The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri, has attributed the success of the ongoing Dangote Petroleum Refinery initial public offering to the Federal Government’s deregulation of the petroleum sector.
Lokpobiri said this on Thursday while speaking at the National Summit of the Forum of Former Presiding Officers of State Houses of Assembly of Nigeria in Abuja.
The summit was themed, “Bold Leadership, Bold Reforms: From Subsidy to Renewed Hope…”
The Dangote Refinery IPO, which opened on September 14, comprises 4.1 billion ordinary shares at N525 per share and seeks to raise N2.15tn. It has been described as Africa’s largest IPO.
Speaking at the event, Lokpobiri said the government’s decision to deregulate the petroleum sector had enabled private-sector participation and contributed to the refinery’s emergence as a major player in the downstream oil sector.
He said, “I want to take the opportunity to say today that the reason why Dangote’s IPO, which is the largest in the African continent, is successful today is because of deregulation.
“Before now, NNPC used to be the sole importer of refined products. We export our crude and we import refined products. Today, NNPC doesn’t import any refined products because NNPC is also a shareholder of Dangote Refinery.
“We invested strategically in Dangote Refinery; we are a shareholder in Dangote Refinery.”
The minister said the Federal Government supported the IPO and expressed optimism that the offer would be oversubscribed.
“The IPO that is going on is absolutely supported by this government, and we believe that it will be oversubscribed,” he said.
The public offer is scheduled to close on October 13, with the shares priced at N525 each and a minimum subscription of 10 shares, or N5,250.
Lokpobiri also linked the absence of fuel queues since 2023 to the reforms in the petroleum sector.
He said, “It’s important for us to know that all these successes are the result of Mr President’s bold decision to completely deregulate the petroleum sector.
“I’m happy my colleague from Adamawa had said here that we had a perennial problem in this country. Every time, we used to have queues, particularly during the festive season.
“But since 2023, we haven’t experienced any queues in this country till today. And by the grace of God, we are not going to have such queues.”
The minister further said the petroleum sector reforms were contributing significantly to Nigeria’s foreign exchange earnings, claiming that the sector accounted for about 85 per cent of the country’s foreign exchange.
“Let me conclude by saying that the reforms in the petroleum sector are contributing about 85 per cent of our forex,” he said.
Lokpobiri put Nigeria’s foreign reserves at about $54bn, although the latest available data showed gross reserves at $54.61bn as of September 14, 2026.
He also recalled the foreign exchange obligations previously owed to foreign airlines, saying the government had cleared about $7bn in outstanding funds.
“Don’t also forget that before Mr President came, the airlines in Nigeria couldn’t repatriate their returns, and so airlines like Emirates and some other airlines even suspended operations.
“The debt then was almost $7bn. That was cleared. If that debt wasn’t there, and that $7bn was added to the $54bn, today our forex, I mean, our foreign reserves, would have been over $60bn,” he said.
Lokpobiri urged the former presiding officers of state Houses of Assembly to communicate the administration’s reform message in their respective states.
He said, “I want to say that, look, you as leaders, former presiding officers of this country, you owe this country a duty to go to your respective states and take this message home: why President must be re-elected so that we can sustain these gains that we have made as a country.”