Aliko Dangote, chairman of the Dangote Group, says his company will become the world’s number one fertiliser producer by 2028.
Speaking on Thursday at the Imo economic summit, the
billionaire said the group is investing heavily in fertiliser and plans to grow
output from 3 million tonnes of urea to 12 million tonnes in the next three
years.
“We are investors and I can tell you in the next three
years, the programme that we have in the group, we’re investing heavily in
fertiliser,” he said.
The group chairman praised recent policy decisions by the
federal government, saying the reforms are beginning to show results.
“There are very good policies, bold policies that the
government has taken today — the exchange rate, the removal of the fuel
subsidy, so many other things that the government has actually put out there,”
he said.
“But you know, Nigeria is like a scratch card. You only see
the good of it when you scratch the card. So some of us that have already
scratched the card, we are seeing the results.”
He commended President Bola Tinubu for what he described as
“strong leadership”, saying more reforms are expected in the months ahead.
Dangote also asked Hope Uzodinma, governor of Imo, to
identify the most suitable sector for the company to invest in the state.
DANGOTE ASKS AFRICAN INVESTORS TO INVEST AT HOME
Further speaking at the event, Dangote asked Nigerian and
African investors to take the lead in driving economic growth, saying foreign
investment is encouraged only when domestic players show commitment.
“Our job is to keep investing at home. If we don’t invest at
home, there is nobody on earth that will come and invest here,” he said.
“What attracts foreign investors is a domestic investor. And
that’s what we are doing.”
He referenced a recent interview with the CNN where he was
asked why he decided to double the capacity of his refinery.
“They asked me — you have actually been investing, why did
you announce to double up your refinery to make it the largest refinery in the
world?” he said.
“I said, well, I don’t have anywhere to go and invest but at
home. When I say at home, I mean Nigeria and Africa.”
Dangote said Africa holds about 30 percent of global mineral
resources, but risks losing opportunities if local investors do not take the
lead.
“There are a lot of people that are fighting, trying to get
these minerals. If now we don’t really lead the way in putting up this
investment, who do we expect to come and invest?” he said.
“We can never ever really convince anybody to come and
invest in our continent. We must be the ones that will lead.”
The chairman added that the Dangote Group is committed to
taking that leadership role to attract more investments into Africa
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