Alhaji Aliko Dangote, the President of Dangote Group, has disclosed that a former governor of Ogun State, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, destroyed his planned cement plant in the Itori area of the state on two occasions.
The prominent businessman and philanthropist did not explain why Amosun took such actions.
In a widely shared video on social media on Monday, Dangote shared this information while standing alongside the current governor of Ogun State, Prince Dapo Abiodun. He praised Abiodun for stepping in and ensuring the project could move forward.
“I think it is good we have it on record that the (cement) factory we are visiting now in Itori, you know it was because of His Excellency (Dapo Abiodun) that we came back.
“That factory was demolished twice. We started, Governor Amosun demolished it. The second time, we started again, he demolished not only the factory, including the fencing, so we left.
“But, right now, we are coming because of His Excellency my brother, Prince Dapo Abiodun. We are now back,” Dangote stated.
It is worth noting that Senator Ibikunle Amosun, who served as governor of Ogun State from 2011 to 2019, was also a two-term senator representing the Ogun Central senatorial district.
Reports revealed that in 2023, during the signing of an agreement with China Sinoma International Engineering, the foreign company tasked with building the cement plant, Dangote stated that the new integrated cement plant, once completed, would boost Dangote Cement’s local production capacity. He explained that the plant would increase the company’s local capacity to 41.25 million tons per year and its total African capacity to 57.6 million tons per year.
Dangote also mentioned that the Itori Cement Plant would enhance Nigeria’s ability to export cement, contributing to economic diversification and increasing foreign exchange earnings for the country.
According to Dangote, the project was expected to stimulate the local economy by creating thousands of direct and indirect jobs and driving economic growth in the Itori area of Ogun State. He added that the presence of the cement plant would attract other businesses to the region, as they would seek to provide goods and services to employees, contractors, and other stakeholders associated with the plant.
Dangote emphasized that the construction of the new cement plant aligned with the Dangote Group’s goal of producing locally what was previously imported, despite the availability of raw materials for domestic production of such goods.
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