Representatives in the House Committee on Solid Minerals have hailed Dangote Group’s industrialisation drive in the country.... CLICK TO READ THE FULL NEWS HERE▶▶
Members of the House of Representatives, who visited Dangote Cement Plc in Obajana, Kogi State, recently, noted the economic impact the company had made in Nigeria’s cement sector.
The Chairman of the House Committee on Solid Minerals, Gaza Gbefwi, said the joint subcommittee visited partly to investigate why the current cement prices were high and to find solutions to them together.
Gbefwi noted that political leaders and investors need to collaborate to increase Nigeria’s industrialisation effort.
He hailed Dangote Cement’s investments, job creation and tax contributions, as he emphasised that everyone must work together to ensure economic progress in the country.
According to the Group Managing Director of Dangote Cement Plc, Arvind Pathak, except for limestone, which is mined in Nigeria, cement inputs are dollar-driven.
Pathak disclosed that some of the dollar-driven inputs included machinery, spare parts, gas for fuel and one of the raw materials, gypsum.
He stated that unstable and rising foreign exchange rates impacted the current prices of cement products.
Pathak stated that after the government, Dangote Group was Nigeria’s largest employer and had actively adjusted its operations to economic realities.
The Dangote Cement GMD explained that the company increased employees’ salaries in 2022 by 21.3 per cent, compared to 2021, 47.5 per cent in 2023 and 63.2 per cent in 2024.
The Plant Director of Dangote Cement Plc, Obajana, Azad Nawabuddin, revealed that the company had invested in CNG trucks and included them in the fleet in the company’s transport segment.
Nawabuddin added that Dangote Cement also invested in alternative fuel projects by using biomass waste, which is blocking the fertile land as a source of clean energy.
He described the company’s alternative fuel project as an expression of its contribution to reducing global warming.
Nawabuddin highlighted Dangote Cement’s social intervention schemes and declared that the company had incorporated advanced technologies and maintenance strategies to uphold operational efficiency and social commitments.
He said the company’s community-related intervention schemes included the provision of scholarships, construction of classroom blocks, boreholes, hospital buildings, and rehabilitation of road networks.
Dangote Cement delivered a multi-million naira health facility at Iwaa, one of the mining communities, and launched several other empowerment schemes, according to Nawabuddin.
