FG Hails Dangote Cement’s Impacts in Benue Communities

George Okoh in Makurdi and Sunday Ehigiator in Lagos

The federal government has commended Dangote Cement Plc for making measurable and sustainable impacts in its host communities in Gboko Local Government Area of Benue State through the execution of key community development projects.

The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Dele Alake, gave the commendation at the inauguration of Dangote Cement’s multi-million-naira water projects, scholarship awards and youth skill acquisition programme in the area.

Represented at the event by an Assistant Director of Mines and Environmental Compliance in Benue State, Mrs. Adijatu Usman, the minister said Dangote Cement had demonstrated compliance with its obligations under the Community Development Agreement (CDA).

According to him, the CDA is a federal government policy framework that requires mining companies to reinvest part of their profits into host communities to promote sustainable development.

“I can tell you that Dangote Cement has delivered several projects for its host communities,” the minister said.

“The project was a fallout of a federal government policy for companies such as Dangote to give back to their host communities.

“It is a federal government policy for mining companies to reinvest part of their profits into host mining communities so as to impact the communities, and as a result of that policy we have had a series of engagements with them.

“There are six of these communities here. We sat with them several times and these projects are certified community-based projects because the communities agreed that they needed these projects. We are here today because the projects have been completed.”

He urged the benefiting communities to take ownership of the projects and ensure their protection and sustainability to guarantee long-term economic development.

“What we expect is for the communities to see these projects as their personal projects; own them and protect them, so that they will be sustainable. That way there will be economic development within the communities,” he said.

“We share in their joy as we present these projects to them, and we believe that mining will be sustainable.”

The minister also commended the Industrial Training Fund (ITF) for partnering with Dangote Cement and supervising the youth skill acquisition programme.

Speaking at the inauguration and handover ceremony, Head of Social Performance at Dangote Cement Plant, Gboko, Dr. Johnson Kor said the projects were targeted at addressing critical needs, particularly access to potable water, in the host communities.

“We are here today to commission CDA projects that were earmarked for these host communities since December 2024,” Kor added.

“These are water projects, including motorised and solar-powered boreholes. The Community Development Agreement was entered into in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Solid Minerals Development, the host communities, other stakeholders and the Plant.

“It is a five-year agreement, and this is the first year. By next year, we will be moving into the second round. As you can see, we are also working on some electricity projects which are yet to be completed.”

He explained that many of the benefiting communities had long struggled with access to clean water, relying on streams and rivers due to their proximity to River Benue, despite having hand-dug wells.

“Therefore, we felt there was a need to provide water for them, and they are happy with this gesture by Dangote Cement Plc,” he added.

According to him, the boreholes are located in Pass Brother, Mbaakpoghol-Mbatyu, Mbaswa-Mbatser and Agboghol-Amua communities.

Reacting on behalf of the beneficiaries, the District Head of Mbaakpoghol-Mbatyu, Chief Kunav Anum, expressed appreciation to Dangote Cement for the intervention.

“We are very excited. We didn’t know that this would happen so soon in this community. It came as a surprise, and we are grateful to Dangote Cement Plc for the gesture,” the monarch said.

He noted that the community had earlier benefited from electricity supply facilitated by the company and pledged continued support for its operations.

Meanwhile, Dangote Cement, in a statement, disclosed that its scholarship fund for host communities had been reviewed upward to N28.8 million this year, with its coverage expanded to include all six host communities in line with the CDA.

The company said the expansion was aimed at promoting equity, inclusiveness, and shared benefits, adding that several other projects have been executed or are ongoing. These include the Women Empowerment Programme, Farmers Empowerment Programme and Youth Empowerment Programme, all designed to enhance livelihoods and deepen socio-economic development in the host communities.

The Federal Government reaffirmed its commitment to ensuring strict enforcement of Community Development Agreements in the mining sector, stressing that responsible mining and community partnership remain key to achieving sustainable development and peaceful coexistence in mining host areas across the country.