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Dangote Cement Re-trains Truck Drivers for Operational Efficiency
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
To boost operation efficiency, Dangote Cement Plc has organised a training session for its truck drivers at an event tagged 2025 Annual Drivers’ Retreat.
The training exercise for the drivers at its factory in Ibese, Ogun State, took place in Ilaro, with over 900 drivers in attendance. Another extensive re-training exercise for more drivers has been scheduled to take place in Obajana, Kogi State next week.
The Managing Director of Dangote Cement, Mr Arvind Pathak, said the cement giant was committed to training and constant retraining of its truck drivers for safe driving across Nigeria.
He emphasised that as a leading cement manufacturer with thousands of trucks in its fleet, safety on the road remains the company’s core mandate, noting that the essence of the yearly training is to remind the drivers of the core values of the brand and ensure that they are all committed to the Absolute Safer Road Policy of the Group.
Mr Pathak reaffirmed the company’s commitment to road safety, transparency, appropriate ethical conduct, and provision of detailed clarity on the comprehensive systems and procedures to mitigate against any incident along roads across the country.
According to him, Dangote Cement is a responsible organisation that consistently cooperates with the police and other relevant authorities in the investigation of reported incidents with support of all lawful processes, aimed at establishing the facts and routinely implement recommendations that strengthen public safety.
He explained that that every driver employed by Dangote Cement is required to undergo an extensive and rigorously structured recruitment process that includes Valid Driver’s license class G, background verification of both the driver and their guarantors, comprehensive medical evaluation, including vision screening (eye test), blood pressure checks, body mass index (BMI), random blood sugar (RBS) test as well as drug and alcohol testing.
“Other recruitment screening covers usage within a three-month detection window, ensuring identifying any history of substance use before employment, completion of a two-week intensive training programme, which consists of twelve safety modules, practical driving assessments, and written examinations,” Mr Pathak stated.
“In the past two months alone, over 2,000 prospective drivers have successfully completed this process. Only those who meet all required standards were engaged and certified to operate any Dangote Group vehicles. Our commitment to safety extends beyond recruitment. All drivers undergo mandatory pre-trip medical assessments, conducted by licensed nurses and doctors.
“These include regular checks on blood pressure, vision, and overall fitness, ensuring drivers are physically and mentally fit to operate safely. To enforce compliance with our zero-tolerance policy on substance use, random drug tests are conducted routinely across our operations,” he disclosed.
Mr Pathak stated that Dangote Cement would continue to collaborate with the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) and other regulatory agencies to ensure that all training, compliance, and operational processes are not only standardised but also continuously improved, adding that these authorities are also actively involved in monitoring and evaluation of their safety practices.
He maintained that the cement miller remains fully committed to strengthening driver onboarding and training, enforcing strict safety and behavioural standards, applying punitive measures to curb errant driving, collaborating with government agencies, regulators, and communities to improve road safety, ensuring transparency, accountability, and compassion in everything they do.
Also addressing the assembled drivers, the Group Chief, Health Safety Social and Environment Officer & Sustainability function, Dangote Industries Limited (DIL), Dr James Adenuga stressed the importance of safety protocols and noted that the process was not just to train the drivers on the consequences but to continuously remind them of essentials of safety guides.
Mr Adenuga further stated that the regular training was to educate them in the language they understand and teach them how the training matters to them. He gave insights on the measures put in place to ensure the right individuals are recruited as drivers, saying some of the qualifications for recruiting the drivers included minimum of secondary school certificate, ability to speak English language with writing and reading skills, free of substance abuse, 2-5 years driving experience, possession of Class-G drivers’ license, guarantors and rigorous training among other measures.
“We also partner Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) to train and prepare them for professional driving so as to equip and give them the basics and fundamentals to prevent them for reckless driving. We equally have a process to give recognition and award to those that profess conduct and good behaved drivers among their peers,” he added.
Taking the drivers through some requirements for safe driving, a Road Safety Expert, Mr Oje Ebhota explained that the choice of the topic for his paper centred on safety driving habits for accident-free journeys.
Mr Ebhota listed acts such as aggressiveness, impatient driving, use of phone while driving, taking alcoholic drink and disobedience to traffic signs, as negatives against the tenet of safe driving.
He advised the assembled drivers to be conscious of dangerous overtaking and to drive within the driving limit of 60km per hour so that they do not veer off the road and cause accidents that could affect negatively other road users.
According to him, “let me tell you all, drivers are the ambassadors of Dangote Group. Aside being ambassadors, you are also stakeholders that should be careful and consider other road users as important while on the road.”
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The 2025 edition of the Art of Technology (AOT) Lagos is going to be bigger and better with the inclusion of inDrive as its official sponsor.
The AOT Lagos 7.0, themed Future Technologies and a Sustainable Lagos, is scheduled for Thursday, December 4, 2025, at the Landmark Centre, Lagos.
inDrive, a leading global ride-hailing platform operating in nine African countries, is partnering with the Lagos State government to bring together policymakers, innovators, tech founders, investors, and global industry leaders to shape the future of technology and digital transformation in Lagos.
Through this collaboration, inDrive aims to contribute to high-level conversations on driver empowerment, sustainable transport models, safety, and affordability, key challenges affecting millions of daily commuters and mobility service providers in the state.
According to the Country Representative of inDrive Nigeria, Mr Timothy Oladimeji, the sponsorship underscores the company’s deep commitment to advancing equitable mobility systems and supporting conversations that drive long-term impact across the transportation ecosystem.
He noted that inDrive sees AOT Lagos as a critical platform for addressing mobility challenges and accelerating innovation within the state.
During the event, inDrive will be participating in one of the key sessions, discussing the topic From fuel to future: the rise of e-mobility in Lagos.
Aside from this, inDrive will also be hosting a side workshop themed The Market Share Victory – How inDrive Became Nigeria’s Second-Largest Ride-Hailing Player.
“We are proud to sponsor AOT Lagos 7.0 because it aligns perfectly with our vision to democratise mobility and ensure fairness for both drivers and riders.
“As Lagos moves toward a smarter, more sustainable mobility future, inDrive is committed to supporting solutions that prioritise affordability, safety, driver empowerment, and technological readiness.
“Through this partnership, we hope to contribute meaningfully to shaping policies and ideas that will redefine how millions of people move across the state,” he said.
Now in its seventh edition, AOT Lagos has evolved into a premier platform for advancing smart-city innovation, showcasing emerging technologies, and influencing the policy frameworks that shape the digital economy in Africa’s largest city.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The federal government is set to open Section 1 of the 700 km Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway for public use from December 12 to 17, 2025.
The Minister of Works, Mr Dave Umahi, gave the assurance on Sunday in Lagos during a review of outstanding works on Section 1 of the highway project.
The section 1 is 47.47km long and has six lanes and two carriageways.
Mr Umahi said: “We also set aside April next year to have Section 1 and half of Section 2 fully completed and commissioned,” adding that the contractor handling the project, Hitech Construction Company Limited, had achieved more than 80 per cent of the reinforced concrete pavement.
“We are very grateful to God Almighty for his mercies, and to the President and to the contractor.
“If we are to pay for everything they have done, it will be very difficult to have this job done because there are places we didn’t envisage that we were going to be removing pits up to a depth of 20 metres.
“They had to do that because they are partners in progress for the development of the country.
“We have just about three kilometres to complete the entire sand filling from Ahmadu Bello Way to Eleko Junction, and we are excited at the work and the quality of what has been done,” the former Governor of Ebonyi State, said.
The new Controller of Works in Lagos, Mr Olufemi Dare, told the minister that a lot of settling was ongoing at Chainage 33 of the highway project, praising the contractor for high quality of work.
“Sir, it may interest you to know that the building standing is the palace of this community, and you saved this building, and they are extremely happy,” he said.
On his part, the Managing Director of Hitech Construction Company Limited, Mr Dany Abboud, said that the company would still backfill from Chainage 34 to Chainage 37.
“Dredging is ongoing, we are on track to deliver.
“We are monitoring the settlement in the swampy areas and the water body areas due to the change of alignment,” he said.
The highway, which commenced construction in March 2024, has generated a lot of controversy, with critics raising concern around cost and procurement structure.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
A Nigerian lender has been accused of frustrating local business owners by not financing Made-in-Nigeria vehicles but promoting the purchase of foreign vehicles.
This allegation was made by the owner of a local vehicle assembly firm, Nord Motion, Mr Oluwatobi Ajayi, in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
He described this as an economic sabotage, stressing that this action does not encourage local investors.
“A business owner in the oil and gas sector approached us that he would like to buy two units of the @nordmotion Max pickup for his company. Apparently, he was impressed with the vehicle after some rides with his peers in the sector.
“To my shock, yesterday, my team told me that the bank, a bank operating in Nigeria told him that they do not finance Made-in-Nigeria vehicles, and they even suggested to our customer that he should go for foreign brands instead.
“The most provocative part of this is that all of the brands they suggested to him identified as Made-in-Nigeria brands in their filings with the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), which means they decide who they want to be whenever it suits them.
“This is yet another example of the needless sabotage and institutional bias against Nigerian manufacturers and assemblers that we experience in this sector.
“The President aims to grow us into a $1 trillion economy. Nigerians want to buy Made-in-Nigeria products, we are working very hard to produce world-class vehicles, but some banks, who should play the role of credit facilitators, are displaying open prejudice against locally made vehicles.
“What sort of economic sabotage is this?
“Many of us who continue to assemble and manufacture vehicles here do so not just for profit, but out of patriotism and belief in the long game. We see this as a marathon, not a sprint.
“We cannot continue using Nigerian resources to strengthen foreign factories while starving our own indigenous companies of opportunities.
“If we truly want this country to be better, then we must support goods and services made in Nigeria, especially those of us who have shown we can deliver world-class standards. The support has to be real, not just in words, but in policy, in finance, and in action.
“Every time we deny support for local production, we export jobs, skills, and economic growth that should belong here,” he narrated.
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