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Tag: Dangote Cement

  • Several Dangote Cement staffers reportedly kidnapped in Edo state

    Several Dangote Cement staffers reportedly kidnapped in Edo state

    An unspecified number of staff of Dangote Cement Company Plc have been reportedly kidnapped by Gunmen in Okpella, Etsako East Local Government Area of Edo State.

    It was  gathered that the workers were allegedly abducted on Monday after the close of work.

    The victims were said to be in a Coaster bus returning to Okpella community when they were kidnapped at gunpoint.

    A source living in the community who spoke to newsmen, alleged that the gunmen who had laid ambush emerged from the bush and forced the bus to a halt at gunpoint before whisking their victims into the bush.

    He added that the staffers of Dangote Cement were in their staff bus when the gunmen struck.

    He said “yes, they were in a Coaster bus coming to Okpella when they were kidnapped by gunmen.

    “But we don’t know the number of the workers that have been kidnapped.”

    However, the Edo state police command is yet to comment on the matter as at the the time of filing this report.

     

  • Court stops Kogi Govt from shutting down Dangote Cement

    Court stops Kogi Govt from shutting down Dangote Cement

    A Federal High Court, Abuja, on Wednesday, restrained the Kogi government from shutting down Dangote Cement PLC in Obajana area of the state.

    The court also stopped the state government from disrupting or suspending the activities of Dangote Coal Mines Ltd and Dangote Industries Ltd in Okaba, Ankpa Local Government Area, and in Olamaboro Local Government Area respectively.

    Justice Binta Nyako gave the interim order following two separate ex-parte motions moved by counsel for the companies, Regina Okotie-Eboh.

    The Kogi government and Dangote group had recently locked horns over the ownership of Obajana cement factory.

    The state government had, on Oct. 13, gave the cement factory at Obajana i48 hours to shut down in honour of the Kogi House of Assembly which ordered the company to sealed until the conglomerate furnishes it with the requisite documents demanded by the legislature.

    But the companies, in a motion ex-parte with suit number: FHC/ABJ/CS/1876/22, had sued the Kogi House of Assembly, Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Federal Ministry of Mines and Steel Development and Mining Cadastre Office as 1st to 4th defendants respectively.

    The applicants in this suit include Dangote Coal Mines Ltd and Dangote Industries Ltd.

    Also in the second motion marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/1877/22, all the defendants in the first application, except Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), were listed as defendants.

    The applicants, in this case, are Dangote Cement PLC and Dangote Industries Ltd.

    The two applications, dated Oct. 13 and filed Oct. 14, were filed by Rickey Tarfa, SAN.

    Dangote group prayed for “an order of interim injunction restraining the defendants/respondents or any person purporting to act on their behalf from extending the exercise of the defendants’ oversight functions outside the concurrent and residual legislative list and unto the executive legislative list of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice.”

    It also prayed for an order of interim injunction restraining them or any person purporting to act on their behalf from making any resolution or order, disrupting, suspending or shutting down the facilities or activities of the applicants anywhere in the state in contravention of the provisions of Section 4(2) and item 32 of part 1 second Schedule of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).

    Besides, it sought an order of interim injunction restraining them from further giving effect to any resolution, declaration or decision purporting to suspend the activities of the applicants in the state in contravention of the 1999 Constitution.

    When the matter was called, Okotie-Eboh, who appeared for the companies, informed the court of the motions.

    The lawyer said the crux of the matter was the restriction of the operations of the applicants, the invasion and disruption of the business by the defendants.

    She argued that the closure of the cement factory by the defendants would affect the production of cements in Nigeria and put thousands of jobs at risk.

    Okotie-Eboh alleged that the state’s house of assembly and the its commissioner for justice disrupted cement production despite the fact that they did not have the power to do so, adding that the commissioner also threatened to invade the company again.

    She, therefore, sought an order of the court preserving the res (subject matter) pending the hearing and determination of the substantive suit.

    Justice Nyako, who granted the reliefs sought, ordered the applicants to serve the defendants with the motions on notice within 14 days and adjourned the matter until Nov  21 for hearing.

  • OBAJANA: Dangote Cement Plant reopens after 10-day rift with Kogi State Government

    OBAJANA: Dangote Cement Plant reopens after 10-day rift with Kogi State Government

    After a 10-day disagreement between the Dangote Group and the Kogi State Government, the Dangote Cement Plant located in Obajana, Kogi State, has been reopened.

    Recall that the cement plant was closed by the Kogi State Government over issues bordering on the legality of the company’s acquisition of the defunct Obajana Cement Company.

    TheNewsGuru.com gathered that the development followed an order by the National Security Council on Friday directing the reopening of the cement plant.

    The Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, told journalists that an agreement had been reached between the Dangote Group and the Kogi State Government on the need to reopen the factory while urging both parties to respect the agreement.

    In a series of statements by its Commissioner of Information, Kingsley Fanwo, the Kogi State Government had maintained that the acquisition of the cement plant by Africa’s richest man did not follow due process.

    The state government, backed by its House of Assembly, maintained that process involving the acquisition of the plant translated to asset-grabbing.

    On its part, Dangote Industries Limited, DIL, the parent company of Dangote Cement Plc had maintained that its acquisition of Obajana Cement Company followed due process.

    A statement by DIL insisted that Kogi State had no equity interest in Obajana Cement Plc.

    The statement noted that the plant and machinery were conceived, designed, procured, built, and paid for solely by DIL, well after it acquired the shares in Obajana Cement Company.

    The company further said that the land on which the Obajana Cement Plant is built was acquired solely by Dangote Industries Limited in 2003, and that taxes paid to Kogi Govt yearly since production commenced in 2007.

    The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, the Nigeria Labour Congress, the Nigerian Economic Summit Group, the Trade Union Congress, and the Shareholders Associations in Nigeria, had also waded into the conflict.

  • Kogi youths protest against Dangote’s ownership of State Cement Factory

    Kogi youths protest against Dangote’s ownership of State Cement Factory

    Youths in Kogi State have protested Dangote’s operations at the largest cement factory in Africa, the Obajana Cement Factory.
    The protest took place at the early hours of Tuesday with the young people comprising young men and women.
    The protesters carried placards of different inscriptions while chanting solidarity songs.
    some of the placards read; “Return our Cement Factory, We Stand with GYB, We Are Tired of Dangote Group,” among others.
    Heads of Obajana, Kabba Junction/Zariagi youths lead the protest.
    The Chairman of Kabba Junction/ Zaruagi youths, Abubakar Ahmed who spoke to the press on behalf of his colleagues, said their grievances with Dangote stemmed from the fact that the company has reneged on the Corporate Social Responsibility agreement reached with them.
    Rather than repair and improving them, the spokesman said Trucks being used by the company to convey Cement and coal to and from the company has destroyed lives and infrastructure of the community.
    In his words, “You need to go to Obajana main community, Kabba Junction here which is the gateway between the company and the North, Zariagi and even the state capital, Lokoja, to fully appreciate the level of damage caused by Dangote.
    “His drivers have killed countless people while conveying goods, cause dilapidation on our roads and created harmful situation through the dust being raised during production and conveyance of goods on our communities.
    “Despite all these, there is not a single infrastructure; be it health facility, school or anything to improve the lives of our people.”
    The spokesman said the youths support the state government, noting that their hope is for the right thing to be done to ensure what is due the state from Dangote gets to it.
    Other speakers, who also complained about their inability to  afford the cement which is being made in their community said it was inconceivable for them not to be able to afford what is being made in their immediate environment.
  • Dangote emerges the Most Valuable Brand in Nigeria for 5th year

    Dangote emerges the Most Valuable Brand in Nigeria for 5th year

    A brand and marketing research firm known as Top 50 Brands Nigeria has listed Dangote as the Most Valuable Brand in the country for the 5th year.

    Dangote came out as the winner in the outcome of the 2022 corporate brand evaluation conducted by the firm.

    A statement by the organizer stated that Dangote, MTN Nigeria and Globacom are the topmost brands in Nigeria.

    The statement explained that Dangote emerged top with an aggregate score of 83.7 brand strength measurement index score. This was followed by MTN, Globacom and Access Bank in fourth place.

    Others among the top 10 are Airtel Nigeria, Coca-Cola, Zenith Bank, GTCO, First Bank and UBA at fifth to tenth positions respectively, the statement added.

    It said, “The annual top brands evaluation report which is now like a report card, with which top corporate brands have an independent opinion about their brand performance, from the consumers’ points of view has also become a sort of ‘bragging’ right and a source of pride for the brands that made the top 50 league table, particularly, those that took the lead.

    “The annual top brand evaluation is a qualitative, non-financial estimation of value of top corporate brands in the country. A measure of consumers’ perceptions.”

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that Dangote Group is a Nigerian multinational industrial conglomerate, founded by Aliko Dangote.

    It is the largest conglomerate in West Africa and one of the largest on the African continent. The group employs more than 30,000 people, generating revenue in excess of US$4.1 billion in 2017.

    The company was founded in 1981 as a trading enterprise, importing sugar, cement, rice, fisheries, and other consumer goods for distribution in the Nigeria market.

    The group moved into manufacturing in the 1990s, starting with textiles, moving onto flour milling, salt processing and sugar refining by the end of the decade.

    The company next moved into cement production, growing rapidly and moving into other African countries. A high degree of vertical integration is a hallmark of Dangote Group’s operating strategy.

    The group now owns and operates over 18 subsidiaries, operating in ten African countries.

    Dangote Cement, is one of these subsidiaries that is listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange, with its market capitalization accounting for almost 20 percent of the total capitalization of the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

    Dangote Group is headquartered in Lagos.

    In 2016, Dangote signed a contract with CNOOC group for the installation of a large underwater offshore pipeline.

    The pipeline, when completed will extend from Bonny (Rivers State) through Ogedegbe, Olokola to Lekki and the Escravos Lagos pipeline, finally terminating at the West Africa Gas Pipeline.

  • Dangote group grows revenue to N808b in six months

    Dangote group grows revenue to N808b in six months

    Dangote Cement has grown its revenue by 17 percent in six months as it recorded a whopping sum of N808 billion, appreciating from the N690.55 billion it recorded in the same period in 2021.

    This is despite the biting poverty and lack that people in the company’s host communities have continued to face.

    The people of Obajana, the largest producer of the Company’s Cement have continued to be plagued by lack of access to quality water, unemployment, dilapidated health infrastructure among other factors that hamper quality of human life.

    The Chief Executive Officer of Dangote Cement, Michel Puchercos made the revelation about the new profit even as he stated that the company is ramping up production in its Okpella plant, Nigeria.

    Puchercos also said that the company is progressing well to deploy grinding plants in Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire.

    Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire will join the lists of the following African countries when the grinding plants finally becomes operation. Cameroon (1.5Mta clinker grinding), Congo (1.5Mta), Ghana (1.5Mta import), Ethiopia (2.5Mta), Senegal (1.5Mta), Sierra Leone (0.5Mta import), South Africa (2.8Mta), Tanzania (3.0Mta), Zambia (1.5Mta).

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    In the same vein, the Cement Plant has announced that for the second quarter of 2022, a group revenue of N808 billion for the half year ended June 31, 2022.

    This is according to the cement company’s results made available on the website of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX).

    Dangote Cement further reported a group sales volume of 14.2 metric tons (mt), consisting of 9.3 Mt done by Nigerian operations while the balance was contributed by operations in other African countries.

    Reacting to the result, Pocheros said: “Despite the elevated inflation due to a very volatile global environment, the first half of 2022 has been positive.

    ”We recorded increases in revenue and EBITDA that drove strong cash generation across the Group.

    “We recorded revenue of ₦808.0 billion up 17 per cent compared to last year and Group EBITDA of ₦373.2Billion, up 6.3 per cent with an EBITDA margin of 46.2 per cent.”

    Puchercos explained that significant increase in energy and AGO costs are impacting negatively on production and supply of cement products.

    He added, “To drive consumer engagement and support demand ahead of the rainy season; we have commenced the 3rd season of our National Consumer Promotion – “Bag of Goodies 3.

    “On the operational side, we are ramping up production at our Okpella plant and are progressing well to deploy grinding plants in Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire.”

    He noted that the volatile international context is strengthening efforts to ramp up the usage of alternative fuels and execution of export-to-import strategy.

    The company according to him is reducing dependence on imported inputs and making the local markets self-sufficient.

    “Our continuous focus on efficiency, meeting market demand and maintaining our costs leadership drives our ability to consistently deliver superior profitability and value to all shareholders” he added.

    In a related development, there are confirmed reports that the first batch of winners have emerged from the ongoing National Consumer Promotion – “Bag of Goodies 3”.

    The winners will be receiving their prizes in a series of events lined up in the coming weeks.

    Dangote Cement is Africa’s leading cement producer with nearly 51.6Mta capacity across Africa.

    A fully integrated quarry-to-customer producer, it has a production capacity of 35.25Mta in its home market, Nigeria.

    Obajana plant in Kogi State, Nigeria, is the largest in Africa with 16.25Mta of capacity across five lines while Ibese plant in Ogun State has four cement lines with a combined installed capacity of 12Mta.

    The Gboko plant in Benue State has 4Mta while Okpella plant in Edo State has 3Mta.

    Through recent investments, Dangote Cement has eliminated Nigeria’s dependence on imported cement and has transformed the nation into an exporter of cement serving neighbouring countries.

  • Dangote Cement records 24.2% revenue increase in Q1

    Dangote Cement records 24.2% revenue increase in Q1

    Dangote Cement Plc on Tuesday said its revenue for the first quarter stood at N413.2 billion, translating to a 24.2 per cent increase over the same period last year.

    The company said this in a statement signed by Mr Anthony Chiejina, Group Head, Corporate Communications, Dangote Group, in Lagos.

    According to the statement, the company also recorded a profit after tax of N105.9 billion resulting in 18 per cent increase for the same period.

    Analysis of the company’s three months results indicated that Dangote Cement sold a total volume of 7.2 Metric tonnes of cement.

    It said its Nigerian operations accounted for 4.8 Metric tonnes, while the rest of Africa did the balance of 2.4.

    Chief Executive Officer, Dangote Cement, Mr Michel Puchercos, said the increases in both revenue and profitability drove strong cash generation across the group.

    He added that the company was ramping up production at its Okpella plant and was progressing well to deploy grinding plants in Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire.

    “Dangote Cement is Africa’s leading cement producer with nearly 51.6Mta capacity across Africa and with a fully integrated quarry-to-customer producer, it has a production capacity of 35.25Mta in its home market, Nigeria.

    “The Obajana plant in Kogi State, Nigeria, is the largest in Africa with 16.25Mta of capacity across five lines; Ibese plant in Ogun State has four cement lines with a combined installed capacity of 12Mta while Gboko plant in Benue state has 4Mta; and Okpella plant in Edo state has 3Mta.

    “Through recent investments, Dangote Cement has eliminated Nigeria’s dependence on imported cement and has transformed the nation into an exporter of cement serving neighbouring countries,” he said.

  • Former Presidential Adviser, Ex-MD Dangote Cement and former PHCN MD, Joseph Makoju Is Dead

    Former Presidential Adviser, Ex-MD Dangote Cement and former PHCN MD, Joseph Makoju Is Dead

    Former Presidential Adviser, Ex-MD Dangote Cement and former Managing Director of the defunct Power Holding Company of Nigeria, PHCN, Joseph Makoju, Is Dead.

     

    Makoju, who also served as an adviser to former President Olusegun Obasanjo, died at a private hospital in Abuja on Monday.

     

    The 73-year-old was also a Special Adviser to the President/Chief Executive Officer, Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote.

     

    The Nottingham University-trained engineer also served as Special Adviser (Electric Power) to President Goodluck Jonathan under two separate administrations.

     

    He was the chairman of the Cement Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, as well as the West African Power Pool Executive Board.

     

    Makoju recently retired as the Group Managing Director/ CEO of the Dangote Cement Plc; a position he had held since April 2018.

     

    Born July 13, 1948 in Okene, Kogi State, Makoju graduated from the University of Nottingham, UK, in 1972 with First Class honour, earning a BSc in Mechanical Engineering; and M.Phil. Mechanical Engineering in 1974 from the same university.

     

    After his tenure as the managing director/chief executive officer of NEPA, Makoju was appointed consecutively as Special Adviser to three presidents of Nigeria.

     

    He was a Harford award winner of Government College, Kaduna, and also a J. F. Kennedy Essays Award winner of Federal Government College, Warri.

  • Dangote Cement restates commitment to closing demand-supply Gap

    Dangote Cement restates commitment to closing demand-supply Gap

    Following the surge in demand for cement products in the country, Dangote Cement Plc has restated commitment in meeting the demand gap in order to ensure the availability of Cement products in all nooks and crannies of Nigeria and beyond.

    Speaking to the media yesterday in Lagos, Dangote Cement’s newly appointed Group Chief Sales and Marketing Director, Mr. Rabiu Umar said that the country has moved from importing cement to become an exporter of cement.

    Umar explained that the demand for cement has risen globally as a fallout of the COVID-19 crisis. Nigeria, according to him, is no exception as a combination of monetary policy changes and low returns from the capital market has resulted in a significant increase in construction activity.

    He explained further “We got into COVID last year and immediately after COVID there is a surge in demand and this is not particular to Nigeria alone, a couple of countries across the world are also experiencing the same; Mexico, South East Asia, among others.”

    He noted that Dangote Cement is aggressively building up more capacity as it recently invested in a new line that has been completed in Obajana Plant and the line is waiting for the power plant for it to commence operation.

    Commenting further on capacity building, Rabiu said: “… we have a new plant in Okpella in Edo state, that is also going to start operation very soon. For the last couple of years one of our plants in Gboko, Benue state has not worked; we have re-started the plant all in a bid to make sure that there is enough production. We have also increased the capacity of our Obajana Plant and very soon, I am sure the market will be flooded with enough products. You also need to note that other operators are also increasing their capacity.”

    He explained that, “in every business, what drives the price is the demand and supply. Now as a business we have not increased our price up until this point. So therefore, what has happened in price increment in the cement products are forces of demand and supply.”

    He said though the company has direct control over its ex-factory prices, it cannot control the ultimate price of cement when it gets to the market. He advised that it is important to distinguish Dangote’s ex-factory prices from prices at which retailers sell cement in the market.

    Umar stated further that the Company is trying to make sure that it increases the supply of the product in the market, noting that to make the product available to the end users, the Company is bringing in 2,000 brand new trucks to ease distribution bottlenecks.

    “We are buying these trucks and putting them out there to make sure that the distribution is also taken care of. This new development will lead to additional thousands of direct jobs in the country; apart from both direct and indirect jobs the plants will also create.

    “Globally, by the time we are done, we believe that the additional capacity we will put on the market compared to what we have in the market today is probably the size of each of our competitors in terms of the additional volume that we will put in the market. And we believe that should help to manage the tension in the country as far as the situation with the skyrocketing prices of cement are concerned.”

  • TRENDING: Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote under fire for selling bag of cement for N1800 in Zambia, N3500 in Nigeria

    TRENDING: Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote under fire for selling bag of cement for N1800 in Zambia, N3500 in Nigeria

    Nigerians are not taking it easy with Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote for selling a bag of cement for N1,800 in Zambia and selling same for N3,500 in Nigeria; a N100 less of double the Zambian rate.

    According to reports, the Zambia Board of Commissioners of the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission said it ordered Lafarge Zambia Plc, Dangote Cement Zambia Limited and Mpande Limestone Limited to revert to the cement prices ranging between Kwacha 99 to Kwacha 110 (N1800 in naira) after there was uproar over its recent increment.

    TheNewsGuru.com, TNG gathered that the Board also fined Lafarge Zambia Plc and Mpande Limestone Limited 10% of their annual turnovers for the year 2019 and another 10% of their 2020 annual turnovers for price fixing and division of markets.

    The Board, however, said it was lenient with Dangote Cement Zambia Limited, for having cooperated with the Commission during investigations.

    According to Zambia News, the decision to fine Lafarge Zambia Plc and Mpande Limestone Limited was made during the 49th Board of Commissioners Meeting for the Adjudication of Cases held in Lusaka on March 30, 2021.

    This was after an exhaustive investigation by the Commission initiated in January 2020 following the Commission’s observation of a sustained increment of cement prices from an average of K55 to K100 per 50kg bag between July 2019 and January 2020.

    The continuous price increment of cement by the parties led the Commission to suspect that there was possible collusion and an agreement to fix the prices of cement and the Commission carried out investigations for a year.

    In a statement issued by CCPC Senior Public Relations Officer, Namukolo Kasumpa, the Board has also ordered Lafarge Zambia Plc, Dangote Cement Zambia Limited and Mpande Limestone Limited to revert to the pre-cartel prices ranging between USD 4.50 – USD 5 (K99 – K110) for a period of one year from the date of receipt of the Board decision pursuant to Section 59 (3) (b) of the Act.

    “Additionally, that Lafarge Zambia Plc, Dangote Cement Zambia Limited, Mpande Limestone Limited submit monthly average ex-works prices and any price adjustments be indexed to the exchange rate and be submitted to the Commission for review pursuant to Section 58 (1) of the Act,” the Board stated.

    When contacted a top staff of Dangote Cement said the company has not increased its pricing template since 2019. According to him, the retailers and other middlemen are responsible for the price differentials in the country.

    ‘We have not hiked the price of cement. If you observe any hike, it is not approved by Dangote Cement,’ he said.

    Meanwhile, Nigerians in their numbers in a reaction to the price difference took to their social media accounts to bash African richest man for neglecting his home front to make others elsewhere happy.

    They also demand immediate reversal to the Zambian price model if he (Dangote) wants to continue business in Nigeria.

    See reactions below;

    https://twitter.com/TweetHeartNG/status/1379946275827818498?s=20

    https://twitter.com/OmoMamaCele/status/1380004383417634817?s=20

    https://twitter.com/TosinAdeleye16/status/1379735482825895936?s=20

    https://twitter.com/Ibn_bhadmus/status/1379682095472185345?s=20