The pan-African conglomerate, the Dangote Group, has concluded preliminary arrangements to inject 500mw of electricity into the national grid for the people of Kano, the Company management said at the weekend.
Group Executive Director, Stakeholders Management and Corporate Communications, Engineer Mansur Ahmed, made this disclosure at the Dangote Special Day event at the Kano 36th International Trade Fair just as the Dangote Cement mega promo triggered sales at the fair.
Ahmed said the electricity will also benefit, according to him, the new power plan, which is part of the philanthropic gesture of the company is meant to support government’s effort in the provision of electricity for the people in the region and when completed it would benefit Jigawa, Katsina and some parts of Kaduna.
He said the Dangote Foundation was scaling up its charity works across several African countries and has started deepening its philanthropic gestures in the areas of health and education.
According to him, the Foundation’s projects in Kano include the construction of a Diagnostic Centre at the Murtala Muhammad Specialist Hospital, the building of eleven health care centres and 200 boreholes, as well as its nutrition programme.
He said in the North Eastern part of the country, the Foundation has also provided over a billion naira to support the Internally Displaced Persons(IDPs) and is desirous of addressing the challenges of unemployment in the country.
Companies from the Dangote Group that are on ground at the fair include Dangote Sugar Refinery, NASCON Allied Industries Plc (Dangote Salt), Dangote Cement Plc, and Dansa Foods Limited among others.
Some of the products being displayed at the fair include Dangote sugar, Dangote Cement, Dangote salt, DanQ seasoning, tomato paste, various ranges of fruit juice products and bottled water from Dansa Foods.
Dangote Sugar is offering customers different sizes of granulated sugar packs at the fair.
One of the highpoints at the fair was the enthusiasm shown by the visitors to the on-going Dangote Cement Mega promo, which made some of them to order for cement on the spot.
Dangote cement recently launched a promo through which it intends to financially empower its cement end users through by making available over N300 million to be won by customers on daily basis through a draw.
Speaking also at the Trade Fair, Regional Director Alhaji Yusuf Maitama, urged Nigerians to grab the opportunity offered by the Dangote Group as 183 millionaires will emerge in 90 days of the promo..
He said the fair has become a veritable avenue for the display of innovative products of the Dangote products and that visitors to the group pavilion will have the opportunity of buying the products at discounted prices.
Speaking earlier at the opening ceremony, the Kano State Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje who was represented by the Commissioner for Commerce Rabiu Bako said the state government and KACCIMA are working together to encourage private sector participation to ensure the planned economic development of the state.
He said Kano State is creating an industrial layout for those in the private sector with guaranteed supply of electricity to support government’s industrialization strides.
Minister of Industry and Trade, Okechukwu Enelamah who represented the Federal Government at the opening ceremony had said the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari was committed to agricultural and industrial development in the country.
The statement from Dangote Group said customers wanting to be distributors of any of the Dangote Group’s subsidiaries would have the opportunity to be offered informed explanations by staff of the companies who would be on hand to put the customers through.
Speaking earlier, President of the Kano State Chambers of Commerce Industry Mines and Agriculture (KACCIMA) Umar Farouk Rabiu Dansuleka described the Dangote Group as a worthy partner and major sponsor of the Trade Fair.
He said the Dangote Group has contributed to the development of businesses in the country through the sponsoring businesses activities like the Trade Fair.
In the same vein, the Director General of the Kano State Chambers of Commerce Industry Mines and Agriculture (KACCIMA) Alhaji Aliyu Muhammad Mustafa hailed the Dangote Group for the sponsorship and for supporting the growth of businesses in Kano State.
“Dangote Group is our major sponsor. We want to commend Alhaji Aliko Dangote for helping businesses to grow in Kano State and by extension the whole of Nigeria,” he said.
Alhaji Mustafa expressed optimism that this year’s trade fair, with the Theme: Improving Products Quality and Packaging to Competitiveness for the Attainment of Sustainable Economic Growth, is seeing a higher patronage.
In a related development, the Chief Executive of the Dangote Foundation, Ms Halima Dangote, has revealed that the ongoing construction of a multibillion naira State-of-the-Art Operating Theatre and Diagnostic Centre at the Murtala Muhammad Specialist Hospital is due for completion next year.
Ms Dangote made this revelation when her team visited the Kano State governor, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, at the weekend.
She said the Operating Theatre and Diagnostic Centre will cost the Foundation a staggering N7 billion.
She attributed the earlier delay to technical hitches and said the new contractor-Dantata and Sawoe- have returned to site.
She also said that the Routine Immunization programme of the Foundation is being extended to Bauchi, Yobe, Maiduguri and Katsina.
She added that the Foundation’s Business School’s Project at the Bayero University Kano has gulped N524million, even as it injected N500million into Kano School of Technology.
Ms Dangote also revealed that the Foundation is determined to build a 500MW of electricity station in Kano.
She described some of the projects as “game changing projects” to be completed in the next two years.
Responding, Governor Ganduje said the President of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, has done a lot for the Kano people, and the people of Kano will remain grateful forever.
He singled out the contribution of the Foundation to the fight against polio disease, adding that it was indeed a massive intervention.
He said with the help of the Dangote Foundation, the State will soon be given its Polio Free Certificate.
“We are ready to do anything to support your effort,” the Governor said.
He further described the Dangote’s intervention at the Murtala Muhammad Specialist Hospital as massive, saying the hospital is one of the oldest in West Africa.
The Foundation has also completed the construction of seven out of the eleven Primary Health Care Centers it is building in the state.
At a handover ceremony of one of the health care centres at Gwale Local Government, Ms Halima Dangote said the construction of 11 health centres in the state will cost the Foundation a whooping N72million.
Speaking at the handover ceremony, Ms Dangote said her father, Aliko Dangote, would prefer that most of his interventions are not mentioned in public for Allah’s sake.
She, however, said the Foundation that she heads will continue to assist the poor and support government’s efforts around the world.
Speaking also Executive Director Stakeholders Relations and Corporate Communications, Engr Mansur Ahmed, said the new health care centre will help the people in the community overcome most of their simple health challenges.
He urged the people of Kano to always pray for Alhaji Aliko Dangote and support the Dangote Group.
The State’s Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health Abba Kailani expressed government appreciation and promised to support the health care centres through staffing.
Secretary to the chairman of Gwale Local Government Shehu Haza who represented the chairman of the Council, while commending the Foundation, said Government will ensure that the health care centres are functional.
