Billionaire businessman, Femi Otedola, has expressed that the naira could trade below ₦1,000 to the US dollar before the end of 2026 after the Dangote Petroleum Refinery reaches its full production capacity of 650,000 barrels per day.

Otedola shared this in a Thursday post on X while congratulating his friend and fellow businessman, Aliko Dangote, on the latest achievement.

Otedola argued that the recent development is transformational to Nigeria and Africa at large, emphasising that supplying up to 75 million litres of petroleum products daily will change the energy narrative and boost foreign exchange.

The naira, which has strengthened in recent weeks, was trading around ₦1,354 to the dollar at the official foreign exchange market on Thursday and about ₦1,430–₦1,440 on the parallel market — its strongest levels in more than two years — according to market sources.

Otedola wrote, “I congratulate my friend and brother, @AlikoDangote, on the remarkable achievement of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery reaching its full  650,000 barrels per day capacity.

“More importantly, it is transformational for Nigeria and Africa. Supplying up to 75 million litres of PMS daily changes our energy narrative and conserves foreign exchange.”

He added, “With domestic refining now firmly underway after decades of reliance on imports, pressure on the foreign exchange market should ease significantly.

“I am optimistic that the naira will strengthen meaningfully, and trading below ₦1,000/$1 before year-end is increasingly within reach.”

Otedola further revealed that the Dangote refinery has embarked on an additional $12 billion expansion to increase its refining capacity to 1.4 million barrels per day.

“Aliko is not stopping here. He has embarked on an additional $12 billion expansion to increase refining capacity to 1.4 million barrels per day, alongside 2.4 million tons of polypropylene and 400,000 metric tons of Linear Alkyl Benzene for detergent production.

“Work has already commenced in earnest. Congratulations once again, my brother. Nigeria is proud of you,” Otedola concluded.