The Maritime Correspondents’ Organisation of Nigeria (MARCON) is set to host Aliko Dangote, President and Chief Executive of Dangote Group, at a special Meet the Maritime Press Session during its 2026 All Nigerian Maritime Journalists Retreat.
The session, scheduled for December 3, 2026, will be the highpoint of the retreat’s main event, which holds from December 2–4 at De Marii Hotel FZE, Ibeju Lekki, Lagos.
The engagement will provide an interactive platform for Dangote and relevant executives of the Group to offer insights into its maritime activities, including port operations, shipping, cargo handling, marine logistics and other operations supporting its industrial and commercial activities.
The session is also expected to give maritime journalists a deeper understanding of the Group’s maritime infrastructure, the movement of raw materials and finished products, its logistics network and the contribution of these activities to domestic and international trade.
The engagement builds on MARCON’s recent tour of the Dangote Refinery, fertiliser plant and other facilities within the Group’s industrial complex. The visit provided members of the organisation with valuable exposure to the scale of the Group’s investments and operations, as well as their significance to Nigeria’s industrial and economic development.
A major highlight of the tour was the disclosure that more than 600 vessels had called at the Dangote Refinery Port, underscoring the growing scale of the Group’s maritime operations and its increasing relevance to Nigeria’s shipping and logistics industry.
The vessel traffic reflects the critical role of maritime transportation in the Group’s operations, from the importation of crude oil and other industrial inputs to the export and distribution of refined petroleum products, fertiliser and other finished goods. It also highlights the opportunities such large-scale industrial investments present for shipping, port services, marine logistics and other segments of the maritime value chain.
Beyond its direct maritime operations, Dangote Industries is also a major player in the growing Lekki Free Zone, which is steadily emerging as an important industrial and economic hub for Nigeria. The concentration of large-scale investments in the zone, including the Dangote Refinery, fertiliser and petrochemical complexes, is strengthening its position as a centre for industrial production, energy, logistics and international trade.
The development of the Lekki Free Zone, alongside its proximity to the Lekki Deep Sea Port and access to international shipping routes, is creating an increasingly important industrial and maritime corridor with significant implications for Nigeria’s manufacturing capacity, export potential, employment generation and economic diversification.
As one of the zone’s major investors, Dangote Industries occupies a strategic position in this evolving economic landscape, with its integrated industrial facilities demonstrating how private sector investments can connect production, maritime infrastructure and global markets.
Dangote Industries Limited also participated in the previous edition of the annual retreat, where Alhaji Aliko Dangote received the prestigious MARCON Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of his contributions to industrial and economic development.
The annual All Nigerian Maritime Journalists Retreat is the foremost gathering of maritime journalists in Nigeria, bringing together media professionals and key stakeholders across the maritime, shipping, trade and logistics sectors to examine developments affecting the industry and the wider economy.
The 2026 edition is themed, “From Extraction to Exchange: Recalibrating Nigeria’s Foreign Trade to Realise President Tinubu’s $1 Trillion Productive Economy”.
The Meet the Maritime Press Session will align with the retreat’s theme by examining how Dangote Group’s maritime investments and operations support industrial production, trade facilitation, export development and Nigeria’s broader economic ambitions.
The engagement is expected to strengthen relations between Dangote Group and the maritime media, promote a better understanding of the Group’s maritime operations and encourage informed reporting on its contributions to Nigeria’s maritime and industrial sectors.
