Eyewitness Account: Dangote Truck not responsible for Auchi Accident
Dangote Cement truck did not cause the tragic accident, which occurred on the Auchi-Okpella-Okene road, near Omega Fire Ministry in Auchi, Etsako West Local Government Area of Edo State, contrary to online reports.
An eyewitness, Audu Omale, who gave a vivid account of the accident, recalled that “a third-party truck loaded with cement was moving in the opposite direction of the Dangote Cement (DCT) CNG truck on a slopy road. The commercial truck driver lost control of his truck due to a suspected brake failure, ran into a moving vehicle, a motorcycle and eventually crashed into the side of the DCT truck. The DCT CNG truck caught fire in the process.
“Consequently, three persons from the vehicle hit by the third-party truck lost their lives while two persons sustained varying degrees of injuries and were rushed to a nearby hospital for treatment. The DCT truck driver escaped to avoid mob attack,” Omale clarified.
In a related development, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) of the Edo State Police Command, CSP Moses Yamu, confirmed that the accident involved two trucks, one belonging to Dangote Cement, another truck, which has not been identified, and a GLK Mercedes Benz car.
The Edo PPRO noted that all the three occupants in the GLK were confirmed dead in the hospital while the Dangote truck caught fire which was brought under control.
“I can confirm to you that three vehicles were involved in an accident in Auchi at midday, two trucks and one GLK Benz. The police moved to the scene of the accident and evacuated three occupants of the GLK to the hospital where they were confirmed dead.
“Two of the vehicles involved were trucks, one belonging to Dangote Cement and another unidentified one. The Dangote truck caught fire and was brought under control,” Yamu stated. He added that investigation was ongoing.
Fatima, daughter of the 2023 APC vice presidential candidate and former Governor of the state, Senator Kashim Shettima, married Sadiq Ibrahim Bunu, son of former FCT Minister Ibrahim Bunu, in a grand ceremony in Borno on Saturday.
President Muhammadu Buhari was represented by the Chief of Staff to the President (COS), Professor Ibrahim Gambari.
The wedding Fatiha took place at the palace of Shehu of Borno, His Eminence, Alhaji Abubakar Ibn Garbai Umar El Kanemi.
The former governor of Bauchi State and former PDP National Chairman, Alhaji Adamu Mu’azu, stood in as the father of the groom, Architect Ibrahim Bunu, while Governor Babagana Umara Zulum of Borno State stood in as the father of the bride, Senator Shettima, with a dowry of 12 gold coins.
The wedding Fatiha was administered by the Chief Imam Idaini of Borno, Shiekh Shettima Mamman Sale.
Other dignataries at the event were the Senate President, Ahmed Lawan; the National Security Adviser, General Babagana Monguno (Rted) and 2023 APC presidential candidate, Senator Bola Tinubu.
Others are business moguls, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, Alhaji Mohammed Idimi, the President, Idimi Group of Companies, and Chairman Oriental Energy Resources Ltd, and Alhaji Dahiru Mangal, the Chairman, Max Air limited.
Dangote Cement Shareholders up dividend by 25% to N20 per share
Shareholders of Dangote Cement Plc yesterday commended the Management of the company for an impressive performance despite the economic challenges in the year under review.
Unanimously, the shareholders approved N20 per share for the year ended December 31, 2021 as against the N16 paid in the preceding year. This represents a 25 per cent increase in dividend compared to the 2020 dividend of N16.00 per share, reinforcing the Company’s commitment to maximising shareholder value.
The shareholders gave their approval at the 13th Annual General Meeting (AGM) held in Lagos. They commended the management for the impressive performance recorded in the year under review. They also applauded the company for its efforts in reducing unclaimed dividend of the company.
Dangote Cement in the year under review achieved its highest profit before tax in its history at N538.4 billion. Also, the Company recorded Group volumes of 29.3Mta, up 13.8 per cent. Exceptional EBITDA of N684.6 billion was achieved, up by 43.2 per cent owing to strong cost control measures.
Chairman of the company, Aliko Dangote, said that “Over the last decade, Dangote Cement has recorded exponential growth across all areas.”
According to him, Group volumes are now at almost 30Mta, our capacity has tripled to 51.6Mta and we export cement from five countries across Africa.
“As the volatile global environment propels us into a new era of uncertainties, we are fortunate that the last two years have taught us resilience, adaptability and grit. These values are what we need to face unpredictable times in the future.
“Dangote Cement remains the leading cement company in Africa, well-positioned for a positive and sustainable future. We are resolute in transforming Africa, while creating sustainable value for our stakeholders.”
Dangote said in January 2022, the Company completed the second tranche of its buy-back programme as Dangote Cement has now repurchased 0.98 per cent of its outstanding shares, saying this share buy-back programme reflects the Company’s unwavering commitment to creating value and identifying opportunities to return cash to shareholders.
He also noted that “We began operations in our new 3Mta Okpella plant in Edo state in 2021, where we are successfully ramping up production and have contributed to creating a new industrial hub.
“We are actively deploying our alternative fuel strategy across all countries of operations, to optimise energy efficiency, reduce reliance on fossil fuels and ultimately reduce CO2 emission. Whilst we focused our efforts on meeting the robust demand of our local market in Nigeria, at the expense of our export markets, we still made significant progress in our cement and clinker exports.
“In 2021, we exported seven ships of clinker out of Nigeria and exported cement from five of our operations. Our vision is for West and Central Africa to be cement and clinker self-sufficient, while making the regional and continental free trade agreements a reality.”
He added that along with the Company’s focus on strategy, it made progress on the effectiveness and diversity of its Board with the appointment of Ms. Halima Aliko-Dangote to the Board as a Non-Executive Director effective 26th February 2022, bringing female Board representation to 27 per cent, from 20 per cent in 2020 in addition to the six different nationalities and five independent non-executive directors on our Board.
He emphasised “We continue our sustainability and governance efforts with our 7 Sustainability Pillars – ‘The Dangote Way’. The 7 Pillars: cultural, economic, institutional, financial, environmental, operational and social, provide the appropriate framework in which we have embedded our corporate values and strategic objectives.”
He said “Our strategy in 2021 focused on energy transition, which is a crucial enabler of sustainable development and climate resilience on the continent. We have increased our focus on alternative fuels in our energy mix. We are actively investing in installing mechanical multi-fuel systems that can process diverse types of wastes.”
Outlook for Dangote Cement in 2022, Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Dangote Cement, Michel Puchercos said “Our goal to be the partner of choice for those transforming Africa, while creating sustainable value for our stakeholders remains firm and clear.
“Despite operating in a challenging and fast-moving environment, Dangote Cement consistently delivers superior profitability to the shareholders. The robust demand experienced across the continent despite the COVID-19 related challenges, confirm the powerful potential of these markets.”
Six prominent Nigerians including Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, have been conferred a Doctorate degree by the Nasarawa State University, Keffi.
Naija News understands that the individuals received the award at the varsity’s 6th combined convocation ceremony held on Thursday, March 31, 2022.
The school management had notified the personalities in letters ahead of the event.
Other prominent citizens awarded with honorary doctorate degrees at the academic excellent event were a former Governor of Nasarawa State, currently serving senator representing Nasarawa South at the National Assembly, Senator Umaru Tanko Al-Makura and Malami Mele Kyari, Group Managing Director, NNPC.
Other recipients of the awards were Chief Peter Eloka Okocha, the Chief Executive Officer of Okocha Motors; Alhaji Aliyu Balarabe, businessman and the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami SAN.
Naija News reports that the ceremony which received the presence of dignitaries was held at the Convocation Centre of the institution.
Meanwhile, the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities and the Non-Academic Staff Union of Education and Associated Institutions have announced that they will be embarking on a strike.
Naija News reports that the two-week warning strike action according to the association, will commence on March 27.
This was made known in a letter titled “Commencement of Two-Week Warning Strike”, released last week Friday by the Joint Action Committee of NASU and SSANU and signed by SSANU President, Mohammed Ibrahim, and NASU General Secretary, Peters Adeyemi.
The national bodies of SSANU and NASU asked its members in universities and inter-university centres to begin the warning strike.
Unveiling! How Government Allegedly Killed Oriental Foods for Dangote Takeover… His Interest in Dairy Industry may Force Peak Milk others out of Nigeria
Aliko Dangote
Africa’s richest man Alhaji Aliko Dangote is without doubt a very influential man in Nigeria, his influence has seen governments formulate policies to accommodate his interest. It is therefore a regular and consistent occurrence for him to be accuse of using his acquired influence especially among the government to curry favorable advantage for him and his company to the disadvantages of others unfortunate to venture into a business he’s having interest, this has worked adversely as his alleged business interest was fingered as the reason a thriving business suddenly go bankrupt.
Sources revealed the whole issue stated in 2019 when the Group Executive Director of the Dangote Group, Engr. Mansur Ahmed announced during an African Development Bank (AfDB) Investment Forum for the New Special Agro-Processing Zones in Abuja that the company will be going into dairy farming and that the company will be going into large-scale dairy farming. Which invariably means Dangote Group will be rubbing shoulders with companies producing milk and other dairy products in the country.
This announcement the source revealed was just like the proverbial witch that howled the preceding night and a healthy child dying at day-break, as a couple of months after the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) immediately in the first quarter of 2020 making a policy banning some companies from dairy product industry from importing milk, dairy products into the country with immediate effect. This brought in its wake the shutdown of Oriental Foods Ibadan the makers of ‘Luna Milk’ forcing the company to layoff its staffs and thereby adding more to the already huge unemployed Nigerians.
According to sources within the company the decision of the CBN means our employer and others that are excluded from the 5 companies that can still import can no longer compete in the dairy industry and thereby leading to the shutting down of the operations, though unconfirmed report says the said Oriental Foods has been acquired by the Dangote Group, thereby giving it the necessary equipment to launch its dairy lines anytime it so chose.
It is important to note that the Aliko Dangote led organisation has always being facing criticism for his ruthless use of government influence to crush competitors in nearly all the industry its operates, this industry watchers claimed is being put in motion when the Federal Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Sabo Nanono at a press briefing to commemorate 2020 World Food Day celebration, said that any form of importation of milk and dairy products will be banned completely by 2022, a time sources claimed will have seen the promised Dangote dairy farm investment announced in 2019 reach its maturity stage since cattle growth to lactation take about 18months.
Ziza Milk
It is important to note that Aliko Dangote’s younger brother Sani who also serves as the Vice President of Dangote Group had at a time through his Dansa Group tried his hands on dairy business with his Ziza Milk, though all attempt by his elder brother controlled bigger company to acquire his products and production which includes Dansa Juice and Mowa waters was rebuffed, the new investment in the dairy industry may be a signal to relaunch Ziza and other dairy products.
Dangote Group has been at one time or the other at the receiving end of accusation of using unethical practices in their many running battles with companies in different sectors of the economy, they are at different times being accused of using government and its agencies to stifle competition, a practices that will be detrimental to the growth of national economy in the nearest future.
Most prominent among their fight for total dominance is the fight for market price control in the cement industry with the Abdul Samad Rabiu led BUA Cement, there has been accusations of sponsored attacks among the two over who controls the price of the product in the market.
The Africa’s Richest man’s company had also had silent battles in the past over dominance with companies in the sugar business against BUA Group, pasta and many more, his recent interest in the milk and dairy industry may be the death of more companies and a very long battle with others who had been in the industry as far back as independence.
In the recently released Forbes Africa billionaires Aliko Dangote still maintain his position as the continent richest person with a worth $12.1 billion, up by $2 billion from last year’s list thanks to a roughly 30% rise in the share price of Dangote Cement, by far his most valuable asset.
The second richest is Nassef Sawiris of Egypt, whose largest asset is a nearly 6% stake in sportswear maker Adidas, while Nicky Oppenheimer of South Africa occupies the number three position. Nicky who inherited a stake in diamond firm DeBeers and ran the company until 2012, when he sold his family’s 40% stake in DeBeers to mining giant AngloAmerican for $5.1 billion.
The biggest gainer this year is Nigerian cement tycoon, Abdulsamad Rabiu, whose wealth increase remarkably by an extraordinary 77%, to $5.5 billion to become the sixth richest person immediately behind Mike Adenuga of Globacom whose wealth is put at $6.3 billion.
Abdulsamad who has seen shares of his BUA Cement PLC, which was listed on the Nigeria Stock Exchange in January 2020, to have doubled in value in the past year and it was this that pushed Rabiu’s fortune up. Rabiu and his son together own about 97% of the company, giving the company a tiny public float. And the laws of The Nigerian Stock Exchange requires that either 20% or more of a company’s shares to be floated to the public, or that the floated shares are worth at least 20 billion naira — about $50 million — a paltry sum, to be sure. A spokesman for the Nigerian Stock Exchange told Forbes that BUA Cement meets the second requirement. (Forbes discounts the value of stakes when the public float of a company is less than 5 %.)
While some got richer by the billions, two persons from the 2020 list of Africa’s richest dropped below the $1 billion mark. In fact, the only two women billionaires from Africa have both fallen off the list. Forbes calculates that the fortune of Folorunsho Alakija of Nigeria, who owns an oil exploration company, dropped below $1 billion due to lower oil prices. And Isabel dos Santos, who since 2013 has been the richest woman in Africa, was knocked from her perch by a series of court decisions freezing her assets in both Angola and Portugal.
The 18 billionaires from Africa this year come from seven different countries. South Africa and Egypt each have five billionaires, followed by Nigeria with three and Morocco with two. Altogether they are worth $73.8 billion, slightly more than the $73.4 billion aggregate worth of the 20 billionaires on last year’s list of Africa’s richest people.
This Forbes list only tracks the wealth of African billionaires who reside in Africa or have their primary business there, thus excluding Sudanese-born billionaire Mo Ibrahim, who is a U.K. citizen and billionaire London resident Mohamed Al-Fayed, an Egyptian citizen. Strive Masiyiwa, a citizen of Zimbabwe and a London resident, appears on the list due to his telecom holdings in Africa.
Net-worth of those on the list is calculated using stock prices and currency exchange rates from the close of business on Friday, January 8, 2021.
BUA Cement, on Tuesday, said it never received any blanket approval to export cement through the Nigerian land borders at a time the borders were closed. The company said it was only granted a limited approval to export some cement to Niger Republic, which is 100kms from its plant, and this was disclosed in the company’s half-year results.
The clarification comes amid revelations that rival Dangote Cement got approval from the Nigerian government to export cement through some of Nigeria’s land borders at a time the borders were closed.
Earlier on Tuesday, PREMIUM TIMES reported how details emerged that despite the border closure policy put in place, the Nigerian government had allowed Dangote Cement to resume cement export across its land borders.
According to Bloomberg, President Muhammadu Buhari‘s administration gave its authorisation for Africa’s biggest producer to export cement to Niger and Togo in the third quarter for the first time in ten months.
The revelations were made by Michel Puchercos, chief executive officer of Dangote Cement, on an investor call in Lagos.
The revelation sparked outrage on social media Tuesday, as many Nigerians questioned the rationale for granting such approval to selected businesses while other businesses suffer the effect of the year-long blockade.
Stanbic IBTC founder, Atedo Peterside, questioned the rationale for granting such waivers to only a few businesses.
On Tuesday, the management of Dangote Group in its reaction described reports of the development as “misleading and mischievous”.
In a statement, Tuesday, the company said it was not the only company enjoying such privilege to move goods through the land borders.
Meanwhile, details emerged Tuesday that rival BUA Cement also received a similar waiver earlier in the year.
In an internal memo dated June 18th and signed by Dimka V.D, Custom Comptroller (Enforcement, Hqtrs) on behalf of Deputy Comptroller-General (E,I&I), the government approved the movement of BUA Cement trucks to Niger Republic.
“I am directed to forward herewith a letter from the Office of The National Security Adviser referenced NSA/227/C dates 17th June, 2020 on the above subject matter,” the memo reads.
“The trucks will exit and return through Illela Border station in Sokoto State. “Attached herewith is a list with names of drivers and truck license numbers and other relevant details for ease of reference.
“This is forwarded for information and strict compliance, please,” the memo addressed to Custom Zonal Coordinator in charge of Sokoto/Zamfara commands stated.
Reacting to reports about the memo Tuesday night, BUA Cement said the company did not enjoy express approval to export cement as reported in a section of the media.
In a telephone conversation with PREMIUM TIMES, the Group Head of Corporate Communications at BUA Group, O’tega Ogra, said the company only received “limited approval” to export.
“BUA Cement does not have any blanket approval to export and the Nigerian borders remain closed,” he said.
“BUA Cement was granted a limited approval to export some cement to Niger Republic (which is 100kms from our plant), and this was disclosed in our half-year results and presentations to the investing and general public.”
Similarly, a transcript of the company’s half-year results call made available to PREMIUM TIMES detailed how Yusuf Binji, the company’s MD/CEO, explained the export approval to investors and analysts earlier in the year.
When asked questions about the export, Mr Binji explained that during the month of June, the company received an approval for limited export to the Niger Republic from “our so-called Plant” through the Illela border which it carried out successfully.
“The Nigeria land borders still remain shut,” he said. “So this was a one-off thing we received but we hope to get more subsequently during this quarter.”
When asked if the company would get additional waivers, Mr Binji said the company was optimistic.
“For the exports, yes, we are very hopeful we are going to get more permits to carry our spares to the Niger Republic. Like I mentioned earlier, we were given a one-off thing for a limited quantity which we exhausted in June.
“But we are optimistic it’s going to continue during Q3 through the land border of Illela from Sokoto State into the Niger Republic.”
Speaking about the demand from Niger, Mr Binji said the company tried to make the Nigerian market its priority.
He said: “We have to satisfy the demand in Nigeria. What we are sending is the excess production that we have. So as long as we are not so clear about the actual demand in Nigeria, we would not be able to put a number or figure to how much we are going to export. So we will see and also we have to see when the restrictions are lifted and the borders are fully opened, because like I said, also it was a one-off thing we got and we hope to get more and with that, we cannot really say this is how much you are going to export.
“We are being given the approval in batches. Regarding the Benin Republic, no we don’t have any plans to export the Republic of Benin.” Asked to give full details of the export and approval, he said: “We exported 200 trucks. It came towards the last week of June. 200 trucks of 40 tonnes each, that is 8000 tonnes. That was the approval we got and we exported it fully.”
