Cement dealers and distributors across the country have promised to cooperate with the management of the Dangote Cement Plc. to ensure the benefits of more production of the product from its new Ibese factory plant in Ogun State trickle down to the end users.
According to a press statement issued by the company yesterday in Abuja, the dealers made the pledge at the weekend while on a facility tour of the cement plant to see the level of progress of works made so far in the soon-to-be ready factory.
“They expressed satisfaction at the level of commitment of the President of Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote on the need to have sufficient cement to meet local demand, stop further importation of the product and embark on exportation of same.
“The dealers and the distributors who came under different associations were surprised at the size of the plant which ranked among the largest in the world and which promises to produce additional six million metric tons of cement when it commences operations later this month,” the statement said, adding that they assured that they would complement the efforts and determination of Alhaji Dangote in establishing more cement factory which was meant to produce enough for local consumption and to stop importation of the product so as to bring down the price per bag.
This, the dealers said they would do by ensuring that the reduction of the price of cement in the wake of enough production for local demand, translate to cheaper cement by constantly monitoring the process of distribution and checkmate the activities of middle men whose roles in the distribution chain of cement has often times accounted for skyrocketing price of the commodity.
Chairman of Ifelodun Dealers Association, Lasisi Akanbi who spoke on behalf of others to newsmen during the facility tour thanked Dangote Cement for making them part of the success story of the new plant, noting that they were waiting eagerly to have the plant come on stream.
He stated that the new plant underscored the entrepreneurial bold moves of Alhaji Dangote to invest in industries to provide jobs in the overall interest of the nation. The Cement Dealer pointed out that the decision to establish the Ibese cement factory was borne out of the nationalistic tendency of Alhaji Dangote, whom he said had always believed that Africans were the ones better placed to develop their continent and that Nigeria is the best place to invest in the world.
In his remark, the Managing Director of the Lagos Cement Terminal of Dangote Cement, Akin Adesokan thanked the dealers for their faith and steadfastness in the Dangote brand.