Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote has submitted an application in June 2025 to the federal government seeking approval to build what he described as the largest and deepest private seaport in Nigeria.
The planned port is to be sited on the Atlantic coast at Olokola, Ogun State, roughly 100 kilometers from his fertilizer and oil refinery complex in Lagos.
Dangote expressed confidence that the request will be approved. If permitted, the port would facilitate his company’s export of petroleum products, liquefied natural gas (LNG), and fertilizer.
It would compete with existing port facilities in Lagos, including the Chinese-funded Lekki Deep Sea Port, which opened in 2023.
He told Bloomberg that while he does not want to do everything alone, he hopes the project will encourage other entrepreneurs to invest in port infrastructure.
Dangote had originally planned to locate his refinery and fertilizer plant in Olokola, but disagreements with local officials led to its relocation to Lagos.
His company also intends to export LNG from Lagos, a project that will require constructing pipelines from Nigeria’s oil-rich Niger Delta. The fertilizer plant currently sources natural gas from the Niger region.
Dangote’s oil refinery, built at a cost of US$20 billion, commenced operations in January 2024.
It has a capacity of 650,000 barrels per day and produces approximately 57 million liters of petrol, 37 million liters of diesel, and 20 million liters of jet fuel daily—enough to meet Nigeria’s domestic fuel demand of around 46 million liters per day, with surplus available for export.
He announced that starting August 2025, his company will begin distributing fuel to Nigerian consumers using a fleet of 4,000 trucks.
This move has prompted concerns among some observers that it could represent a bid to monopolize the country’s oil sector; Dangote has denied those claims.
Dangote has also signaled interest in exporting fuel to several African countries, including Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
His fertilizer plant, which cost approximately US$2.5 billion, produces about 3 million tons of fertilizer annually. He has additionally applied to build a mega fertilizer plant in Ethiopia.
, 68, has an estimated net worth of US$28 billion and owns cement manufacturing and sugar plants across Africa.
