Fashola: Lagos Discounted Land for Dangote Refinery to Secure $19 Billion Investment

Former Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola says his administration offered the Dangote Group discounted land in the Lekki Free Zone to secure the refinery project that later became the Dangote Petroleum Refinery.

Fashola made the disclosure earlier this week during a keynote address titled “From Presence to Power: Advancing Women’s Influence in the Boardroom” at the Chartered Institute of Directors, CIoD, Nigeria Women Directors’ Biennial Conference at the National Arts Theatre in Lagos.

He said the decision followed advice from then Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, Mrs. Olusola Oworu, who argued that attracting the investment would yield greater long-term economic benefits than sticking to the state’s fixed land pricing.

*How the deal was sealed*

Fashola said negotiations stalled after Lagos identified a site for the project. The state operated a fixed-rate pricing system for land allocations, but Dangote considered the asking price too high.

He quoted Oworu as telling the State Executive Council:

“Look, Governor, you have 16,000 hectares of land. The Chinese are in 3,000 hectares. We have barely built 200. Thirteen thousand is waiting for investors. You have now found an investor who wants to take 2,000 hectares and build a refinery of $19 billion and you are quibbling over the cost of the land. Offer the land at a discount. Once it comes in, others will follow. And then you can make money from your land.”

“That was a thinking decision. And the whole of council then looked to me and I surrendered,” Fashola said.

He said Oworu’s intervention changed the course of deliberations and helped Lagos retain the project.

Fashola cited the episode to argue that leadership should be judged by competence rather than gender. “Ineffectiveness is not a gender thing; it is a human thing,” he said.

*Conference focus*

Speakers at the conference called on organisations to move beyond increasing women’s representation on boards and focus on giving them influence over strategic decision-making.

CIoD Nigeria First Vice President, Mrs. Amina Oyagbola, said more women now serve on boards, but remain underrepresented in chair and executive positions where key decisions are made. She urged stronger mentorship and sponsorship programmes to build leadership pipelines for women.

CIoD Nigeria President Otunba Adetunji Oyebanji said board appointments should be driven by competence, skills and integrity rather than traditional pathways that have limited women’s access to top positions. He added that increasing women’s influence is critical amid economic uncertainty and technological disruption.

*What you should know*

The Dangote Group originally planned the refinery for the Olokola Free Trade Zone in Ogun and Ondo states. Disagreements with the Ogun State Government under former Governor Ibikunle Amosun led the company to relocate to the Lekki Free Zone in Lagos.

The refinery commenced production on Jan. 12, 2024, with a nameplate capacity of 650,000 barrels per day, making it Africa’s largest refinery and one of the world’s largest single-train refineries.

In February 2026, the company said it had reached full designed processing capacity after optimizing its Crude Distillation Unit and Motor Spirit production block.

The refinery is seeking to raise about $1 billion through a private placement after a $39.1 billion valuation. Indications of interest have exceeded $2 billion, according to an Information Memorandum seen by Nairametrics.