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Billionaire businessman Femi Otedola has confirmed that he and Africa's richest man, Aliko Dangote, met with President Bola Tinubu on Easter Sunday, April 5, 2026, for discussions on Nigeria's economy and the impact of the administration's ongoing reform agenda.
Otedola disclosed the meeting in a post on his personal Instagram account on Monday, April 6. "Yesterday, I spent Easter Sunday with our dear President, Bola Tinubu, and my bestie Aliko Dangote. We discussed the economy and how Nigerians can benefit from the reforms. On a day of resurrection and renewal, Mr President was still working. That kind of commitment gives you hope for Nigeria," he wrote.
No further details on the specific policy areas discussed were provided publicly. The post attracted over 1,000 comments and more than 170 reshares, with a divided response from Nigerians online.
A significant portion of commenters questioned the practical outcome of such high-level private meetings, with some suggesting the engagement was more political in nature than economic. Others raised the ongoing security crisis in states including Benue, Plateau, Zamfara and Borno, arguing that insecurity remains a more pressing concern for ordinary Nigerians than boardroom-level reform discussions.
The meeting comes as the Tinubu administration has been active on multiple economic fronts in recent days. The President inaugurated a N73 billion ($52.14 million) customs complex in Iperu, Ogun State, designed to strengthen trade facilitation, enforcement and revenue generation for the Federal Government. The complex covers 142 buildings across a 100-hectare site and houses the Federal Operations Unit Zone A of the Nigeria Customs Service.
Tinubu also approved a N3.3 trillion ($2.36 billion) payment plan to settle decade-long debts accumulated in the power sector under the Presidential Power Sector Financial Reforms Programme. The settlement covers obligations that built up between February 2015 and March 2025, and the administration has framed the move as a step toward stabilising electricity generation and improving service delivery across the country.
Otedola and Dangote are two of Nigeria's most prominent private sector figures. Otedola, whose business interests span energy, banking and real estate, holds a significant stake in First HoldCo, the parent company of First Bank of Nigeria. Dangote, whose Dangote Group spans cement, sugar, salt and the 650,000-barrel-per-day Dangote Petroleum Refinery in the Lekki Free Zone, is currently preparing the refinery's initial public offering on the Nigerian Exchange, targeted for between June and July 2026.
