Business
Dangote Invests N63bn In Enugu-Based Automaker …Buys 3,500 Trucks
Dangote Group has entered into a long-term agreement with an Enugu-based automaker, Transit Support Services Limited, for the supply of Shacman trucks being assembled at the Anambra Motor Manufacturing Company Limited’s factory in Emene, Enugu.
Already, the group has purchased 3,500 trucks from the automaker worth N63bn, according to the Managing Director of the Transit Support Services, Mr Frank Nneji.
Nneji, who spoke with journalists recently after a facility tour of the truck assembly line at the ANAMMCO plant, said the supplies amounted to over 90 per cent of all Shackman trucks assembled at the factory since the revival of the plant after a long period of abandonment.
“About 90 per cent of trucks produced here are for Dangote. Right now at the dump, we have about 300 units. Since last year, we have done 800 units. Dangote Group since inception has bought about 3,500 units from us. It also patronises the Shackman trucks for its refinery currently being built in Lagos,” he said.
He said the project had also kept busy the Onne port, which was dormant for many years.
According to him, the port is used for the delivery of vehicle components supplied to the ANAMMCO plant by its partner from China, Shaanxi Heavy Duty Automobile Import & Export Company.
Nneji, who is also the Managing Director of ABC Transport Plc, the franchise holder of the Shacman Nigeria said the Dangote/Shacman truck deal had benefited the people in the area immensely through job creation and training of young school leavers.
He said, “This has been of tremendous benefit for the people in the South-East. For more than seven years, this place was shut down.
“There was no activity until Shackman came and we made an agreement with the Shacman Group and we started skeletally.”
He added, “We were only able to start full production of trucks when we offered logistics solutions to the Dangote Group. That was in 2016 when we started the first agreement for 500 trucks.
“With this, many workers of ANAMMCO who had been at home had to come back to work; some local suppliers of lubricants, electrolyte and the rest had to return to business.”
Nneji noted that the resuscitation of the ANAMMCO plant was made possible through the establishment of the auto policy which encouraged local production of automobiles
The General Manager, Corporate Communications, Dangote Group, Mr Sunday Esan said Dangote was satisfied with the quality of Shacman trucks and assured of continued patronage.
Business
NAFDAC Decries Circulation Of Prohibited Food Items In markets …….Orders Vendors’ Immediate Cessation Of Dealings With Products
Importers, market traders, and supermarket operators have therefore, been directed to immediately cease all dealings in these items and to notify their supply chain partners to halt transactions involving prohibited products.
The agency emphasized that failure to comply will attract strict enforcement measures, including seizure and destruction of goods, suspension or revocation of operational licences, and prosecution under relevant laws.
The statement said “The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has raised an alarm over the growing incidence of smuggling, sale, and distribution of regulated food products such as pasta, noodles, sugar, and tomato paste currently found in markets across the country.
“These products are expressly listed on the Federal Government’s Customs Prohibition List and are not permitted for importation”.
NAFDAC also called on other government bodies, including the Nigeria Customs Service, Nigeria Immigration Service(NIS) Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Nigeria Shippers Council, and the Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Service (NAQS), to collaborate in enforcing the ban on these unsafe products.
