By Fola James
After committing over N4 billion to various Corporate Social Responsibility, CSR projects in its host communities in ogun state, Dangote Cement Plc said it’s poised to do more as long as the people allow a peaceful atmosphere for its business to thrive.
The company disclosed this in a statement signed by its Media and Community Relations Manager, Francis Awowole-Browne, on Sunday.
The cement firm stated that it has provided life touching projects such as road construction, building of schools, health care facilities and much more for the 14 host communities.
Dangote said “Since the inception of Dangote Cement in Ibese, in the last eight years of creation in Ogun, we have focused on construction and repairs of roads, the building of blocks of classrooms, construction and repairs of healthcare facilities. “We have also provided boreholes, some electricity transformers, among others.”
The life transforming projects include 40 classrooms, three health centres, 22 boreholes, three transformers totalling N4.1bn.
The company lists other ongoing projects as 18 classrooms, four roads, one borehole, one health centre and five transformers estimated at over N278 million.
Azad Nawabuddin, Dangote Cement Company Plant Director, said the company will continue to spend more on CSR to compensate for the peaceful conducts of the host communities. This includes training for youths of its host communities, under the aegis of the Host Community Youths Skills Acquisition and Empowerment Programme, HCYSAEP, he said because of the importance of education.
He said “Education is power, skill is power, and Dangote cement places a premium on education and skills acquisition; that is why we are encouraging our people to be educated,”
He alsostated that 635 youths from the communities in various institutions across the country had benefitted from the company’s annual scholarship award while 20 youths had been sent to Dangote Academy, Obajana for various training.
He added that Dangote Industries had begun rice outgrower programme in Ibese to improve youth employment, create wealth and support the government in its quest to attain food security.
Meanwhile, the state Commissioner for Youths and Sports Dr Oluwadare Kehinde has commended Africa’s richest man and President of Dangote Group for transforming lives.
“We need to commend Alhaji Aliko Dangote for all these economic interventions. “It is crystal clear that government cannot do it alone, hence, we need a partnership for good governance,” Kehinde said.
