Business
Dangote’s CSR Footprint On 17 Ogun Host Communities
Up to 305 youths from the 17 host communities of Dangote Cement’s Ibese plant operations have been trained and empowered with multi-million Naira start-up packs in different vocations since the opened shop there.
The management of the company disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday.
According to the statement, the Ogun State government lauded the efforts of Dangote Cement in complementing the state’s poverty alleviation programmes describing the company as a worthy partner.
Acting Plant Director of the Ibese Cement Plant, Mr. Michael Johnson made the disclosure during the closing ceremony of the 2023 Community Youths Empowerment programme held at the plant’s premises at Ibese during which 30 fresh host communities’ youths graduated from the Youth Skill Acquisition and Empowerment in crafts and leather works in collaboration with Industrial Training Fund.
Mr. Johnson described the conclusion of the skill acquisition programme as another testament to Dangote Cement’s commitment to the socio-economic development of its host communities and their people. “Our focus is to support the indigenous people to become self-sustaining by delivering and sustaining values that are pivotal to their overall growth and development.”
While welcoming the guests and the beneficiaries to the ceremony, the Cement Plant boss pointed out that the successful completion of the programme was another milestone in the journey of the company’s social investment strides saying the company’s vision is to create entrepreneurs who in turn will create jobs for other youths within the communities.
Said he; “today, thirty (30) youths from our seventeen (17) host communities are receiving certificates for undergoing in full and conducting themselves well during the intensive training, 70% hands on and 30% theory, organized by the Dangote Cement Ibese Plant through the ITF. This underscores our recognition of youths as a critical stakeholder group to the company and our resolve to continue to collaborate to unleash their innate potentials.
“They are also being provided with multi-million Naira start-up packs comprising SR-810 Professional Single Needle Post-bed Heavy-lock Stick Shoe Patch sewing machine, Master Flex MF-2008BG Shoe filing machine and other accessories like scissors, hammer & sewing needle”
Amidst applause by the beneficiaries, Mr. Johnson recalled that the 30 youths commenced the training in October 2023, with little or no idea in the craft of leather works and shoe making. “After months of intensive learning and extensive practice, they are now imbued with skills that can put food on their tables and afford them opportunities to meaningfully contribute their quota to the development of their respective communities and the nation at large. It gladdens our heart to be instrumental to this transformational journey for all the participants.”
He stated that the Company’s management was of the view that governments at all levels and the private sector alone cannot fully meet the employment needs especially in a densely populated and youth dominated country like Nigeria. “The most plausible alternative therefore, is for the youths to acquire adequate skills in various trades to become entrepreneurs and self-dependent. This program is therefore timely and most auspicious as its intended impact cannot be overemphasized considering the prevailing economic condition in the Country, he noted.”
According to him, so far, not less than 305 youths across the Ibese Plant host communities have been trained and empowered in different skills since the commencement of programmes, with significant impact on the local economy while expressing the company’s desire to continue to collaborate with stakeholders to deepen the impact of the program.
The Plant Director stated that apart from the annual skills acquisition program, Dangote Cement, Ibese has other programs such as annual Scholarship awards for 120 indigent and brilliant students and a dedicated structure to ensure that the youths remain engaged and their concerns are heard and attended to on a consistent basis.
He therefore urged the beneficiaries to make good use of the opportunity to set up their own businesses, grow them and become employer of labour by hitting the ground running immediately saying a journey of a thousand miles starts with a step. “Be bold and courageous to start your own journey to greatness now! We live in a technology driven world, which the advent of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has taken to another level. Hence, you need to remain focused and be conversant with the latest developments in your areas of specialization by embracing technology to remain relevant and competitive.”
In his goodwill message, the Ogun State Commissioner for Youths and Sports Development. Hon. Wasiu Isiaka lauded Dangote Cement for its partnership programmes which have helped the state government tremendously in the area of poverty alleviation and job creation.
He challenged the Dangote Cement to sustain the trend by helping to ensure it create markets for the products the youth beneficiaries would be churning out noting that when there is market for the products the beneficiaries will be encouraged to double their efforts.
The commissioner assured that the state government would be ready to assist in whatever is required to foster joint development of the state by empowering its people, especially the youths. He then advised the company to ensure the diversification of its empowerment programme so that different skills can be acquired by the youths in various field of vocation and in turn teach others.
Hon. Isiaka urged the youths and other stakeholders in the host communities to reciprocate the gesture of the Dangote Cement, Ibese by making peace and tranquility their priority. He told them to play their own part of the bargain by partnering and supporting the organization to ensure peaceful co-existence and shared prosperity for all.
Responding on behalf of the beneficiaries, 21-year old Olowookere Sadiq Opeyemi from Abule-Oke Community thanked the management of Dangote Cement for their passion in seeing that the youths from the host communities do not constitute nuisance to the society be empowering them through various vocational training.
He promised that he and his colleagues would not disappoint the company but will ensure the start-up packs given them are judiciously used so that they would also become entrepreneurs who in turn will employ others.
“What Dangote Cement has done for us is unquantifiable. They have lessened the burden off our parents and the society at large will be better for it. With this, Dangote Cement, Ibese has proven that they are not just corporate citizen but a socially responsible corporate citizen”, he stated.
The NNPC Foundation Limited/Gte, the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) arm of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd), has won the CSR Champion Award (Health) 2025 instituted by the Independent Newspapers.
Biztellers reports that the award was presented during the Silver Jubilee edition of the Independent Newspapers Awards, themed “Game Changers: Breaking Barriers and Shaping Tomorrow,” held at Eko Hotel and Suites on Saturday, 18 April 2026.
The CSR Champion Award (Health) recognises the Foundation’s work in healthcare and its broader commitment to improving lives through social investment programmes spanning health, education, environment, and access to energy.Primary & Secondary Schooling (K-12)
The recognition follows a series of health initiatives delivered by the Foundation, including free cataract screening and surgeries that restored sight to over 6,000 Nigerians, including minors born blind; cancer and glaucoma interventions; medical outreaches to underserved communities; renovation and furnishing of three wards with 100 beds at the National Orthopaedic Hospital, Igbobi; partnership and sponsorship of heart surgeries; and provision of dental health accessories to children in special schools, among others.
The NNPC Foundation noted that these results were made possible through the leadership and support of the NNPC Ltd. Management team, whose commitment has continued to strengthen the Foundation’s capacity to deliver social investments across the country.
Reacting to the award, the Managing Director of NNPC Foundation, Emmanuella Arukwe, described the recognition as a validation of the Foundation’s work and the trust placed in it by Nigerians. She noted that the award means so much to the company because it represents the confidence Nigerians have placed in its work and the value they see in purposeful social investment.
“It speaks to the resilience of the communities we serve, the dedication of our team, and the strength of partnerships that have enabled us to do meaningful work in health, education, environmental sustainability and access to energy,” she added.
In addition, Arukwe noted that “these results have also been made possible through the leadership and support of the NNPC Ltd. Management team, whose backing has been instrumental to the success of the Foundation’s work. We receive this award with gratitude, and with a renewed sense of responsibility to do more and reach further across the country.”
The NNPC Foundation Limited/Gte remains committed to advancing health interventions that improve outcomes and contribute to national development.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd), through its Research, Technology and Innovation (RTI) Division, in collaboration with the Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF), has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Sonatrach, the Algerian National Oil Company, for cooperation in research, development, and innovation.
The agreement, signed by NNPC Ltd’s Executive Vice President, Business Services, Sophia Mbakwe, and Sonatrach’s Managing Director, Khodjah Mohamed, establishes a formal framework for joint work in research and technology exchange between the two national oil companies.
This was contained in the press statement issued on Thursday by Chief Corporate Communications Officer Mr. Andy Odeh.
According to the statement, the agreement, held during the opening ceremony of the 3rd Meeting of the African Petroleum Producers’ Organization (APPO) Forum for R&D Directors at the PTDF Tower in Abuja, Nigeria, brought together research and development directors from APPO member countries.
Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, represented by former Secretary General of APPO, Omar Farouk Ibrahim, said the forum was one of four measures introduced by APPO to address challenges from the global energy transition, which center on funding, technology, and markets.
“The R&D forum tackles technology and expertise needs, the African Energy Bank addresses funding constraints, and the Central African Pipeline System supports regional oil and gas market integration,” Lokpobiri stated.
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Earlier in his remarks, Group Chief Executive Officer, NNPC Limited, Engr. Bashir Bayo Ojulari, represented by the Company’s Chief Financial Officer, Adedapo Segun, said research and development must form a central part of the overall strategy in the African oil and gas industry.
He called for research and development centres to function as engines of industrial competitiveness. “Collaboration in research and development is of strategic importance. The cost of innovation might be high, but the cost of obsolescence would be greater,” he stressed.
Ojulari called for a unified strategic framework through which resources could be pooled, data integrated, and risks shared across member countries.
He further urged the rapid adoption of digital technologies, artificial intelligence, and advanced engineering to improve upstream, midstream, and downstream operations.
On his part, the APPO Secretary General, Farid Ghezali, urged African petroleum-producing countries to ensure research in the oil and gas sector produced solutions that are practical and directly relevant to the continent. “We must ensure that our research delivers solutions that are practical and of direct use to Africa,” he stated.
Also speaking, the Executive Secretary of the Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF), Prof. Shu’aibu Shehu Aliyu, highlighted the value of the partnership between NNPC Limited and PTDF in supporting decarbonization and environmental protection efforts across APPO member countries.
Chief Innovation Officer of NNPC Research, Technology and Innovation and incoming Chairman of the APPO R&D Directors Forum, Rasheed Ojulari, said the forum would give immediate priority to joint programs in the core areas of upstream optimization, artificial intelligence, decarbonisation processes, and industrial systems development.
The Nigerian Gas Association (NGA), has opined that a predictable fiscal and regulatory environment are ingredients essential to de-risking investments and accelerating project delivery in the oil and gas sector.
This was detailed in a statement released by NGA at the end of its maiden Legal Forum emphasised that investor confidence will be shaped by the robustness of commercial and contractual structures across the gas value chain, strengthened contractual clarity, and efficient dispute resolution mechanisms.
In his opening address, President of the NGA, Aka Nwokedi, underscored the urgency of aligning Nigeria’s legal architecture with its strategic gas ambitions, noting that the sector’s next phase of growth will be defined by the strength, clarity, and credibility of its regulatory environment.
“Nigeria’s gas resources present a defining opportunity for economic transformation, but realising this potential will depend on building a legal framework that is transparent, predictable, and globally competitive”, he stated.
Discussions throughout the Forum reflected a clear and consistent theme: that Nigeria’s opportunity now lies in execution.
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While the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) has established a transformative foundation for sector reform, participants emphasised that its true impact will be determined by disciplined implementation, regulatory coherence, and institutional alignment.
The need to eliminate ambiguity and strengthen enforcement emerged as central to unlocking sustained investment.
As global energy systems continue to evolve, the Forum reinforced natural gas as Nigeria’s most strategic lever for balancing economic growth, energy security, and emissions reduction. Participants highlighted that legal and regulatory frameworks must evolve accordingly, moving beyond policy intent to embed clear, enforceable standards on carbon management, ESG obligations, and sustainability.
“In an increasingly competitive global market, such clarity will be critical in attracting long-term capital.”
The Forum also acknowledged the policy direction of the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in advancing gas development through infrastructure expansion and increased domestic utilisation.
Stakeholders noted that sustained policy stability will serve as a critical signal to both domestic and international investors evaluating long-term opportunities in Nigeria’s gas sector.
Beyond its technical depth, the NGA Legal Forum marked an important step in bridging the longstanding gap between legal frameworks and industry realities, creating a structured platform for continuous engagement, practical alignment, and forward-looking policy development.
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