuesday at the end of the 306th meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) held in Abuja, where the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) retained the benchmark interest rate at 26.50 per cent as well as the standing facilities corridor at +50/-450 basis points around the MPR.
Similarly, the Cash Reserve Requirement (CRR) was maintained at 45 per cent for Deposit Money Banks, 16 per cent for Merchant Banks, and 75 per cent for non-Treasury Single Account (TSA) public sector deposits.
Speaking on FX developments, the central banker said at the $52 billion level, the country’s external reserves were significantly above the internationally recommended threshold of three months of import cover.
On the Naira exchange rate, Mr Cardoso said the foreign exchange market had deepened and was now operating on a transparent willing-buyer, willing-seller basis.
He said the apex bank remained committed to maintaining a liquid and functional foreign exchange market, adding that daily market turnover sometimes exceeded $1 billion.
According to him, the long-term stability of the naira would depend on key economic fundamentals, including increased oil exports, foreign direct investment, and improved domestic productivity to reduce dependence on imports.
He also added that the MPC welcomed the federal government’s renewed commitment to stronger policy coordination, particularly collaboration between fiscal and monetary authorities, which he said had helped reduce the impact of the Middle East crisis on the Nigerian economy.
Mr Cardoso said members of the committee also commended efforts to improve crude oil production and urged relevant agencies to intensify reforms in other sectors, including solid minerals, to boost government revenue.
On the regulatory forbearance granted to banks during the COVID-19 period, he reiterated that this had been discontinued because it had served its purpose.
According to him, the policy had “outlived its time” and was no longer necessary in assessing the health of the banking sector.
“Forbearance, we felt, had outlived its time. Many of you will recall this is something that came as a result of COVID. And now we are in 2026; we did not see the reason why that should continue to form part of the analysis of the banking system,” he said.
Mr Cardoso explained that banks had begun recalibrating their portfolios following the end of the policy, leading to a temporary reduction in outstanding risk assets.
He, however, assured that the development was part of a transition towards a stronger and more sustainable credit environment.
“It reflects a transition to a more sustainable and better quality credit environment, which is what we all want. We don’t want unanticipated shocks that come in a boom-and-bust fashion,” he said.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange extended its recent positive run by 1.17 per cent on Tuesday, July 21, triggered by appreciation seen in four bellwethers.
Leading the pack was FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc, which added N12.00 to its value to close at N153.15 per share compared with the previous day’s N141.15 per share. NASD Plc appreciated by N1.90 to N36.00 per unit from N34.10 per unit, Food Concepts Plc improved by 23 Kobo to N2.48 per share from N2.25 per share, and Afriland Properties Plc grew by a marginal 1 Kobo to N15.01 per unit from N15.00 per unit.
As a result, the market capitalisation of the bourse increased by N30.40 billion to N2.637 trillion from Monday’s N2.606 trillion, and the NASD Security Index (NSI) gained 50.70 points to finish at 4,393.97 points, in contrast to the 4,343.27 points it ended a day earlier.
The unlisted securities exchange recorded a price loser yesterday, and it was Geo-Fluids Plc, which shed 1 Kobo to settle at N2.30 per share versus N2.31 per share.
During the trading day, the volume of securities traded by market participants on Tuesday dropped 99.4 per cent to 322,147 units from the previous day’s 52.6 million units, the value of securities dipped by 89.8 per cent to N19.4 million from the preceding session’s N191.2 million, and the number of deals contracted by 3.6 per cent to 27 deals from 28 deals.
Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc ended the day as the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units traded for N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units transacted for N6.5 billion, and Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc with 75.4 million units exchanged for N5.3 billion.
GNI Plc also closed the day as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units valued at N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units sold for N415.7 million.
