By TheDailyNewsHub
Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, has urged Nigerians and other prospective investors to approach the Dangote Petroleum Refinery’s landmark Initial Public Offering (IPO) as a long-term investment rather than a quick-profit opportunity.
Dangote made the call in an exclusive interview with ARISE News anchor Ojy Okpe shortly before the refinery’s public offering opened on Monday, September 14, 2026.
He said an investment of about ₦100,000 in the refinery could potentially grow to around ₦1 million within one or two years, depending on the company’s performance and the eventual appreciation of its shares.
“If you invest like something like maybe ₦100,000, within one year, two years or so, you’re talking about you becoming a millionaire,” Dangote said.
However, Dangote stressed that investors should not approach the offer with the intention of buying the shares and selling them immediately.
“This is not a share for somebody to just buy and go and sell it off tomorrow,” he said, describing the investment as a potential asset for families and future generations.
The Dangote Refinery IPO involves 4.1 billion ordinary shares priced at ₦525 each, with the offer expected to raise approximately ₦2.15 trillion if fully subscribed. The offer opened on September 14 and is scheduled to close on October 13, 2026.
The minimum subscription is 10 shares, costing ₦5,250, making the offer accessible to retail investors. Dangote has described the transaction as a “People’s IPO” and said he ultimately wants the refinery to have at least 10 million shareholders, particularly ordinary Nigerians and small retail investors.
Dangote also suggested that the share price could rise significantly over time if the refinery performs strongly and expands its operations. Asked whether the shares could eventually reach ₦10,000, he responded that they could potentially reach ₦5,000, ₦10,000 or even ₦15,000–₦20,000, while emphasising that such outcomes would depend on the company’s performance and market conditions.
The billionaire further highlighted the refinery’s dollar-linked revenues and the possibility of dollar-denominated dividends as a potential attraction for investors concerned about naira depreciation.
“At a point when you have your kids studying abroad, even if there’s devaluation of the currency of the naira, you are safe,” Dangote said, adding that shareholders could receive dividends in dollars.
The public offering comes as the 650,000-barrel-per-day refinery continues to expand its operations and strengthen its financial performance. According to figures contained in the IPO prospectus, the refinery recorded approximately ₦19.47 trillion in revenue and ₦2.55 trillion in profit after tax in the first half of 2026.
The company is also planning a major expansion that would increase its refining capacity to 1.4 million barrels per day by 2029. Reuters reported that the IPO is intended partly to support the expansion.
Dangote has also defended the refinery’s valuation, saying its earnings projections were based on normal market conditions rather than the unusually high refining margins associated with current geopolitical disruptions. The company has placed its valuation at approximately $46.3 billion.
The IPO is being closely watched as a landmark development for Nigeria’s capital market and one of Africa’s largest-ever share offerings. It is designed to broaden public ownership of one of the continent’s most significant industrial projects.
While Dangote’s projections have generated considerable interest among prospective investors, the potential returns he cited are not guaranteed. Share prices can rise or fall depending on the refinery’s financial performance, market conditions, investor demand and broader economic factors.
For Dangote, however, the broader objective extends beyond the IPO itself: to give ordinary Nigerians an opportunity to participate in the ownership of a major industrial asset and potentially build long-term wealth through equity ownership.