By Aduragbemi Omiyale

Because of its belief in making life better for host communities and Nigerians generally, Dangote Cement Plc has increased its social investments across the country.

At the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the company held in Lagos on Monday, the cement miller disclosed that the amount allotted for its different corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives went up by 469.8 per cent to N13.2 billion in one year.

The leading cement manufacturers said this money was spent across various sectors of the economy, including education, healthcare, agriculture, infrastructure, and economic empowerment.

Addressing shareholders at the meeting, the chairman of Dangote Cement, Mr Aliko Dangote, said the company’s strategy in every country of operation is to be the leader in cost, quality, and service.

He said the company builds large, modern, highly efficient plants that combine the latest equipment from Europe, China, and beyond to enable it to make higher-quality cement at lower costs, thereby giving it strong competitive advantages.

“We achieved a N3.580 trillion revenues, representing a 62.2 per cent year-on-year growth, driven by effective pricing strategies and strong demand recovery in key markets, particularly Nigeria. Group EBITDA reached an all-time milestone of N1,382.0 billion, crossing the N1 trillion mark for the first time,” he said.

Mr Dangote further revealed that the company is set to commission a 3MTA grinding plant in Cote D’Ivoire, this year, as well as a 6MTA integrated plant in Itori, Ogun State.

He said another major milestone was the acquisition of 1,500 compressed Natural Gas (CNG) trucks to replace diesel-fuelled vehicles, thereby contributing to both cost savings and environmental impact, adding that plans are underway to double the fleet to 3,000 trucks.

At the AGM, shareholders approved that payment of N502.6 billion as dividends for the 2024 financial year, translating to N30 per share.

Reacting to this, the president of the Association for the Advancement of Rights of Nigerian Shareholders (AARNS), Mr Faruk Umar, expressed satisfaction with the cement firm fior the cash reward despite the obvious economic challenges, which also affected operations.

“We are happy with this result. 2024 was very challenging due to the fluctuations in the foreign exchange market and the company’s expansion programme.

“But despite all these challenges, the company was still able to pay us a very good dividend and even gave us hope of better returns on our investments in the years to come. This is very commendable, and it is only a company like Dangote Cement that can achieve this laudable feat,” he remarked.

On her part, the chairperson of the Pragmatic Shareholders Association of Nigeria, Mrs Bisi Bakare, commended the organisation’s consistent dividend payment.

“As a shareholder and an acute investor of this company, I am very happy and pleased with the performance of our company so far. The earnings are not even up to N30 per share, and for the company to still declare N30 per share dividend speaks volumes of the quality of leadership that we are lucky to have in Dangote Cement,” she noted.

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Senate has directed the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) to raise its revenue target for 2025 from N6 trillion to N10 trillion.

The upper chamber of the National Assembly on Monday cited the urgent need for enhanced enforcement and surveillance amid rising smuggling and insecurity challenges across the country as rationale for the upward review.

The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Customs, Mr Isah Jibrin, stated this  when the NCS’ Deputy Comptroller General Jibo Bello appeared before the committee for its budget defence.

The tariff policy of the government became the crux of the matter as the committee identified gaps, frowning upon the lack of enforcement of a 4 per cent freight on board (FOB) by the agency.

Mr Bello disclosed that customs had been authorised by the Ministry of Finance to halt collection of the 4 per cent freight on board.

Based on this, the chairman of the committee mandated the Minister of Finance, Mr Wale Edun, to appear before it to explain the suspension of the 4 per cent freight on board charges, which they say was an infraction of the law.

The Senate is expected to question the finance minister and key stakeholders at the scheduled appearance on Thursday, as it seeks to ensure accountability, revenue optimisation, and national security enforcement in line with existing legislative frameworks.

Earlier this year, the Customs announced the suspension of the 4 per cent charge and noted that the pause period will enable comprehensive engagement and consultations between the Minister of Finance, Mr Wale Edun and other stakeholders.

The FOB, put at 4 per cent charge on imported goods, was meant to replace an older system where companies like Webb Fontaine handled import inspections for a 1 per cent fee. The move sparked heavy criticism from stakeholders like the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA).

“The suspension period will allow the Service to further engage with stakeholders while ensuring proper alignment with the Act’s provisions for sustainable funding of these modernisation initiatives.” NCS said in February.

NCS also cancelled declarations made during the short-lived implementation.

By Dipo Olowookere

Investors demonstrated strong appetite for the new seven-year FGN sovereign bond auctioned at the primary market by the Debt Management Office (DMO) on Monday.

Business Post reports that the debt office, on behalf of the federal government, was at the market yesterday to seek N100 billion from bond investors.

The agency asked investors for the funds in two different bonds, a re-opening five-year paper and a new seven-year note at N50 billion each.

However, the DMO ended up allotting about N98.95 billion of the longer tenor to subscribers and N1.05 billion for the shorter note.

Details of the exercise showed that the seven-year paper was sold to investors at a coupon rate of 17.95 per cent, with bids worth N561.17 billion, showing a siginificant oversubscription, indication the strong confidence investors have in the ability of the government to service the debt.

It was observed that the debt office received a total of 209 bids, but only 41 bids were successful, according to results of the auction released by the DMO.

As for the five-year paper, which has an actual 3 years and 10 months to maturity, it got 30 bids from subscribers, with only two cleared by the DMO.

The value of its subscription was N41.69 billion sold at a coupon rate of 17.75 per cent. This paper was first sold by the Nigerian government about two years ago at 19.30 per cent.

According to the note released by the debt office, the settlement date for this latest bond issuance is Wednesday, June 25, 2025.

It was offered to investors at a unit price of N1,000 subject to a minimum subscription of N50 million and in multiples of N1,000 thereafter.

FGN bonds are tax-free as they qualify as government securities within the meaning of Company Income Tax Act (CITA) and Personal Income Tax Act (PITA) for tax exemption for pension funds, among others.

After the sale, the bonds will be listed on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited and the FMDQ Securities Exchange for trading at the secondary market.