Gov Wada, Dangote Bond on Sugar Company to create 15,000 Jobs

gov wada dangote
The President of Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote on Thursday announced perthership with the Kogi state government on the establishment of a Sugar Company which will create job for over 15,000 people in the state.

Dangote, made the know during his visit to Kogi State capital Lokoja, which for the second phase of the official flag off of the presentation of Dangote Foundation’s N220M grants to women from the 21 LGAs which called for an impromptu State Executive Council meeting held in honour of Aliko Dangote, during which he was admitted as Honorary Member of the Kogi State Executive Council.

Dangote Foundation has continued the disbursement of N10 billion grants to women and youths in the local governments across the country.

The fund disbursement is meant to enable recipients to meet immediate family and livelihood needs by providing a one-time grant to start up enterprises that will boost their economic and consumption activities and help reduce their vulnerability.

21370_442992102475477_426585417_n (3)

Speaking at the continuation of the disbursement in Lokoja, Kogi State, President, Dangote Foundation, Aliko Dangote said the Foundation in response to the widespread poverty in Nigeria, in 2011, instituted a cash transfer intervention – the Dangote Micro-grants Programme- to provide cash transfers to select poor and vulnerable Nigerians.

The disbursement is expected to be completed in 24 months.

He explained that the cash transfer intervention focused on women who bear the greatest brunt of poverty.

He said: “Our Programme provides a one-off grant that enables recipients to grow or start an enterprise, invest in product assets, improve the health of their families, and/or take on new activities that reduce their vulnerability and enhance their economic standing. It has successfully assisted women and their families in Kano and Jigawa states.”

According to the business mogul, the cash transfer intervention Programme is national in scope and will systematically cover all the 774 local government areas of Nigeria.

Captain Wada commended Dangote for his love for Kogi State and supports on humanitarian grounds when he doled hundreds of millions of Naira to alleviate the sufferings of persons displaced by the 2012 flooding that ravage 9 councils in the state.

The governor, urged Dangote to invest more in Kogi as a “son of the soil”, with emphasis on agriculture, which is top on the Transformation Agenda of his administration, Dangote accepted his admission into Kogi State Executive Council and promised to attend exco meetings at least once in a month.

He applauded Gov Wada’s pragmatic approach to governance, accommodating leadership qualities & efforts to ensuring security of life & business in Kogi for which there has not been any serious situation after the Okene incidence.

He noted that through his style, Gov Wada has been able to create an enabling environment for business. He agreed to establish a Sugar Factory in Kogi targeting 15,000 more jobs.

Dangote promised to hold talks with President Jonathan over the protracted agitation for the construction of the road from Obajana to Kabba.

He disclosed that the Dangote Foundation, as part of it CRP has finalized arrangements to establish a micro-finance bank in Kogi to lend money to small & medium entrepreneurs at 5 % interest rate.

He advised Kogi State government to depend less on monthly allocations from the federation account while intensifying its Internally Generated Revenue drive through the enforcement of taxation, adding quickly, however, that this could only be achieved when infrastructure is developed to justify the tax collection.

Capt. Wada said the state government is willing to clear a 20,000 hectares of land for the establishment of the sugar factory at Ajaokuta Steel City.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *