Business
Dangote Blames Unstable Electricity For Poor Industrialisation In Nigeria
The President of the Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, has said Nigeria’s industrialisation challenges is caused by unstable electricity.
He said running a business abroad is 30 per cent cheaper than running the same business in Nigeria and other African countries due to stable electricity supply in developed countries.
Dangote, who stated this recently while hosting the Zambian Minister of Energy, Makozo Chikote, at the Dangote refinery in Lekki, Lagos State, said the group’s most profitable cement factory is the one in Ethiopia because of its stable power supply.
According to him, he had carried out research before going into industrialisation to ascertain why others who attempted it failed in the past, including his grandfather.
He stated that a major challenge was lack of electricity, saying “If there’s no power, there won’t be growth. For example, anything I’m going to do abroad will cost me maybe 30 per cent cheaper than here, because abroad is plug-and-play. You just go, no infrastructure construction. You just build a factory, and you connect to the network; that’s all.
“That’s why, if you look at it today, I tell you that our most profitable cement factory is in Ethiopia because there’s no investment in power. They gave us power at the same rate for five years. So, we plan, it’s a one-price electricity continuously.”
In Nigeria, Dangote said the group had to invest a lot in generating electricity for the refinery and other factories, saying this does not happen in developed nations.
Aside from electricity, Dangote also blamed inconsistent government policies for Nigeria’s failure to industrialise.
“One of the problems of industrialisation is inconsistencies in government policies, where, just like a footballer, you’re about to score the goal, and the government will remove the goalpost and point behind you that the goalpost is behind.
“So, you have to now turn. Once you turn back, you have a lot of challenges to get to that goalpost again”, he stated.
Dangote, Africa’s richest man, noted that the best way to reduce the inconsistencies is to explain to the government that when industrialisation happens, the government is a major shareholder, especially with the collection of taxes.
“For example, in our cement, every N1 we turn around, 52 kobo go to the government in various taxes—30 per cent corporate tax, 7.5 per value-added tax, two per cent for education, and one per cent,for health.
“When money is being made in the company, if you want to take the money, all the shareholders will have to pay the government 10 per cent as withholding tax again.
“This is for the Federal Government. When you add the state and the local government, everything now is something else”, he stressed.
Noting that if a business shuts down, one of the major losers is the government, Dangote stressed that industrialisation is key to national development.
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The trapatriate Unions conprising the National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE), and the Air Transport Service Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, (ATSSSAN), has given 72 hours Ultimatum to Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria FAAN, Omagwa Airport, Portharcourt to revise its recent decision on the concession of Tollgates and Parks to private hands.
The chairman of the Trapatriate Union, Comrade Felix Ohwoefe gave the Ultimatum yesterday immediately after the joint Unions meeting held at the Airport office of the union, Omagwa, Portharcourt.
Comrade Ohwoefe who double as the chairman of the National Union of NUATE said the two Unions have agreed to take drastic actions if the Authority of the Airport declined to step down it’s decision of concessioning the major revenue points to private hands.
According to the Union chairman, the two union was not aware of the concession plans, and that there were no due process to the procedures.
Comrade Ohwoefe said any attempt for the Airport Management to decline it’s demands towards the concession will result to barricading all entrance and access points of the Airport.
Expressing the the challenges associated to the concession, the Union Chairman said the gesture might resulted to massive sack of workers in the Airport.
The chairman also expressed foul play on the part of either individuals or government in the terms and conditions so given to the concessionaires, demanding the reasons of contracting the automated points to private hands for only 14 millions, when the FAAN is presently generating over 28 million naira monthly, even when the tariff was not reviewed upwards.
He describes the process to the procedures as fraud with intention to increase unemployment in the state.
“We are not against the concession of the Automated points, but due process must be followed. If government is concessioning the place, we are asking what will happen to our workers in the existing units.
“Secondly, if the concessionaires is taken over, they must pay higher than what the FAAN is generating presently, we are generating to the Management over 28 Millions monthly, but we had that the private company is required to pay only 14 Millions monthly, which is far below 5 percents of what we are generating presently, even when the tariff is increased, which means there is a foul play.
“The process is fraud either on the part of individual in the Government, or Government itself.
” The unions is saying no to the Concession until we come to a terms of understanding ourselves., we are afraid of loosing workers, we don’t want to loose any workers if due process is not followed in this hard of economy, we even demanding for employment of more workers in FAAN.” Comrade Ohwoefe said.
The Union used the opportunity to called on the minister of aviation, and the President of the Country, Bola Tinubu to intervene.
When contacting the Management of the Airport Authority through the head of Corporate Affairs, Dr Ngozi V. Onyeanwuna-Nwosu, she said the management has not given her the approval to say something.
The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has announced designated pick-up points for individuals wishing to obtain their Go-Cashless cards ahead of the March 1, 2026 deadline.
This was announced in a statement signed by the Director Public Affairs and Consumer protection, Henry Agbebire and made available to the Tide last Friday in Portharcourt.
According to the statement, Go-Cashless cards is at all FAAN commercial offices and access gates of Airports in the country .
The release further stated that cards will also be available at designated branches of Fidelity Bank Plc from March 16, 2026.
FAAN in the statement said the cashless policy followed the Federal Government directive mandating all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to transition to a cashless system to enhance transparency and reduce revenue leakages as well improve transaction traceability in the Aviation sector.
FAAN reiterated its commitment to full compliance with the directive, appealing to the public for their understanding and cooperation during the transition period.
FAAN also inform that the Go-Cashless cards can still be obtained at the designated points after the March 1, deadline.
The Authority assures airport users that the initiative will promote faster, safer, and more convenient transactions across its airports nationwide.
By: Enoch Epelle
Leading financial institution, Fidelity Bank Plc, has announced the launch of the second edition of its flagship women-empowerment initiative, the HerFidelity Apprenticeship Programme 2.0 (HAP 2.0).
According to the report, the programme is designed to equip women with practical, income?generating skills and structured pathways to entrepreneurship.
Accordingly, the HAP 2.0 will build on the success of its inaugural edition held in 2023.
During media chat with journalists to herald the launch of HAP 2.0, the Divisional Head, Product Development, Fidelity Bank Plc, Osita Ede, explained that the initiative has been enhanced to deliver greater impact.
He said HerFidelity Apprenticeship Programme 2.0 reflects their commitment to continuous improvement, having evaluated feedback from the first edition, they have returned with stronger partnerships and deeper mentorship programmes to ensure that women acquire not just skills, but sustainable economic opportunities.
Mr Ede, who said the programme is guided with real?world learning, also said that participants will undergo intensive apprenticeship training under reputable institutions and industry experts across selected fields such as hair styling, shoe making, auto mechatronics, and interior decoration.
Additionally, he said HerFidelity Apprenticeship Programme 2.0 goes beyond skills acquisition by offering participants a wide range of business advisory services.
These include business and financial literacy training, mentorship support throughout the apprenticeship journey, access to Fidelity Bank’s women?focused and SME financial solutions, as well as guidance on business formalisation and growth strategies.
Emphasizing the bank’s vision further, Ede said: “By integrating structured mentorship with entrepreneurial development, Fidelity Bank is positioning women not just as trainees, but as future employers, innovators, and economic contributors within their communities.
This aligns with our mandate to help individuals grow, businesses thrive, and economies prosper”.
It is noteworthy that interested participants are encouraged to indicate their interest by visiting https://bit.ly/
It is important to note that Fidelity Bank Plc is ranked among the best banks in Nigeria, with a full-fledged Commercial Deposit Money Bank serving over 10 million customers through digital banking channels, with 255 business offices in Nigeria and United Kingdom subsidiary, FidBank UK Limited.
It is reported that the Bank is a recipient of multiple local and international Awards, including the 2024 Excellence in Digital Transformation & MSME Banking Award by BusinessDay Banks and Financial Institutions (BAFI) Awards, the 2024 Most Innovative Mobile Banking Application award for its Fidelity Mobile App by Global Business Outlook, and the 2024 Most Innovative Investment Banking Service Provider award by Global Brands Magazine.
By: Nkpemenyie mcdominic, Lagos
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