The National Pension Commission has granted Pension Fund Administrators special regulatory approval to invest pension assets in the planned Initial Public Offering of Dangote Petroleum Refinery & Petrochemicals FZE, waiving some of the usual investment eligibility requirements under existing pension regulations.
The approval was contained in a circular published on the commission’s website on Thursday and signed by the Director of the Surveillance Department, A.M. Saleem.
In the circular dated May 13, 2026, PenCom said it had “carefully evaluated the strategic investment opportunity and the economic impact” of the proposed IPO on both the pension industry and the broader economy before reaching its decision.
The commission stated, “Accordingly, the Commission hereby grants a special dispensation from Section 6.2.7.1 (iii) of the Revised Regulation on Investment of Pension Fund Assets.
This dispensation involves waiving the applicable existence, profitability, and dividend requirements without prejudice to other extant regulatory safeguards.”
PenCom said the decision was based on the refinery’s strategic importance, growth potential, and expected economic benefits.
“In reaching its decision, the Commission considered DPRP’s strategic importance, strong fundamentals, wide-ranging economic benefits, and growth potential. The Commission also took into account the record of Dangote Industries Limited, DPRP’s majority shareholder,” the circular stated.
The commission, however, directed PFAs to ensure that any investments made under the approval comply with their internal investment policies and fiduciary obligations to contributors and retirees.
“PFAs are required to ensure that all investments made under this dispensation are undertaken in line with their internal investment policies, risk management frameworks, and fiduciary duties to contributors and retirees,” PenCom stated.
The regulator also clarified that the approval was strictly limited to the Dangote refinery IPO and would not automatically apply to future public offers or investment transactions.
“The regulatory forbearance granted under this Circular is exceptional, one-off, and strictly case-specific to the Initial Public Offering of Dangote Petroleum Refinery & Petrochemicals FZE. It shall not constitute an automatic precedent for future Initial Public Offerings or other investment transactions,” the commission added.
PenCom noted that the circular took immediate effect.
The PUNCH earlier reported that the President of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, is targeting a valuation of $50bn for his Dangote Petroleum Refinery & Petrochemicals ahead of a planned stock market listing later this year.
The planned listing comes as stronger global crude oil prices and growing domestic fuel demand improve the commercial outlook for the 650,000 barrels-per-day refinery, which has increasingly become a dominant player in Nigeria’s downstream petroleum market.
Dangote is planning a landmark cross-border public offering of his $20bn oil refinery in a move that could reshape capital markets across Africa and deepen regional investor participation, Bloomberg reported on Monday.
The proposed listing, which will see shares of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals floated on multiple African stock exchanges, is being positioned as the first pan-African initial public offering of its scale.
