Former chairman of Fidelity Bank, Mustafa Chike-Obi, implied that the Eko Atlantic City may eventually contribute more to Nigeria’s gross domestic product (GDP) than the Dangote Petroleum Refinery.
Chike-Obi spoke during the Policy Without Politics podcast he co-hosts with Ken Ikpe on Thursday, 30 July ’26.
According to Chike-Obi, the refinery has transformed Nigeria’s downstream oil sector. However, Eko Atlantic’s long-term contribution to the economy may be broader due to its capacity to attract businesses, institutions, and residents.
He added that Eko Atlantic, in terms of value to GDP, is in his opinion comparable to the refinery, although it may be larger. 10 years from now, it may employ more people in a single year than the refinery may employ in 10 years.
The employment potential of Eko Atlantic is much larger than the refinery. Eko Atlantic is a well-thought-out, developed city. The impact on the Nigerian economy & GDP, in his opinion, may dwarf that of the refinery.
Chike-Obi added that the city’s economic footprint may expand as more organizations establish operations there.
He further added that the United States (U.S.) was building what he described as its largest embassy overseas at Eko Atlantic. This is while First Bank has already established a presence there.
He added that restaurants & hotels are operating in the city. This is while MTN is expected to move there.
Government may be even-handed
Chike-Obi implied that the federal government may adopt what he described as an even-handed approach in supporting landmark private-sector investments.
According to him, Eko-Atlantic, besides the Dangote refinery, is also a free trade zone project. However, the city appears to depend less on government support than the refinery.
He further states that if the government is going to invest in something as big, important, and successful as the refinery, it should also consider making an investment in Eko Atlantic in some way. He also added that he was aware that Femi Otedola encouraged First Bank to move there as a means of supporting the project. He also expressed the view that other large institutions may need to follow suit.
Eko Atlantic isn’t asking for government support in the form of import bans to support its interests. They’re both free trade zones. However, it seemed to him that Eko Atlantic was far less dependent on the good graces of the federal government. The Lagos State government may also seem to be dependent on the refinery.
The government may be even-handed. Besides, the government may not Additionally, the government may not be perceived as favoring certain parties over others. as picking winners & losers. These are two great projects. One may appear to be having more government support than the other. That may not look appealing.
During the discussion, Lkpe argued that the Dangote refinery had received government support. This support was because it addresses an urgent need to bridge Nigeria’s petroleum supply gap before the longer-term development projects such as Eko Atlantic.
Chike-Obi disagreed with that argument. He asserted that the removal of the fuel subsidy, rather than the refinery itself, resolved the fuel supply disruptions. It had resulted in recurring fuel queues.
Chike-Obi added that he wasn’t of the view that there was an urgency to build a refinery. He felt that Ikpe’s statement was accurate because Nigeria had a problematic fuel subsidy policy that limited supply. He added that from the time the fuel supply was removed to when the refinery was begun, there weren’t fuel queues.
He added that he didn’t see the urgency that Ikpe was talking about because the subsidy filled the gap.
Chike-Obi also questioned claims that the refinery was mainly responsible for recent developments in Nigeria’s foreign exchange position. He argued that the benefits of liberalizing the foreign exchange market, along with high interest rates, primarily drove the positive outcomes that attracted foreign capital.
