The Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations, UN, Amina Mohammed, has underscored the strategic importance of Dangote Industries Limited particularly its fertiliser arm in tackling Africa’s mounting food security challenges, while calling for stronger global partnerships to scale its impact.
Speaking during a visit to the company’s industrial complex, in Lagos, Mohammed said the UN would prioritize amplifying scalable, private-sector-led solutions capable of mitigating the continent’s food crisis, describing Dangote’s integrated industrial model as a critical pathway.
“I think the UN’s job here is to amplify and to put visibility on the possibilities of mitigating a food security crisis, and this is one of them. I hope that when we go back, we can continue to engage partners and countries that should collaborate with Dangote Industries,” she said.
Her remarks come amid heightened concern over food shortages and supply chain disruptions across Africa, driven by global economic pressures, climate-related shocks and geopolitical tensions, particularly in the Middle East.
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President and Chief Executive of Dangote Industries Limited, Aliko Dangote, said the group has ramped up exports of urea and Premium Motor Spirit, PMS, to African markets affected by supply disruptions.
He noted that the company has intensified fertilizer shipments to support agricultural productivity and ease supply constraints across the continent.
“The challenges are many. One is urea, which is fertilizer that we have. In the last couple of days, we’ve been loading to mostly African countries, which we were not doing beforehand then now it’s petroleum products, which we are sending mainly to African countries”, he said.
Dangote added that the refinery has shipped about 17 cargoes of petrol to countries across Africa, leveraging its 650,000 barrels-per-day capacity to stabilize supply in multiple regions.
“What I can do is assure Nigerians and most of West Africa, Central Africa, and East Africa, we have the capacity to supply them,” he said.
On feedstock supply, Dangote commended the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited for increasing crude deliveries to the refinery in March, with volumes rising to 10 cargoes, six supplied in naira and four in dollars, to support domestic fuel availability.
Despite the improvement, supply remains below the 19 cargoes required for optimal operations, forcing the refinery to bridge the gap through imports from the United States and other African producers.
Dangote also raised concerns over the reluctance of international oil companies operating in Nigeria to sell crude directly to the refinery, noting that their preference for trading intermediaries increases costs and has broader implications for the economy.
He added that the refinery is seeking expanded access to domestically priced crude under local currency arrangements as part of efforts to moderate fuel costs and strengthen long-term energy and food security across the continent.
THE NATION
