HOW AMOSUN DEMOLISHED MY CEMENT PROJECT PLANT TWICE – DANGOTE
HOW AMOSUN DEMOLISHED MY CEMENT PLANT PROJECT TWICE – DANGOTE President of the Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, on Monday, accused former Governor of Ogun State, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, of demolishing his cement plant project sited at Itori, Ewekoro Local Government Area of the state, on two different occasions. The ongoing plant project of two new lines with a capacity of 6.0 million metric tons per annum located at Itori, is in addition to the cement plant which has been in operation for more than a decade at Ibese in Yewa North LGA. The Itori plant project’s construction commenced on December 23, 2023, and is expected to be completed in November, 2026. Dangote on Monday paid a courtesy visit to Governor Dapo Abiodun in his office at Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta, as part of the inspection of the multimillion dollars plant project. He said the ongoing project was pulled down twice by Amosun’s government, but his company decided to return to the site because of the Abiodun administration’s policies and investor-friendly environment. He said “Our factory at Itori was pulled down twice. When we started the second time, they not only demolished the factory but also the fence, so we left. But right now, because of His Excellency, our governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, we are back. When you visit the factory, you will be surprised at what we have done.” Dangote, Abiodun and his entourage later inspected the project at the site in Itori where the industrialist re-echoed the allegation of demolition against Amosun. However, the governor noted that Amosun’s government attempted to truncate Dangote’s vision for the state three times including the construction of the refinery now in Ibeju Lekki, Lagos State. Abiodun said, “The first time by frustrating the construction of the refinery, a $20Billion investment, an investment that would have impacted the entire South West of Nigeria. I’m sure in that refinery, Dangote employs in the region of 10,000 people there, a minimum probably and multiply effects, maybe another 30,000 who are benefitting directly. We lost that. “They further came here and demolished this place (Itori plant project) twice. You begin to wonder what informs such leadership decisions.” On the cement plant, Dangote assured that when completed, the total capacity of the company’s cement plants in the state would be in the neighborhood of 18 million metric tons per annum, making it the highest cement-producing state or region in Africa. “With the contributions of other cement producers in the state, Ogun remains far ahead of other countries across Africa in terms of cement production,” he said. Dangote Cement, according to the Dangote Group President, is the leading cement producer in Africa with a capacity of 52.0 million metric tons per annum across the African continent. He added that 70 percent of the production is carried out in Nigeria, with the Obajana plant in Kogi State accounting for 16.25 million metric tons per annum, the largest in Africa. He said investment in the manufacturing of the product has made the nation self-sufficient in cement, just as the country is now self-sufficient in fertilizer, with the surplus going to the export market, thus earning the nation the needed foreign exchange. Amosun fires back In a swift reaction, Amosun in a statement by his Media Aide, Lanre Akinwale, asked Dangote to avail the public of the requisite approvals for the construction of the structures allegedly demolished. This, he said, will help the public to put the issue in proper context and to know what exactly Dangote’s grouse is. Amosun asserted that “not all Nigerians can be compromised, bullied or blackmailed,” adding that the notion that everyone has a price “is an expression applicable only to people with weak foundations and questionable upbringing.” The statement reads…
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