The Dangote Group has reaffirmed its commitment to generating substantial employment opportunities as its business operations expand across Nigeria and the African continent. This assurance was delivered during the company's Special Day celebration at the recently concluded Nasarawa Trade Fair, held in the state capital, Lafia.
Fatima Wali-Abdurrahman, Regional Director and Special Adviser to the President of Dangote Group, stated that the conglomerate is creating new jobs and roles as it broadens its investments and scales up activities across its Strategic Business Units. Dangote Group currently stands as Nigeria's second-largest employer, following the Federal Government.
Group President and Chief Executive Aliko Dangote had earlier noted in Lagos that expanding the Dangote Petroleum Refinery from 650,000 barrels per day to 1.4 million could attract up to 95,000 skilled workers during peak construction phases. Mrs. Wali-Abdurrahman, represented by Hon. Shuaibu Abdullahi, the company's National Assembly Lead, highlighted that Nasarawa State hosts Dangote's largest Backward Integration project in the sugar sector: the Nasarawa Sugar Company Limited (NSCL). She emphasized that the completion of this project would unlock a new wave of employment, creating expanded opportunities for both Nasarawa State and Nigeria as a whole.
The Regional Director noted that the conglomerate is expected to generate thousands of direct and indirect jobs from expansions in key businesses, including petroleum, fertilizer, cement, agriculture, sugar, and salt, among others. Speaking on the company's Vision 2030, she stated: "The Vision is a commitment to transform Nigeria and Africa from a consumption-based economy into a production-based powerhouse." She added that Nasarawa State occupies a strategic position in the company's long-term investment plans, with the NSCL in Tunga poised to become one of the largest sugar investments on the African continent upon completion.
Earlier, Mrs. Catherine Bako, Director of Industry and Investment at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Investment, noted that the Nasarawa State Government under Governor Abdullahi Sule has created an enabling environment for private sector investors by prioritizing ease of doing business. Dr. Ahmed Agbo, Director of Trade at the same ministry, informed attendees at a panel session during the Dangote Special Day that the state possesses numerous mineral resources capable of attracting potential investors. He expressed a desire for partnership with the Dangote Group to explore these resources and industrial raw materials.
Nidan Sambo Manasseh, Chairman of the Nigerian Association of Small-Scale Industrialists (NASSI), remarked: "The Dangote Vision 2030 is about expansion, scale, and self-sufficiency. In Nasarawa, we are offering something practical to support that vision—a ready environment where large industry can plug into existing raw materials and an emerging SMEs base. This is where vision meets opportunity."
