Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, has nearly completed a $2.5bn private share placement for Dangote Petroleum Refinery & Petrochemicals FZE ahead of what is expected to be Africa’s largest initial public offering, according to a Bloomberg report on Friday.

According to people familiar with the transaction, the refinery owner sold a stake representing up to six per cent of the company in a deal that values the Lagos-based refinery at approximately $40bn, underscoring growing investor confidence in the continent’s largest single-train refinery.

The fundraising exercise reportedly drew overwhelming interest from investors, attracting about $4bn in demand, significantly exceeding the amount of shares on offer. People familiar with the transaction said the private placement was executed in phases.

The report stated, “Aliko Dangote has nearly completed a $2.5bn private stock placement for his refinery business, according to people familiar with the matter, as the company prepares for Africa’s largest initial public offering.

“Africa’s richest person sold a stake representing as much as six per cent of Dangote Petroleum Refinery & Petrochemicals FZE at a price that would value the company at about $40bn,” one of the people said, asking not to be identified while discussing confidential matters.

According to one of the sources, “The offer attracted around $4bn in demand. It initially sold about $2bn of shares before a further $500m was raised, largely backed by regional institutional investors.”

The sources, who requested anonymity because the discussions are confidential, said the fundraising marks a major milestone ahead of the company’s planned public listing. Officials of Dangote Industries declined to comment on the transaction.

The private placement follows another successful fundraising exercise in which the company recently secured $750m through a debt offering for the refinery, which currently processes about 700,000 barrels of crude oil per day at its Lekki facility on the outskirts of Lagos.

The report noted that the refinery’s public listing could raise an additional $1.5bn to $2bn, with the initial public offering expected as early as August, although the timeline remains subject to market conditions and regulatory approvals.

One of the people familiar with the plans said, “The IPO could raise a further $1.5bn to $2bn with a listing expected as early as August.” The sources also disclosed that Dangote is deliberately prioritising African participation in both the private placement and the forthcoming public offering.

According to them, “Dangote’s emphasis on African investor participation in the private placements and the retail offering of the IPO is consistent with the billionaire’s push for greater regional ownership in the financing of the continent’s industrial development.”

They added that the planned public offering would be widely marketed to Nigerians, other Africans, and international retail investors. “The expected IPO is likely to be heavily marketed to Nigerians and other African and international retail investors in an effort to attract broad demand from ordinary citizens,” one of the people said.

The fresh capital is expected to support the refinery’s ambitious expansion programme. According to the sources, proceeds from the fundraising will be used to double the refinery’s processing capacity from 700,000 barrels per day to 1.4 million barrels per day by 2028, positioning it among the world’s largest refining complexes.

The expansion comes at a time when global energy markets continue to adjust to supply disruptions triggered by geopolitical tensions, with several countries seeking alternative fuel suppliers.

The Dangote refinery has increasingly emerged as a strategic supplier of refined petroleum products across Africa following disruptions in traditional international supply chains.

Commissioned in 2023 after years of construction, the Dangote Petroleum Refinery is the largest single-train refinery in Africa and one of the biggest globally. The facility was established to end Nigeria’s decades-long dependence on imported refined petroleum products despite being Africa’s largest crude oil producer.

Since commencing commercial operations, the refinery has begun supplying petrol, diesel, aviation fuel, and other petroleum products to the domestic market while expanding exports across West Africa and beyond. The project has also significantly reduced Nigeria’s petrol import requirements and eased pressure on the country’s foreign exchange demand.

The planned IPO represents another landmark in Dangote’s strategy to broaden ownership of the refinery after financing its construction largely through a combination of shareholder funds, bank loans, and debt capital market issuances.

If completed, the listing is expected to rank among the largest capital market transactions ever undertaken in Africa, potentially raising between $1.5bn and $2bn in fresh equity while allowing retail and institutional investors to own shares in one of the continent’s most valuable industrial assets.

The Vice Chairman of the Senate Committee on Petroleum Resources (Upstream), Senator Allwell Onyesoh, on Friday criticised the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited for repeatedly failing to honour invitations from the National Assembly, describing the action as a setback to legislative oversight and the fight against crude oil theft.

Onyesoh spoke with journalists after a meeting of the Senate committee investigating crude oil theft and considering amendments to Nigeria’s petroleum laws to strengthen the legal and regulatory framework governing the oil and gas sector.

The Rivers East senator had earlier staged a walkout from the committee meeting in protest over what he described as the recurring absence of the NNPCL’s top management at critical legislative engagements.

He said the corporation’s repeated failure to appear before the committee undermined transparency, weakened legislative oversight and reflected a disregard for democratic institutions

According to him, the committee was merely carrying out its constitutional responsibility by seeking facts, records and explanations from the state-owned oil company.

“We are not contractors. We are simply asking questions. Give us facts. Give us records. We want to study them. That is our constitutional responsibility,” he said.

Onyesoh maintained that the National Assembly has a constitutional duty to scrutinise the activities of government agencies, particularly one responsible for managing Nigeria’s oil resources.

He also rejected the corporation’s repeated explanation that its officials were unavailable due to official engagements abroad.

“They keep writing letters saying they are travelling to Congo, travelling here and there, just to dodge simple things. Was the GCEO appointed to keep travelling or to work?

“Is Nigeria’s problem outside the country or here in Nigeria? How is it possible that the GCEO, his deputy, directors and the entire management are all travelling at the same time? That is not acceptable,” he said.

The lawmaker argued that the corporation’s continued refusal to appear before the Senate only deepened public suspicion about its willingness to submit to parliamentary scrutiny.

“If you are serving the people of Nigeria, first and foremost, you must obey the laws of the land. The highest law-making body in the country invites you, and consistently, you are too big to appear. Who told you that?” he queried.

He insisted that no public institution was above legislative oversight and dismissed suggestions that the NNPCL was answerable only to the Presidency.

Onyesoh also cautioned against linking the corporation’s conduct to President Bola Tinubu, saying the President had consistently shown respect for the legislature.

“I know, Mr President. That is not the President I know. He will not tell any agency to ignore the National Assembly. We all work with Mr President. Whenever issues arise, he engages the legislature with respect,” he said.

The senator disclosed that he would formally engage the Senate leadership over what he described as the corporation’s repeated disregard for parliamentary invitations.

He also lamented the continued underdevelopment of oil-producing communities despite the enormous wealth generated from petroleum resources.

Recalling the history of Umuechem in Etche Local Government Area of Rivers State, one of Nigeria’s earliest oil-producing communities after Oloibiri, Onyesoh said many host communities still lacked basic infrastructure, employment opportunities and meaningful participation in the petroleum industry.

He questioned why employment opportunities, training programmes and other benefits in the oil sector rarely reached people from the communities where crude oil is produced.

The senator also called on the Petroleum Technology Development Fund to publish records showing how many indigenes of Rivers State and other oil-producing communities had benefited from its scholarship and capacity development programmes.

He reaffirmed his commitment to demanding greater accountability, transparency and equitable treatment for oil-producing communities, insisting that the wealth derived from their land should translate into meaningful development and opportunities.

The committee also considered proposed amendments to Nigeria’s petroleum laws, particularly outdated provisions relating to penalties and regulatory enforcement, as part of efforts to strengthen the sector, curb crude oil theft, improve regulatory efficiency and boost crude oil production.

The Nigeria Customs Service has released N7.61bn to nine Pension Fund Administrators for the payment of retirement benefits to 4,237 former officers, with the Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, reaffirming the Service’s commitment to improving the welfare of its retired personnel.

Adeniyi disclosed this during a dialogue with retired Customs officers, where he announced that the funds had already been transferred to the Pension Fund Administrators for onward payment into the beneficiaries’ Retirement Savings Accounts.

The development was disclosed in a statement issued by the National Public Relations Officer of the Nigeria Customs Service on Friday.

According to the statement, the disbursement is part of the Service’s broader efforts to ensure that retired officers receive their entitlements promptly while strengthening engagement between the Customs leadership and pensioners.

The statement read, “The Nigeria Customs Service has released N7.61 billion to nine Pension Fund Administrators for payment to 4,237 retirees, as the Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, reaffirmed the Service’s commitment to improving the welfare of its retired personnel.”

A breakdown presented during the meeting showed that Access-ARM Pension Managers had the highest number of beneficiaries, with 1,223 retirees, followed by Premium Pension Limited with 2,268 beneficiaries. Leadway Pensions accounted for 403 retirees, Trustfund Pensions had 156, FCMB Pensions had 144, Veritas Glanvills Pensions had 28, Norrenberger Pensions had 11, while Fidelity Pension Managers accounted for four beneficiaries, bringing the total number of retirees covered under the latest payment to 4,237.

Addressing the retirees, Adeniyi stressed that the Nigeria Customs Service must remain financially strong and institutionally stable to meet its obligations to both serving officers and retired personnel.

He said the welfare of former officers who devoted decades of their lives to the Service was directly tied to the future and credibility of the institution.

According to him, “The Service must remain strong and financially capable of meeting its obligations to serving officers and retirees. The welfare of officers who have dedicated decades of their lives to the Nigeria Customs Service cannot be separated from the future of this institution. We are committed to ensuring that our retirees receive the attention and support they deserve.”

The Comptroller-General also appealed to retired officers to continue engaging constructively with the Service instead of relying on rumours or unofficial information.

He said, “I acknowledged your concerns and suggestions raised, and it is in view of this that we called for this dialogue to promote better understanding and reduce the effect of rumours and unofficial information on the relationship between the Service and its retired personnel.”

Adeniyi added that regular interaction between the management and retirees would help resolve concerns more effectively while strengthening trust and transparency.

The meeting was attended by the Deputy Comptroller-General of Customs in charge of Human Resources Development, DCG Tijjani Abe, alongside other members of the Customs Management Team.

The senior officers assured the retirees that issues raised during the dialogue would receive appropriate consideration at both the Service’s Board and Management meetings as part of efforts to improve the welfare of former personnel.

Speaking during the engagement, the retirees commended Adeniyi and the Customs management for creating a platform that allowed them to interact directly with the leadership of the Service.

They described the dialogue as timely and appealed for such engagements to be institutionalised to strengthen the relationship between serving officers and retired personnel while addressing emerging welfare issues.

The latest pension disbursement comes amid wider reforms by the Federal Government aimed at improving the welfare of pensioners across the public service.

The Federal Government is currently reviewing statutory provisions governing pensions, including Section 15(4) of the Pension Reform Act 2014, to align them with Section 173(3) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), which guarantees the periodic review of pensions to reflect prevailing economic realities.

The reforms are expected to improve pension administration and enhance the financial security of retired public servants, including former personnel of the Nigeria Customs Service, as authorities seek to address longstanding concerns over retirees’ welfare and pension payments.