General
Forbes: Dangote Now 86th World’s Richest as Wealth Surges to $23.9bn
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Global media giant, Forbes, has ranked Nigerian entrepreneur, Mr Aliko Dangote, as the richest man in Africa and 86th in the world after his wealth almost doubled to $23.9 billion.
The latest ranking has placed the billionaire businessman has placed Mr Dangote significantly ahead of South African businessman, Mr Johann Rupert, who is ranked 161st in the world with an estimated wealth of $14.4 billion and very far above Mike Adenuga, who is the second richest in Nigeria and 481, in the world, with a net worth of $6.8 billion.
Recall that in 2024, Forbes ranked Mr Dangote as the 144th richest person in the world in 2024 with $13.4 billion.
The rise in the wealth of the 67-year-old business was boosted by his 92.3 per cent stake in Dangote Petroleum Refinery & Petrochemicals, according to the Forbes Real-Time Billionaires List.
Mr Dangote disrupted the government’s oil monopoly by constructing the largest petroleum refinery in Africa. After 11 years, a $23 billion investment, and numerous challenges, the Dangote Refinery began operations last year.
Located on a vast 6,200-acre site in the Lekki Free Zone, the refinery, at full capacity, will process a remarkable 650,000 barrels per day (b/d), making it the seventh-largest refinery in the world and the largest in Africa.
Additionally, the refinery’s adjacent petrochemical complex has an annual production capacity of 3 million metric tons of urea, making it Africa’s largest fertiliser producer.
The Dangote Refinery is already having a significant impact on global energy markets. Imports of petroleum into Nigeria are on track to reach an eight-year low, affecting European refiners that have traditionally sold to Nigeria, according to energy intelligence firm Vortexa.
Furthermore, Nigeria has become a net exporter of jet fuel, naphtha (a solvent used in varnishes, laundry soaps, and cleaning fluids), and fuel oil, according to S&P Global.
Mr Dangote sees the refinery as part of a larger vision to transform Nigeria, one of the world’s largest crude oil producers, into a major producer of refined petroleum products. This would enable Nigeria to compete with European refineries and supply gasoline to Nigerian consumers.
“I want to provide a blueprint for industrialisation across Africa,” Mr Dangote says in an interview with Forbes. “We have to build our nation by ourselves. We have to build our continent by ourselves, not [rely on] foreign investment.” He believes Africa has long been “a mere dumping ground for finished products,” and his refinery represents “a pivotal step in ensuring that Africa can refine its own crude oil, thereby creating wealth and prosperity for its vast population.”
Dangote said the refinery is the biggest risk of his life and without success, it would have affected him greatly.
“It was the biggest risk of my life,” says Dangote about his decision to embark on the project. “If this didn’t work, I was dead.”
Zainab Usman, director of the Africa Programme at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, according to Forbes, said Nigerians see Dangote as a hero and a real industrialist transforming the country.
“He is seen in most parts of Nigeria as a hero. He is seen as a real industrialist who builds things,” she said.
A professor of African studies at the Soka University of America, Chika Ezeanya, also corroborated this view, noting that Dangote is meeting the needs of consumers on the continent.
“I think he’s believed staunchly in the fact that Nigerians need products that he has to offer,” he said while adding, “Governments can come and go, policies can be changed, but the needs of the Nigerian consumer will only grow and expand.”
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Senate is investigating all Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) and even infrastructural development across the country to determine their level of compliance with Sections 14(3) and 14(4) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), which focuses on the federal character principle.
The federal character principle mandates that the government at all its levels should reflect Nigeria’s diversity to ensure national unity and prevent domination and also ensure that all communities have fair and equitable representation in governance.
The upper chamber has mandated its Committee on Federal Character and Inter-Governmental Affairs to conduct a thorough investigation hearing into possible infringement of this principle.
This resolution followed a motion raised by Senator Osita Ngwu, who acknowledged the persistent challenges in achieving equity within Nigeria’s public service, including limited recruitment opportunities, skewed promotions based on years of service rather than merit, and a lack of mobility for workers outside the public sector.
Lawmakers also noted that despite constitutional provisions mandating fair representation across ethnic, linguistic, religious, and geographic lines, imbalances continue to exist.
The Senate specifically criticised several federal institutions, including the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited and its subsidiaries, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), among others, for allegedly failing to adhere to federal character mandates in their recruitment processes.
The committee is expected to report back within three months with findings and recommendations to ensure fair and equitable representation in federal appointments, promotions, recruitment and infrastructural distribution across the over 900 MDAs.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Monday raided a Ponzi scheme academy and arrested 133 suspects in the nation’s capital, Abuja.
According to the EFCC’s spokesperson, Mr Dele Oyewale, who confirmed the operation in a statement on Tuesday, the suspects were apprehended at the Compensation Layout in Gwagwalada, Abuja, after receiving actionable intelligence about the academy’s activities.
“The academy, named Q University (also known as Q-Net), lures young Nigerians by promising them unrealistic profits.
“The recruits were trained to further recruit others, using the slogan Special Training for New Generation Billionaire.
“The suspects joined the scheme by filling out an Independent Representative Application Form, with promotional slogans like: I’m a Champion, I’m Unstoppable, and I’m Infinity,” the EFCC said.
The EFCC, in collaboration with officers from the 176 Guards Battalion of the Nigerian Army, executed the operation, with phones, computers, and other electronic gadgets seized from the suspects, who “will be charged in court once investigations are completed.”
The agency has stepped up efforts to clamp down on illegal activities, particularly those involved in internet fraud schemes.
In January, the anti-graft agency arrested 105 people, including four Chinese nationals, for suspected involvement in a fraudulent scheme targeting hotels in Europe and elsewhere.
Also in December 2024, the EFCC arrested 792 suspects in a raid on a building believed to be a hub for fraudsters who lure their victims with romance scams and phoney cryptocurrency investments on WhatsApp and Instagram.
The suspects included 148 Chinese and 40 Filipino nationals housed in a luxury in Lagos targeting victims from the Americas and Europe.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
There are strong indications that the prices of solar panels in Nigeria may soon jump at the markets as the federal government is considering stopping its importation to boost local production
The Minister of Science and Technology, Mr Uche Nnaji, said the country has the capacity to meet local demand of solar energy and to encourage more domestic investments in the landscape, the importation of solar products, which are duty-free, has to stop.
Speaking in a recent interview in Abuja at the launch of the NEV T6 electric buses, Mr Nnaji said the plans to prohibit solar panel importation aligns with Presidential Executive Order Number 5, which seeks to promote local content in science, engineering, and technology.
He emphasised that with the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI), there is nothing to worry about with local solar panel production.
“With NASENI here, you know that we have panels. It has a factory that has started producing solar panels and other private individuals are also producing solar panels as we speak.
“So, all we need to do is, even through science and technology, through our Presidential Executive Order No. 5, we will stop all these importations of solar panels.
“We will support our local industries to grow and very soon, most houses will go off-grid. Personally, I have been off-grid for over three years and it is working,” the Minister said.
Mr Nnaji noted that Nigeria was already making significant investments in renewable energy infrastructure, noting that with the expansion of local solar panel manufacturing, more Nigerian homes and institutions would transition to off-grid power solutions
“We have lithium in abundance here in Nigeria, so Mr. President is already taking action. We are adding value to our raw materials. The lithium we have here will be processed and used as batteries for these vehicles,” he stated.
“If you look at our budgets, we have what is called mini-grids all over the place. In less than three or four months, you will start seeing our hospitals and institutions being powered by solar.
“Again, we are saving the environment. We are putting in place non-carbon emission infrastructure. So, we are creating power everywhere,” he added.
Business Post gathered that at the moment, the price of 555w solar panels goes for between N140,000 and N160,000, while a 220v inverter battery is about N260,000, with a 60A charge controller at about N180,000.
Consumers are already scared that if the importation of solar panels are stopped, prices will rise like it happened with rice.
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