From Joseph Amedu, Lokoja
Africa’s foremost industrialist, Aliko Dangote, is optimistic that the new multibillion naira investment in the sugar sub-sector would help provide no fewer than three hundred thousand jobs in Nigeria.
A statement from the Corporate Communication Department of the company which was made available to Journalists in Lokoja on Sunday, quoted the Group’s President Aliko Dangote as saying that the company was providing fresh funds and thus expanding its operations in the sugar sub-sector.
Mr. Dangote, who was speaking at the Flagg off Ceremony of the 2022/2023 Crushing Season and Outgrower Scheme Awards in Numan, Adamawa State, said the opportunities would include both direct and indirect jobs.
Mr. Dangote, who is Africa’s top philanthropist, expressed optimism that the massive investment will create over three hundred thousand jobs for Nigerians.
He said: “We are making massive investment in Adamawa State through expansion of DSR Numan’s sugar refining capacity from 3000tcd to 6000tcd, 9800tcd, and to 15,000tcd. DSR will be able to create about three hundred thousand jobs, direct and indirect, with positive multiplier effects on the economy nationwide.”
The Dangote Group is the biggest employer of labour in Nigeria outside the government.
Mr. Dangote was appointed Chairman, National Job Creation Committee in 2010 to assist the Federal Government in providing more employment opportunities for Nigerians.
The Dangote President had also announced that his company was doubling its spending on CSR schemes in host communities in Adamawa State, the location of its 32,000 hectares integrated sugar complex.
Speaking in Numan, Minister of Industry, Trade, and Investment, Otunba Adeniyi Adebayo, described the Dangote Sugar Refinery as the biggest contributor to the development of the sugar development effort of the Federal Government.
The Minister also commended Mr. Dangote for the massive support through his Corporate Social Responsibility scheme.
In the same vein, the Dangote Refinery and Petrochemicals is expected to create some 250,000 job opportunities when completed next year.
Already Dangote Cement Plc is one of Africa’s biggest job providers in the manufacturing sector.