The Chairman of First HoldCo, Femi Otedola, has announced plans to invest $100 million in the Dangote Petroleum Refinery, signaling a massive boost of confidence from one of Nigeria’s most prominent investors.

Otedola disclosed his capital commitment on Wednesday after leading top executives from First HoldCo on a comprehensive corporate tour of the 650,000-barrel-per-day facility located in the Lekki Free Zone, Lagos.

The strategic $100 million commitment forms a key part of a broader $2 billion private placement target announced by Aliko Dangote, the President of the Dangote Group. This capital-raising exercise is being executed as a crucial preparatory step ahead of the refinery’s highly anticipated initial public offering (IPO) expected later in the year.

According to Dangote, the private placement is designed to anchor institutional investment before taking the company public. The upcoming IPO, which aims for a corporate valuation of up to $50 billion, is expected to feature a cross-border listing structure to attract both domestic and international capital while democratizing wealth creation across the African continent.

The formal investment announcement comes just weeks after Otedola publicly debunked viral social media rumours that he had informally funded the early construction phases of the multi-billion-dollar project.

In his clarification, Otedola had maintained that while he had not previously invested a single kobo, he was actively seeking a structured equity allocation an interest that has now materialized into this multi-million-dollar corporate commitment.