Africa’s richest person and the continent’s top donor Aliko Dangote has announced that he is upping his philanthropic works across Africa, starting from his home country Nigeria.
A statement from the Group said that Dangote has alreadu made whooping donations of over N30 Billion across Africa. “Africans must begin to take responsibilities by shaping the condition of its people,” the kindest man in Africa was reported to have said.
The statement explained that just in two years, the Dangote Group through its Foundation, churnned out about N30 billion in humanitarian gesture.
“This is includes the Dangote Academy that is worth about a N1billion, through which manpower is developed across various disciplines.
“Only last month, the Dangote cement, Ibese, through the Dangote Foundation, announced a scholarship for some Yewa community 50 students of various secondary and tertiary institutions.
“The Group had donated $500,000 to victims of explosion in Republic of Congo.
“Dangote Foundation also contributed a staggering $2million to flood victims in Pakistan and N120million to cushion the effect of famine in Niger Republic.”
The statement recalled that two years ago, Dangote made a staggering donation of N2.5billion to cushion the effect of flooding in Nigeria, making that the single highest donation by a private body in the history of Nigeria.
“Dangote also donated N430million to flood victims, unemployed youths and women in Kogi State in the same year. Three years back, the Dangote Foundation gave out about a billion naira for the economic empowerment of women in Kano State.
“Only recently, the Foundation donated N540 million to vulnerable women as a result of insurgency in the North East of Nigeria.
“The group had pumped over N1billion into the rehabilitation of some Nigerian universities, as part of its contribution to the educational sector.
“Two months ago, the Dangote Foundation donated 12 trailer-load of relief items worth N40million to support the government in bringing succour to victims of communual clash that displaced people.
“The Group had also donated N100million to victims of Lagos flooding, another N100million to those in Sokoto and N60million to victims of flooding in Oyo State, two years back.”
The statement quoted Alhaji Dangote as saying: “About this philanthropy, I think from this year, I personally want to take it very seriously. I want to be much more aggressive than what we have had in the past.
“We already have a foundation which will do all these things, but I am trying to see what we can do to encourage, not only Nigerians, but other Africans.
“I am not going to give all my money to charity, but I am going to try my best and give part of that money to charity. I am working hard on it.”
The statement said in Benue State alone, the Group has been running an annual scholarship scheme worth 10million to indigenes of Gboko communities.
It said that in Benue State, 15 villages were electrified at the cost of N115million, adding that 14 blocks of classrooms have been constructed for the community around the company at the cost of N84billion.
It added that 19 boreholes were constructed for the communities, and that an earth dam valued at N50million was also constructed.
It said that apart from the monthly payment of allowances to traditional rulers, a vigilante contract to ensure N2million regular income to the community was also instituted.
“We have also donated N15million to the community’s development foundation, and we are helping through the community empowerment scheme, while our one hundred bed hospital has been approved for construction within the community,” Dangote was quoted in the statement as saying.
The statement said that in addition to N78million compensation paid during the takeover of the company, N60million inconvenience allowance has been paid to families. [myad]

Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria in collaboration with Water Carbornfield Energy Ltd., a consortium firm from Panama is set to construct new refineries in Kogi and Bayelsa states.

The CEL Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Jose Arosemena Mosi, who made the disclosure when he spoke with newsmen in Abuja, said the refineries with targeted capacity of 200,000 barrel per day, will guarantee a steady flow of oil products needed to satisfy local consumption.

“The cost of the refineries is not certain at this moment. We need to do the economic analysis and it will take like two or four months. The refinery capacity is about 200,000 barrel per day. It will take like four or five years to build, complete and start production.”

Mosi said the company would be responsible for the funding of the refinery, while IPMAN is expected to provide the local content.

The IPMAN President, Chinedu Okoronkwo, said the association sealed the investment deal with foreign company to build the refinery in Agge, Ceek in Bayelsa and Kogi, respectively.

Okoronkwo said Agge had one of the deepest ports in West Africa and with that it would make it on the refinery hub in the region.

He said the one in Kogi would also help to serve the market in the North because of its strategic location

According to him, the proposed refineries will help to grow the country’s Gross Domestic Product and reduce capital flight.

Okoronkwo said the project would create about two million direct and indirect jobs, help in production distribution nationwide and reduce dependence on importation.

“You will agree with me that over 80 per cent of the downstream sector is being owned by the IPMAN, when you are talking of petrol station owners.

“So, with these refineries members will have easy access to products and will have it in their stations and by extension it will grow the economy and create wealth.”

The IPMAN president said the host governors had demonstrated willingness to support the projects by providing land and other necessary assistance.

He, therefore, called on the Federal Government to assist further in creating favourable environment for the investment to thrive. [myad

Former Nigeria’s Minister of Petroleum Resources and erstwhile Secretary General of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Rilwanu Lukman is dead. He died aged 75 after a career spanning five decades.

Dr. Lukmam, who died in the early hours of today, July 21, at his residence in Vienna, Austria after a brief illness, was born on August 26 1938 in Zaria, Kaduna State and left behind a wife and 3 children.

Dr. Lukman had played a key role mending fences in the often fractious Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries as well as in Nigeria, where it worked to reform the oil industry and resolve a conflict with militants.

“He was widely recognized and highly regarded in the global petroleum industry; a loyal and dedicated man, who had the best interests of Nigeria and OPEC at heart,” OPEC said, without expanding on the cause of his death.

Dr. Lukman had been oil minister between 1986 and 1990, and then again between 2008 and 2010, in addition to heading state-run Nigerian National Petroleum Corp. between 1999 and 2003.

During his last tenure as a minister, he tried to reform Nigeria’s troubled oil industry, working to cut its bloated fuel subsidies and to find private finance for its state companies. But he also assisted the government in brokering an amnesty with militants that had crippled the country’s oil industry.

The seasoned official is best remembered internationally as one of the most experienced heads of OPEC, where he served as a secretary-general between 1995 and 2000, and as president three times between 1986 and 2002.

He was known as a skilled, soft-spoken diplomat, helping steer the group toward consensus, particularly during the Asian financial crisis in 1997 and 1998. “Whoever is president has to get people to work together,” he told The Wall Street Journal in a 2008 interview. [myad]