Reported by Ariajegbe Sylvia Esezobor
The Nigeria Police Force Pensions Limited is considering investment opportunities in Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals as part of efforts to diversify its portfolio and sustain returns for police personnel and retirees, the Acting Managing Director of NPF Pensions, Muhammed Dutse, has said. Dutse disclosed this in Abuja on Monday during activities marking the 2026 Customer Service Week, according to a report by Punch.
Dutse said the pension fund administrator was exploring alternative investment opportunities as declining interest rates could affect returns from traditional fixed-income and bank instruments. “As you can see recently, there’s a lot of hype around Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals. So, we also look up to that as well,” he said. He explained that the company’s investment strategy would combine equities with private equity, infrastructure funds and other alternative assets rather than depend heavily on returns from bank deposits. “There are private equity funds, there are infrastructure funds, there are so many investment windows, alternative investments that we can harness to get good returns,” Dutse said.
He added that the company was also assessing opportunities in the stock market, including shares of large Nigerian companies, as part of efforts to protect pension assets and generate competitive returns. According to The Nation, Dutse specifically mentioned opportunities in the shares of other major companies, including First HoldCo, as part of the investment options being considered. The investment strategy is coming against the background of changing monetary conditions, with the Central Bank of Nigeria adjusting the Monetary Policy Rate in response to movements in inflation and other economic conditions. Dutse said the recent reduction in the MPR was being considered as part of the changing investment environment, adding that NPF Pensions would not depend solely on what banks offer on deposits.
The comments come amid growing interest in investment opportunities around the Dangote refinery, following moves to broaden ownership of the multibillion-dollar facility. The National Pension Commission had earlier granted regulatory forbearance to Pension Fund Administrators to invest pension fund assets in the proposed Initial Public Offering of Dangote Petroleum Refinery & Petrochemicals FZE. In a circular dated May 13, 2026, PenCom said it had carefully evaluated the strategic investment opportunity and the economic impact of the proposed IPO on the pension industry and the wider economy. The commission considered DPRP’s strategic importance, strong fundamentals, and wide-ranging economic benefits, and the growth potential, as well as the record of Dangote Industries Limited, DPRP’s majority shareholder. The forbearance involved waiving the applicable existence, profitability, and dividend requirements without prejudice to other extant regulatory safeguards. PenCom described the regulatory forbearance as exceptional, one-off, and strictly case-specific to the Initial Public Offering of Dangote Petroleum Refinery & Petrochemicals FZE, and said it would not constitute an automatic precedent for future Initial Public Offerings or other investment transactions. The Dangote Refinery IPO, which opened on September 14, 2026, aims to raise about $1.63 billion by selling 4.1 billion shares at 525 naira each, with the offer scheduled to close on October 13, 2026.
Dutse said the diversification strategy had become particularly important following changes in the Central Bank of Nigeria’s monetary policy stance, which could affect yields available to pension fund administrators. According to him, NPF Pensions would increasingly consider opportunities in infrastructure, private equity and the energy sector to strengthen its investment position. “Our strategy is a combination of all these instruments in place. We just don’t rely on what banks give us,” he stated. “The good thing about this government is that they have opened up opportunities for investment. So, you see a lot of investment opportunities springing up, like I mentioned earlier, infrastructure funds, private equity funds and, especially, in the areas of energy.”
The pension fund manager’s investment strategy is also being supported by expected growth in its customer base, particularly as the Federal Government moves ahead with plans to recruit more police officers. Dutse said the government was expected to recruit about 50,000 police officers and that the process was still in the pipeline. He said an increase in the number of police personnel would naturally translate into more clients for NPF Pensions. Beyond attracting new contributors, however, Dutse said the company had also developed strategies aimed at maintaining its investment performance. He said NPF Pensions had been among the leading pension fund administrators in investment returns over the past five years, recording an average annual return of about 23 to 24 per cent. “There was a year that we returned almost 37 per cent,” he said. Dutse said the company had put strategies in place to sustain the performance and ensure that its investment activities continued to produce positive results for its customers.
Beyond investments, Dutse acknowledged concerns among retired police officers about pension benefits, saying the Federal Government was working on measures to improve retirees’ take-home pay. He said a presidential committee was already considering the matter. “Currently, there is an attempt by the Federal Government — it’s in fact in the process — and we have been working to ensure that the pay, the take-home pay of retirees, is improved,” he said. Dutse also said the company operates a Retirement Resettlement Support Scheme to provide temporary support to retiring police officers pending the release of their pension benefits, while pre-retirement programmes expose officers to businesses and skills such as poultry farming. On customer service, he said NPF Pensions had expanded direct engagement with contributors and introduced a WhatsApp Business platform, which had attracted nearly 100,000 police officers. He said the digital platform was designed to allow officers to access pension services remotely without having to visit NPF Pensions offices.
The consideration of the Dangote Refinery investment by the police pension fund reflects a broader trend among Nigerian institutional investors, who are increasingly looking beyond traditional fixed-income instruments as yields decline and the macroeconomic environment evolves. The refinery, which was built at an estimated cost of $20 billion and has a nameplate capacity of 650,000 barrels per day, has been positioned as a transformative project for Nigeria’s energy sector and a potential source of long-term returns for investors. For NPF Pensions, the investment would represent a significant diversification of its portfolio and a bet on the refinery’s ability to generate sustained profitability. For police personnel and retirees, whose contributions fund the pension scheme, the performance of these investments will ultimately determine the security of their retirement benefits. As Dutse put it, the strategy is a combination of instruments, and the fund manager does not rely solely on what banks offer. The coming months will reveal whether the Dangote Refinery and other alternative assets deliver the returns that NPF Pensions is targeting.
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