President of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, says Nigeria is on track to become a global powerhouse in fertiliser and petrochemicals, with plans for his company to emerge as the world’s largest exporter of urea fertiliser by 2026.
Speaking on Monday at the Dangote Refinery complex in Lagos during the first anniversary of its gasoline rollout, Dangote said the group is aggressively expanding operations to position Nigeria at the centre of the global urea market.
“We are actually targeting to be the largest exporter of urea fertiliser in the world. And that’s a big celebration for Nigeria,” he said.
Dangote explained that increased fertiliser exports will boost Nigeria’s foreign exchange earnings and improve food security across Africa, where demand for fertiliser still outstrips supply.
He also highlighted advances in petrochemicals, especially polypropylene production, a key raw material for packaging, textiles, and automobile 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,” Dangote declared.
Industry analysts say the move could transform Nigeria into a petrochemical hub, reducing Africa’s reliance on imports from Asia and Europe.
As part of the refinery’s anniversary celebrations, Dangote unveiled 1,000 Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) trucks — the first batch in a fleet of 4,000 trucks to be deployed before year’s end.
The project, valued at over N2 trillion, aims to lower transportation costs, ease logistics bottlenecks, and expand nationwide fuel access. Each truck costs between N170 million and N190 million, Dangote said.
He added that the initiative is expected to create at least 24,000 direct and indirect jobs, with truck drivers set to earn three to four times the national minimum wage.
“These are not robotic trucks,” he quipped. “Each truck will involve about six people, from workshop managers to mechanics, logistics teams, and drivers.”
Looking ahead, Dangote announced plans to introduce electric vehicles (EVs) for product distribution starting January 2026, underscoring the company’s commitment to sustainability and the global energy transition.
