Economy
Expect Naira Below N1,000/$1 with Dangote Refinery at Full Capacity—Otedola
By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigerian businessman, Mr Femi Otedola, has congratulated his billionaire friend, Mr Aliko Dangote, on the Dangote Refinery achieving its full nameplate capacity of 650,000 barrels per day, expressing optimism that this will further strengthen the Naira against the US Dollar in the currency market.
In an X post on Thursday, Mr Otedola described it as a transformative milestone for Nigeria and Africa, noting that the refinery’s operations could ease pressure on Nigeria’s foreign exchange reserves.
“I congratulate my friend and brother, @AlikoDangote, on the remarkable achievement of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery reaching its full 650,000 barrels per day capacity.
“More importantly, it is transformational for Nigeria and Africa. Supplying up to 75 million litres of PMS daily changes our energy narrative and conserving foreign exchange.
“With domestic refining now firmly underway after decades of reliance on imports, pressure on the foreign exchange market should ease significantly. I am optimistic that the Naira will strengthen meaningfully, and trading below N1,000/$1 before year-end is increasingly within reach,” he wrote.
Earlier today, it was reported that all key components, including the naphtha hydrotreater, isomerisation unit, and reformer unit, of the single train refinery are now operating steadily at 650,000 barrels per day. This enables the facility to produce up to 75 million litres of Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) daily, significantly boosting Nigeria’s domestic fuel supply and reducing reliance on imports.
The $20 billion refinery, Africa’s largest, began operations in 2023 and has been ramping up production amid challenges, including crude supply issues.
Mr Dangote announced plans in October 2025 to expand capacity to 1.4 million barrels per day, which would make it the world’s largest refinery, surpassing India’s Jamnagar facility.
Mr Otedola added that his best friend is investing an additional $12 billion in this expansion, including the production of polypropylene and Linear Alkyl Benzene for detergents, with work already underway.
“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.
“Congratulations once again, my brother. Nigeria is proud of you,” he said.
By Adedapo Adesanya
* NNPC rejects Dangote’s argument, cites risks
* NMDPRA joins suit
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) has accused Dangote Petroleum Refinery of seeking to restrict competition and expose the country’s fuel market to monopoly control.
This came after the management of the 650,00/ barrels per day refinery challenged import licences issued to rival marketers in court by suing the federal government.
In a proposed defence filed at the Federal High Court in Lagos, NNPC said granting Dangote’s request to void or restrict import permits would expose Africa’s largest oil producer to supply disruptions, price instability and risks to national energy security.
The regulator, the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), has applied to join the case, widening a legal battle over import policy and Dangote refinery’s market position.
Dangote said in the filing that the licences issued to marketers, including NIPCO, AA Rano, Matrix, Shafa, Pinnacle, and Bono, undermined its operations and contravene the provisions of Nigeria’s Petroleum Industry Act, which it argues allows imports only when domestic supply falls short.
Named in the suit against the country is the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Mr Lateef Fagbemi. The federal government can only be sued via his office.
The state-owned oil company rejected the argument, saying the law allows import licences to companies with local refining licences or proven records in international crude and petroleum-product trading.
It said regulators had discretion to manage imports under Nigeria’s backwards-integration policy and that there was no mandatory ban on imports except in cases of domestic shortfall.
NNPC also said Dangote had not provided “credible, independent or verifiable evidence” that the refinery could meet Nigeria’s total fuel demand or guarantee uninterrupted nationwide supply, the court documents show.
The company denied allegations that it had sabotaged Dangote’s refinery or deliberately withheld crude, saying crude allocations depended on operational, commercial, security and logistical factors.
The court has scheduled a hearing in the coming weeks.
Fuel marketers under Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN) have also opposed Dangote’s suit, warning it could hurt competition and supply security.
The dispute comes months before Dangote’s planned September IPO of its refinery business, adding uncertainty over market rules, import competition and the revenue outlook investors may assign to the 650,000-barrel-per-day plant.
By Dipo Olowookere
The All-Share Index (ASI) of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited contracted by 0.25 per cent week-on-week last week to 249,712.37 points, and compressed the market capitalisation by 0.23 per cent to N160.077 trillion.
This was due to profit-taking, which also caused all other indices to finish lower except for CG, premium, banking, pension, AFR Bank Value, MERI growth, energy, growth and commodity indices, which appreciated by 0.24 per cent, 0.33 per cent, 1.11 per cent, 0.19 per cent, 1.47 per cent, 0.33 per cent, 0.07 per cent, 1.57 per cent and 0.02 per cent, respectively. The sovereign bond index was flat in the week.
Data from Customs Street showed that 38 equities appreciated during the week versus 74 equities in the previous week, 55 shares depreciated versus 24 shares of the preceding week, and 53 stocks remained unchanged versus 48 stocks a week earlier.
ABC Transport gained 44.82 per cent to trade at N9.08, Academy Press improved by 29.79 per cent to N9.15, University Press grew by 28.00 per cent to N6.40, International Energy Insurance appreciated by 22.22 per cent to N3.41, and Learn Africa jumped 18.89 per cent to N12.90.
Conversely, Sovereign Trust Insurance lost 22.45 per cent to settle at N2.28, Trans-Nationwide Express moderated by 18.98 per cent to N5.72, CAP depleted by 14.85 per cent to N199.00, Berger Paints slumped by 12.64 per cent to N147.60, and RT Briscoe slipped by 11.18 per cent to N14.06.
Business Post reports that market participants traded 3.875 billion shares worth N161.757 billion in 334,745 deals in the five-day trading week versus the 7.772 billion shares valued at N374.040 billion traded in 402,945 deals in the previous week.
Financial stocks led the activity chart with 2.410 billion units sold for N69.712 billion in 126,919 deals, contributing 62.19 per cent and 43.10 per cent to the total trading volume and value, respectively.
Services equities recorded a turnover of 409.306 million units worth N5.409 billion in 25,908 deals, and energy shares exchanged 294.859 million units valued at N31.496 billion in 26,738 deals.
Sterling Holdings, Fidelity Bank, and Access Holdings accounted for 1.092 billion units worth N19.527 billion in 21,683 deals, contributing 28.18 per cent and 12.07 per cent to the total trading volume and value, respectively.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Financial educator and coach, Mrs Wemimo “Wems BO” Bolu-Opaniran, is set to host the maiden edition of the Wems BO Personal Finance Retreat 1.0, a weekend event aimed at helping participants improve their financial literacy and develop practical money management skills.
According to a statement, the retreat is designed to make personal finance engaging and accessible through interactive sessions, games, networking opportunities, and one-on-one coaching sessions.
The organisers said the event will focus on providing attendees with practical and actionable financial knowledge rather than conventional lecture-style teaching.
“Come and unravel financial wisdom and leave with a practical and concrete action plan,” the organisers stated in a statement.
Activities lined up for the retreat include interactive finance sessions, networking opportunities, personal finance workbooks, games and activities, food and souvenirs, as well as three months of exclusive access to the event replay.
Speaking on the rationale for organising the event, Wems BO noted that lack is primarily not always the reason people have bad finances, but often, money culture is.
“The way one sees and treats money has been a development from years and decades past. So, what to do about money is not the solution. It is mindset, defaults and motivations shaping decisions.
The solution is an inner inquiring on why you do what you do, beyond money. Understanding who you are, then beginning to drive decisions that make you grow, manage and scale your finances in a way that aids the life you want,” she told Business Post.
Participants will also have the opportunity to receive one-on-one coaching with the finance guru.
The event is scheduled to be held from Friday, July 17 to Saturday, July 18, 2026, at an in-house venue on Lagos Mainland.
Ticket prices were pegged at N40,000 for individual attendees and N76,000 for duo tickets, with organisers noting that limited slots remain available.
Interested participants can register through the official registration link.
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