Business
Dangote Group Plans 650,000bpd Refinery Project in East Africa
Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, has announced plans to build a 650,000 barrels-per-day refinery in East Africa, mirroring the scale of his flagship facility in Nigeria, as part of a broader push to deepen industrial capacity across the continent.
Dangote made the disclosure at a high-level summit in Nairobi on Thursday, where African leaders, financiers, and industry stakeholders gathered to discuss the continent’s growing energy and infrastructure needs.
Addressing Presidents William Ruto and Yoweri Museveni, Dangote said the refinery project would depend on strong government backing and policy consistency.
“That’s why, as a group, we have now launched an initiative where, between now and 2030, we’re investing $40 billion in various fields,” he said
“Even now, I can give a commitment to the two presidents who are here that if they support the refinery, we will build an identical one to what we have in Nigeria—650,000 barrels.”
He emphasised that the proposal is still at an early stage but expressed confidence in its feasibility.
When asked about the feasibility of the project, the industrialist said it will “definitely” work, adding that “There’s nothing that can stop it.”
Push for Self-Sufficiency
Dangote used the platform to argue that Africa must move away from its long-standing dependence on imports and instead build domestic industrial capacity.
“We export raw materials, which means when you export raw materials, you are exporting jobs, and when you import, you are importing poverty because you are creating jobs out there, not here on the continent,” he said.
He stressed that industrialisation—particularly in refining, fertiliser production and petrochemicals—is critical to reversing that trend and creating jobs on the continent.
The proposed East African refinery forms part of a wider $40 billion investment plan by his group between now and 2030, targeting key sectors that underpin economic transformation.
Backdrop of Growing Fuel Deficit
Dangote’s announcement comes as the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) warned that the continent could face an 86 million tonne fuel shortfall by 2040.
According to the AFC report presented at the summit, Africa currently imports over 70 percent of its refined fuel and spends about $230 billion annually on essential imports, including fuel, food, and industrial goods.
The report projects that fuel import demand will rise from 74 million tonnes in 2023 to 86 million tonnes by 2040—equivalent to nearly three refineries the size of Dangote’s Lagos facility.
Leaders Call for Shift in Strategy
President William Ruto echoed Dangote’s position, warning that Africa must rethink its economic model.
“Our ambitions will remain unrealised if we continue to depend on external capital whose primary interest is securing raw materials,” Ruto said, adding: “We cannot continue to export raw materials and import finished products made from them.”
The summit also highlighted vulnerabilities in Africa’s energy systems, particularly exposure to global supply shocks and infrastructure gaps across the continent.
A Broader Industrial Vision
Beyond refining, Dangote pointed to ongoing efforts to scale fertiliser production and petrochemical capacity across Africa, including plans to expand urea output and establish blending plants in underserved regions.
“With the support of the government, there’s nothing that is impossible,” he said, expressing confidence that Africa can achieve self-sufficiency in key industrial inputs.
For Dangote, the refinery proposal represents a continuation of a larger vision—to reposition Africa from a net importer to a global industrial player.
“Let us not be scared… It is possible. Africans can do it,” he said.
As discussions continue, the proposed East Africa refinery could mark a significant step toward addressing the continent’s looming fuel deficit while advancing its long-term goal of economic independence.
The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN has directed banks, payment service banks, and other financial institutions to immediately freeze all accounts, assets, and transactions linked to six individuals and four Bureau de Change, BDC operators designated for terrorism financing.
The directive was contained in a circular dated June 24, 2026 (Ref:CMD/FCS/PUB/CIR/002/011).
According to the apex bank, the latest update to the Nigeria Sanctions List, effective June 18, 2026, is binding on all regulated institutions and requires immediate implementation.
The CBN directed financial institutions to “identify and immediately freeze, without prior notice, all funds, assets, and other economic resources belonging to, owned, held, or controlled, directly or indirectly, by the designated persons and entities.”
This comes after the United States Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control OFAC, announced the sanctions on a Nigerian, Mukhtar Adamu, and three bureau de change companies over their alleged involvement in financing the terrorist group Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP).
In a followup, the Nigerian government released the names of six persons and three entities sanctioned for terrorism financing.
The Federal Government list indicated Ibrahim Yakubu Ogirima, Adamu Chiroma, Ibrahim Abubakar, Abdullahi Umar Usman, Babangida Muhammed, Adamu Hammajam, Abbal Bako & Sons Bureau De Change Limited, Generation Currency BDC Limited, and Nine to Nine BDC Limited.
Reacting to the development, the president of the Association of Bureau De Change Operators of Nigeria, Aminu Gwadebe, said the indictment should not rob all BDC operators in Nigeria.
“The overwhelming majority of licensed BDC operators comply with Nigerian laws and regulatory requirements,” he said.
The federal government is considering the reinvigoration of the cashless policy as part of broader efforts to curb the rising wave of kidnappings and related criminal activities across the country.
The consideration of strengthening the policy comes amid intensified efforts by security agencies to dismantle kidnapping syndicates and cut off their sources of funding, as authorities continue to seek sustainable solutions to the country’s security challenges.
Report quoted top security sources as mentioning that senior government officials have advised authorities at the highest level to tighten the policy, which is being viewed as one of the strategies to disrupt the operations of kidnappers, bandits and other criminal groups.
According to the sources, the move is intended to make it more difficult for criminals to receive ransom payments, which are often demanded and collected in cash to avoid detection.
One of the sources said: “Criminals prefer to receive ransom payments in cash because the money cannot be traced. Once ransom is paid through the banking system, it becomes easier to track them.”
Introduced in 2011, the policy was strengthened and made stricter in December 2022. However, after 2023, many of the stricter guidelines were relaxed.
The source further stated that security agencies believe a stricter cashless regime would strengthen intelligence gathering and improve law enforcement’s ability to monitor suspicious financial transactions linked to kidnapping networks.
Nigeria’s inflation rose for the third consecutive month to 15.93 percent in May 2026 from 15.69 percent recorded in April.
The National Bureau of Statistics disclosed this in its Consumer Price Index and inflation data released on Monday.
This means that in May, the country’s inflation rose on a month-on-month basis by 1.75 percent.
Also, the report showed that food inflation also skyrocketed to 16.96 percent in May, up from 16.06 percent recorded the previous month.
“In May 2026, the headline inflation rate on a month-on-month basis was 1.75 percent, which was 0.39 percent lower than the rate recorded in April 2026 (2.13 percent).
On a year-on-year basis, the headline inflation rate rose to 15.93 percent, up from 15.69 percent in April 2026 and down from 26.06 percent in the same month of the preceding year (May 2025).
“The Food inflation rate in May 2026 on a month-on-month basis was 2.98 percent, down by 0.65 percentage points from April 2026 (3.63 percent). On a year-on-year basis, it was 16.96 percent and stood at 24.55 percent in the same month of the preceding year, May 2025”.
Recall that the headline inflation rate dropped in March and April, respectively even as the Central Bank of Nigeria retained the country’s interest rate 26.50 percent in its 305th Monetary Policy meeting.
-
Health & Wellness10 months agoPresident Tinubu Directs Cut in Dialysis Cost from ₦50,000 to ₦12,000
-
News11 months agoPICTURE: In Lagos Couple Sentenced to 22½ Years for Cannabis Trafficking
-
Trending News11 months agoNELFUND Disburses ₦86bn To 449,000 Beneficiaries
-
Business3 months agoDangote Refinery Reduces Petrol Gantry Price To ₦1,200 Per Litre
-
International News3 months agoIndian Police Arrest Nigerian Over ₦290m Drug Haul
-
Business3 months agoAfter Plea Bargain, Court Discharges Stella Oduah of ₦2.5bn Fraud
-
Business2 years agoHeritage Bank Customers’ Path to Securing ₦5m Insured Funds: A Step-By-Step Guide by NDIC”
-
Business2 years ago
Dangote; We Did Not Fix ₦600/Litre Petrol Price