The Emir of Kano and former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Muhammadu Sanusi II, has urged Nigerians to take advantage of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery’s initial public offering to acquire shares in the company, describing equity ownership in productive enterprises as a pathway to long-term wealth creation and wider economic participation.
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Sanusi spoke on Thursday at the Dangote Refinery “People’s IPO” sensitisation roadshow in Kano, where he encouraged residents and Nigerians generally to participate in the capital market while investing only money they could afford to set aside.
The refinery’s official IPO platform says 4.1 billion ordinary shares are being offered at ₦525 per share, with a minimum subscription of 10 shares valued at ₦5,250. The offer opened on September 14 and is scheduled to close on October 13, 2026. The company also cautions prospective investors that share values can rise or fall and advises them to read the prospectus before investing.
Sanusi said Kano’s long history of commerce, entrepreneurship and investment placed its people in a strong position to benefit from opportunities in the capital market.
Reflecting on the development of the Dangote Group, the monarch said he had followed Aliko Dangote’s evolution from trading and importation into large-scale manufacturing, recalling his own interaction with the businessman while working as a Credit Risk Management Officer at United Bank for Africa in the late 1990s.
According to Sanusi, what some people initially considered an unusual strategy — deploying financing towards long-term industrial projects — ultimately reflected Dangote’s determination to build domestic productive capacity and reduce Nigeria’s dependence on imported goods.
He recalled the underlying philosophy as one of producing locally what Nigerians consume every day, from cement and food to petroleum products.
“Somebody needs to produce the petrol for your cars, somebody needs to produce the cement for your houses, somebody needs to produce the food that you eat,” Sanusi said, recalling the strategy. “Our strategy is to produce those things here.”
The former CBN governor described the Dangote Refinery as the culmination of that industrial strategy and a project capable of altering Nigeria’s longstanding dependence on imported refined petroleum products.
He noted that Nigeria had historically earned foreign exchange through crude oil exports only to spend a significant portion of those earnings importing refined fuel.
“What Aliko has done is to disrupt that model,” Sanusi said, arguing that domestic refining could reduce import dependence while creating opportunities for Nigeria to export refined petroleum products.
The refinery says its current crude distillation capacity stands at about 700,000 barrels per day and that it produces petroleum products including petrol, diesel and aviation fuel alongside petrochemicals.
Sanusi also pointed to the refinery’s growing international role, citing reports of aviation fuel from the facility being supplied to overseas markets during disruptions associated with tensions around the Strait of Hormuz.
Addressing concerns about the refinery’s market dominance, the Emir argued that greater investment and competition, rather than preventing private industrial expansion, should be the response.
“There is no monopoly if a monopoly is not protected by law,” he said. “Anybody who wants to build a refinery, anybody who wants to raise $22bn, invest and go through what Aliko went through is welcome to do so.”
Sanusi urged Nigerians to direct more of their savings toward productive enterprises capable of generating economic activity, jobs and long-term value rather than concentrating solely on speculative investments or acquiring assets overseas.
He said the IPO provided members of the public with an opportunity to become part owners of one of Africa’s major industrial assets.
“It is the shareholders who own it. It is the shareholders who take the returns. It is the shareholders who own the profits,” he said.
The Emir, however, cautioned prospective investors against putting essential household funds into shares simply because of the excitement surrounding the offer.
He advised people not to use their children’s school fees or sell their homes to purchase shares, saying investments should be made only with funds they could afford to keep committed for an extended period. In separate remarks at the same roadshow, he suggested that even relatively small amounts could provide a starting point for those interested in participating.
The refinery’s official IPO information similarly cautions that investing in shares involves risk, dividends are not guaranteed and investors could lose some or all of the money invested. It advises prospective shareholders to study the prospectus and, where necessary, seek guidance from licensed financial advisers, stockbrokers or issuing houses.
Sanusi said broader participation in the capital market could deepen financial inclusion while giving Nigerians a direct ownership stake in major domestic industrial projects.
He particularly encouraged Kano residents to use the opportunity to build long-term investments, maintaining that ownership of productive assets could help create wealth beyond traditional trading and property investment.
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