Business
Why I sold ownership of Geregu Power Plant — Otedola
Nigerian billionaire businessman Femi Otedola has disclosed that he sold his stake in Geregu Power Plc to invest in the planned public offering of the Dangote refinery project owned by Aliko Dangote.
Mr Otedola made the disclosure while speaking to journalists during a visit to the Dangote Refinery on Wednesday.
While praising Mr Dangote’s industrial projects, he described the businessman as “a colossus” and “one of the greatest men that has come out of Africa.”
“That’s one of the reasons why I sold my stake in the Geregu plant to come and invest my proceeds in the IPO of Dangote Refinery,” Mr Otedola said.
The businessman said he had repeatedly appealed to Mr Dangote to allocate shares to him in the refinery’s private placement.
“On a personal note, I have appealed to him. I have been here with him 25 times,” he said, adding that as part of his compensation, Mr Dangote should allocate him shares worth $100 million during the private placement phase.
Mr Otedola described the Dangote refinery project as a transformational investment capable of freeing Nigeria and Africa from economic dependence.
“I wish Aliko Dangote is a colossus, a genius, probably one of the greatest men that has come out of Africa for delivering us out of economic slavery in Nigeria and by extension Africa,” he said.
Last December, Mr Otedola offloaded his interest in Geregu Power Plc, the electricity generation company he took public in October 2022 at a market value of N250 billion, which was valued at the time to be in the neighbourhood of N2.9 trillion.
The deal was valued at $750 million, a source with knowledge of the transaction told PREMIUM TIMES at the time. Until the completion of the share sale, he was the majority owner of the Lagos-quoted firm.
In his remarks on Wednesday, Mr Dangote revealed that preparations were underway for an Initial Public Offering (IPO) of the refinery, which he said could be launched by September.
According to him, investor demand for the offering has already reached “billions of dollars.”
“There is quite a lot of demand in terms of people disturbing us, pushing us, saying we want to buy,” he said.
Mr Dangote said the goal was to allow early investors to benefit from the refinery’s future growth in the same way investors benefited from early stakes in global technology firms.
“We want it to be like when you buy Amazon or Apple… everybody has become a millionaire and that is what we want to bring into Africa,” he said.
READ ALSO: Billionaire, Femi Otedola, among writers shortlisted for BCA African Business Book 2026
The Dangote refinery, located in Lagos, began fuel production last year and is expected to significantly reduce Nigeria’s dependence on imported petroleum products.
The facility has been widely described as Africa’s largest refinery and one of the biggest single-train refineries globally.
Mr Otedola’s comments come amid increasing investor interest in large-scale infrastructure and energy assets in Nigeria, especially projects linked to domestic refining and industrialisation.
Business
Supreme Court Upholds APP’s Registration, Ends Deregistration Battle Ahead of 2027 Elections
BY NKECHI NAECHE-ESEZOBOR—The Supreme Court has brought an end to the legal dispute over the status of the Action Peoples Party (APP), affirming that the party remains duly registered and eligible to take part in the 2027 general elections.
The apex court struck out Appeal No. SC/CV/248/2026 after the appellant, Mr Blessing Elujiuba, voluntarily withdrew the case, bringing the challenge to a close.
This decision leaves intact earlier judgments delivered by both the Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal, which had upheld the party’s legal recognition.
The ruling was delivered on May 12, 2026, by a five-member panel of the Supreme Court led by Justice John Inyang Okoro, who noted that the matter was withdrawn without objection from other parties.
The court subsequently dismissed the appeal following its withdrawal, formally ending the proceedings at the apex level of the judiciary.
The case involved the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the Action Peoples Party (APP), and the party’s National Chairman, Uche Kingsley Nnadi.
The initial legal action had sought to force INEC to remove APP from its register on the allegation that it failed to meet constitutional requirements under Section 225A of the 1999 Constitution.
However, earlier rulings had found that APP met the necessary legal conditions for continued registration, citing evidence of electoral participation and victories at local government level.
The courts also upheld the interpretation that fulfilling any of the conditions outlined in Section 225A is sufficient for a political party to retain its registration status.
With all tiers of the judiciary aligned in its favour, APP’s legal standing remains intact, clearing the party to continue preparations for the 2027 elections without any outstanding court challenge.
The post Supreme Court Upholds APP’s Registration, Ends Deregistration Battle Ahead of 2027 Elections appeared first on Business Today NG.
The Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, said discussions on Nigeria’s nuclear power programme remain alive, amid continuous technical engagements with concerned authorities in the West African country.
Mr Grossi disclosed the progress made on the nuclear power arrangement with Nigeria while responding to a PREMIUM TIMES’ enquiry at an IAEA programme in Vienna, Austria.
The IAEA DG said the agency continues to work with Nigeria on its nuclear power plan and IAEA officials had held visits and technical meetings with relevant stakeholders to actualise the dream.
In May 2024, while on a visit to Nigeria for a seminar on ‘Promoting Cancer Awareness and Advocacy Programmes’, Mr Grossi expressed the agency’s readiness to support Nigeria’s efforts to develop a nuclear power programme during meetings with senior government officials, including the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume.
Speaking during the visit, he described Nigeria’s pursuit of nuclear energy as “a logical move for a country of your (Nigeria’s) size and importance.”
When this newspaper asked Mr Grossi about the progress of the discussions and technical meetings since the visit two years ago, the IAEA DG reassured that discussions are still ongoing.
“We have continued working with Nigeria, I have to tell you. It’s not that after that visit, things stopped. We have continued at technical levels, some visits, and technical meetings,” the IAEA DG said.
He noted, however, that no final decision has been taken on the programme, adding that Nigeria’s status as a big crude oil-producing nation makes its situation quite different from other economies.
“There hasn’t been a decision yet. There is like a pre-decision to explore the alternative. Of course, your country (Nigeria) is a big oil producer country, an exporter, etc. So the discussion in your country is different from that in other countries,” the DG said.
The IAEA boss insisted that the conversation around the programme is still alive, but Nigeria’s energy options are quite diversified.
“It’s a matter of diversification more than a matter of need, maybe. But the conversation space is pretty much alive, I must say,” Mr Grossi said.
Nigeria’s nuclear energy programme operates under the guidance and safety standards of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), aiming to add clean, stable nuclear electricity to the national grid. The programme is managed primarily by the Nigeria Atomic Energy Commission (NAEC) and is said to be advancing through the foundational infrastructure phases and planning stages.
READ ALSO: Survival logic of nuclear deterrence: The Iranian, Israeli, and American conundrum, By Jacob Edi
Earlier in September 2023, Nigeria signed its Country Programme Framework (CPF) for the period of 2024–2029 on the margins of the General Conference. A CPF is the frame of reference for the medium-term planning of technical cooperation between a Member State and the IAEA and identifies priority areas where the transfer of nuclear technology and technical cooperation resources will be directed to support national development goals.
Nigeria has been an IAEA Member State since 1957 and, according to the agency, its 4th CPF covering the period 2024 – 2029 identifies five priority areas, such as nuclear and radiation safety and security; food and agriculture; health and nutrition; water and environment; as well as energy planning and development.
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