Economy

Dangote Cement Sponsors 115 Students in Ogun

Published

8 years ago

26/02/2018

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

In a major boost to its Corporate Social Responsibility profile, Dangote Cement Plc, Ibese Plant, has announced a multi-million Naira educational scholarship award for 115 students from its 15 host communities for the 2017/2018 academic session.

The cement maker said the scholarship has become an annual event meant to contribute to the educational development of the people and the area and position them in right place in the scheme of things in Ogun state and Nigeria in general.

Acting Plant Director of Dangote Cement at Ibese, Mr Louis Raj, while speaking during the presentation of cheques to the beneficiaries at Ibese Plant explained that the management decided to increase the number of beneficiaries to 115 from the previous 80 so that more children of the area could benefit.

He also said the decision was meant to encourage the young ones to go to school as a sure way of building them mentally and morally so that they be good to themselves and the society.

According to him, the scholarship award is just one of the many Social Services the company has committed itself to and continue to provide other social services as a way of giving back to the society within which it operates.

Mr Raj stated that the scholarship award and other CSR projects were being undertaken as a way of saying thanks to the people for maintenance and sustenance of peace in the area pointing out that it was the prevailing atmosphere of peace that make the company to operate smoothly.

He expressed the management gratitude to the royal fathers and other community leaders whose efforts have accounted for the peace and tranquillity, noting that the company would wish the spirit of peaceful coexistence continues.

The General Manager, Government and Community Relations, Mr Joseph Alabi while giving the breakdown of the scholarship said the award covered 115 students of Yewa origin studying various courses across several higher institutions of learning in the country.

Some of the schools where the beneficiaries are studying include Polytechnics, Universities, College of Educations, College of Technologies, and secondary schools scattered across Ogun state.

Mr Alabi also announced a list of candidates from the host communities who have been selected to attend Dangote Academy for training in various arts and vocations pointing out that the training will equip them with wherewithal to work and do their own business whenever they chose to.

“In Dangote Group, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) to our communities is our watchword and focus. Giving scholarships, construction of roads and drainages, provision of transformers and other projects to connect communities to national grid, among others are what will do every year. We award scholarships to communities in order to give the communities part of wealth being created.”

“I think everything is not about money but the main benefit is to provide them the opportunity to have better education and in the future, if they are good students, well-qualified, we will also offer them opportunities to work here at Ibese Cement Plant. This is part of CSR to ensure good relations, good partnership with our communities,” he added.

In his remark, the Olu of Imasayi, Oba Gbadebo Oni said the host communities are happy with Dangote Cement with its handling of community issues, saying Alhaji Aliko Dangote deserves all the cooperation his people could muster for citing the cement plant in their land and then taking care of the people and the communities.

He promised that his people would continue to give peace a chance always because to whom much is given, much is expected. The Monarch said the education scholarship is the best thing that has happened to the host communities because the issue of quality education cannot be quantified in monetary terms.

The scholarship according to him, has offered a big relief to parents who have to struggle so much to ensure their children school fees are paid, saying they will forever be grateful to the management of Dangote cement.

It would be recalled that the company had some years ago instituted scholarships for the indigenes of any of the host communities in any higher institution and secondary schools with the management saying it was poised to making life more meaningful to all members of the host communities with a promise to ensure that all projects meet the specific need of each community.

Also, the Dangote Cement Plc, Gboko factory in Benue State had also given out N20 million worth of scholarships to indigent students from the firm’s host community, Mbayion, as part of its CSR in the last one year.

The Group also emerged Nigeria’s best Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Company according to a survey by Governance Advancement Initiative for Nigeria (GAIN), an NGO.

Dangote was the adjudged overall winner among 25 Nigerian and multinational companies operating in the country in 2016, scoring 6.3 percent, followed by Nestle with 5.51 percent and Etisalat with 5.45 percent.

Economy

NASD Exchange Falls 0.22% After Investors Lose N4.8bn

Published

3 hours ago

29/04/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange weakened by 0.22 per cent on Tuesday, April 28, with the market capitalisation down by N4.8 billion to N2.420 trillion from N2.425 trillion, and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) down by 9.01 points to 4,044.96 points from 4,053.97 points.

During the session, the price of Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc went down by N1.82 to N767.05 per share from N78.87 per share, while FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc appreciated by N1.90 to N100.00 per unit from N98.10 per unit.

According to data, the value of trades increased by 265.7 per cent to N27.1 million from N7.4 million units, and the volume of transactions surged by 305.2 per cent to 1.3 million units from 319,831 units, while the number of deals decreased by 6.9 per cent to 27 deals from 29 deals.

Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with the sale of 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, followed by CSCS Plc with 59.8 million units exchanged for N4.0 billion, and Okitipupa Plc with 27.8 million units traded for N1.9 billion.

GNI Plc also finished as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with a turnover of 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, trailed by Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units transacted for N415.7 million, and Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc with 400 million units sold for N1.2 billion.

Economy

Naira Crashes to N1,380/$ at Official Market, N1,390/$1 at Black Market

Published

3 hours ago

29/04/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

Pressure is beginning to mount on the Nigerian Naira in the different segments of the foreign exchange (FX) market despite an oil windfall triggered by the Middle East crisis.

On Monday, April 27, the domestic currency further weakened against the United States Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) by N16.47 or 1.2 per cent to N1,380.71/$1 from the previous day’s N1,364.24/$1.

It was not different against the Pound Sterling in the same market window, as it lost N16.04 to trade at N1,863.76/£1 versus Monday’s closing rate of N1,847.72/£1, and against the Euro, it slipped by N12.72 to close at N1,615.01/€1 versus N1,602.29/€1.

The Naira also depreciated against the Dollar at the black market yesterday by N5 to quote at N1,390/$1 compared with the previous price of N1,385, and at the GTBank forex counter, it further crashed by N9 to settle at N1,379/$1 compared with the preceding session’s N1,370/$1.

The continued decline of the Naira comes as traders increasingly seek other safe-haven currencies amid continued global disruptions.

The benefit awash in the global market is making foreign portfolio investors stay short in Nigerian markets. Despite this, the daily FX publication released showed that interbank turnover rose to $98.829 million across 78 deals, up from $76.65 million.

Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market remained cautious, with Bitcoin (BTC) trading at $77,216.66 despite surging oil prices and geopolitical tensions over a potential extended US naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.

Analysts say the supply overhang has finally dried up, and the sellers who were spooked by macro shifts or quantum fears have already exited, leaving the market much thinner on the sell-side.

Investors will await decisions made by central banks this week. The US Federal Reserve will announce its rate decision later on Wednesday, while the European Central Bank (ECB) follows on Thursday.

Ethereum (ETH) gained 1.5 per cent to trade at $2,324.59, Dogecoin (DOGE) chalked up 1.4 per cent to sell for $0.1016, Solana (SOL) appreciated by 0.6 per cent to $84.85, Cardano (ADA) grew by 0.5 per cent to $0.2483, and Binance Coin (BNB) advanced by 0.2 per cent to $627.15.

However, TRON (TRX) depreciated by 0.6 per cent to $0.3224, and Ripple (XRP) lost 0.03 per cent to sell at $1.39, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) were unchanged at $1.00 each.

Economy

Oil up 3% as Hormuz Disruption Outweighs UAE OPEC Exit

Published

4 hours ago

29/04/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

Oil was up by nearly 3 per cent on Tuesday as persistent worries about supply constraints from the closed Strait of Hormuz continued, with Brent futures for June rising by $3.03 or 2.8 per cent to $111.26 a barrel, and the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures growing by $3.56 or 3.7 per cent to $99.93 a barrel.

An earlier round of negotiations between the United States and Iran collapsed last week after face-to-face talks failed.

Ship-tracking data showed significant disruptions in the region, with six Iranian oil tankers forced to turn back due to the US blockade, but some traffic is still moving.

Prices trimmed some of the advances after the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the fourth-largest producer in the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), said on Tuesday it would exit the group on this Friday, May 1, 2026.

This dealt a blow to the oil-exporting group and its de facto leader, Saudi Arabia.

The UAE could quickly ⁠add between 1 million and 1.5 million barrels per day of output. However, with the Strait of Hormuz effectively closed, analysts said that there’s nowhere for that supply to go.

The UAE joined OPEC in 1967, but tension with Saudi Arabia over production quotas has been building for years.

Under the OPEC+ deal, the country has been held to roughly 3 million barrels per day while sitting on capacity above 4 million. It has been pushing toward 5 million barrels per day by 2027, and that target is hard to achieve with quotas built around someone else’s view of the market.

The war in Yemen broke whatever was left of diplomatic patience.

President Donald Trump said he was unhappy with the latest Iranian proposal to end the war. The proposal would avoid addressing the nuclear programme until hostilities cease and Gulf shipping disputes are resolved.

The Idemitsu Maru, ‌a Panama-flagged ⁠tanker carrying 2 million barrels of Saudi oil, and an LNG tanker managed by the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) crossed the Strait on Tuesday, shipping data showed.

Vortexa data showed that the amount of crude oil held around the world on tankers that have been stationary for at least seven days rose to 153.11 million barrels as of April 24.

The American Petroleum Institute (API) estimated that crude oil inventories in the United States fell by 1.79 million barrels in the week ending April 24. The official data from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) will be released later on Wednesday.