Africa’s richest man by Forbes and Bloomberg ranking, Aliko Dangote has signified his interest to purchase a significant shareholding in Peugeot Automobile Nigeria (PAN).
His reported intention to invest in Peugeot will pair him alongside Kaduna state, (the host state to the moribund car assembly plants with decades financial woes and waning presence.), Kebbi state and the Bank of Industry, the country’s lender to the manufacturing sector.
Early last week, Nasir el Rufai, the Governor of Kaduna, a key North Central state announced its decision to invest in the car maker. Three decades ago, Peugeot was the darling of the Nigerian government and bureaucratic elites as their defacto official vehicles. Inconsistent government policies deflected attention from Peugeot as subsequent governments joined the private sector to import its official vehicles.
Dangote’s move to get a stake in Peugeot could be his largest single investment in the northern part of Nigeria. As the Chairman of Dangote Industries, his investment are skewed to the Southern and South West of Nigeria. His $14 billion mega oil refinery project in Lekki, a key coastal part of Lagos State is one of his largest single investment in Nigeria till date.
