President of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, has revealed bold plans positioning Nigeria as a global leader in fertiliser and petrochemicals, while also unveiling major investments in sustainable logistics. Speaking on Monday during a press briefing at the Dangote Refinery complex in Lagos, the industrialist outlined a roadmap that could transform Nigeria’s standing in global trade. The event coincided with the one-year anniversary of the refinery’s gasoline production rollout.
Dangote disclosed that his company is scaling up operations to become the world’s largest exporter of urea fertiliser by 2026. He stressed that the move would not only mark a milestone for the company but also cement Nigeria’s role in the international fertiliser market. “We’re actually targeting to be the largest exporter of urea fertiliser in the world. And that’s a big celebration for Nigeria,” he said.
He explained that increased exports would boost Nigeria’s foreign exchange earnings and enhance food security across Africa, where fertiliser demand continues to exceed domestic production. The initiative, he noted, would have far-reaching benefits for agriculture across the continent.
Beyond fertiliser, Dangote highlighted significant strides in petrochemicals, especially in polypropylene production,a critical raw material for packaging, textiles, and automotive components. “Nigeria will be the largest exporter of Polypropylene in Africa. It will be the largest supplier of Polypropylene. And we are not deterred by all this noise coming through,” he declared confidently. Industry analysts believe this could help reposition Nigeria as a major hub for petrochemical exports, reducing Africa’s dependency on imports from Asia and Europe.
The refinery anniversary event also showcased the rollout of 1,000 Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) trucks, the first batch of a planned 4,000-truck fleet to be deployed by year-end. Dangote said the N2 trillion project, with each truck valued between N170 million and N190 million, was designed to ease logistics bottlenecks, cut transportation costs, and expand fuel access nationwide.
According to him, the initiative is also expected to generate large-scale employment. “We are saying that there will be lots of jobs. Are our own trucks to be driven by robots? They are not robotic trucks. By the time you involve a workshop manager, mechanical, electric truck, people who look after cars, people who look at the logistic movement of the truck, dispatch, every truck will have about six people,” Dangote explained. He estimated that the 4,000 trucks would directly and indirectly create at least 24,000 jobs, with drivers earning salaries three to four times higher than the national minimum wage.
Looking ahead, Dangote announced that the company will begin deploying electric vehicles (EVs) for product transportation from January 2026. “Our next phase is that, from February next year, we are looking at doing electric vehicles,” he said, underscoring the group’s alignment with global energy transition trends and its commitment to sustainable operations.
Through these ambitious projects, Dangote signaled that Nigeria is not only ready to compete globally but also determined to lead in agriculture, energy, petrochemicals, and clean logistics.
