No fewer than 7,000 Nigerian youth are being employed annually under the Backward Integration Project (BIP) of the Dangote Sugar Refinery (DSR) in Numan, Adamawa State.
A statement by the company on Sunday quoted the Group General Manager, Operations, Bello Abdullahi Dan-Musa, to have disclosed this during a media tour of the company in Numan.
The GGM noted that despite employing thousands of abled- youth as direct employees, the company also employed more than 7,000 youth at the peak of the production season.
It would be noted that Dangote Group is Nigeria’s biggest employer of labour after the Government.
Only recently, he said, the company paid over N500 million to the out-growers for the sugarcane they produced under the DSR Numan out-growers scheme.
The current capacity of the DSR Numan refinery of 4,800 Tons of Cane Per Day (TCD), he said, is being upgraded to 6,000 TCD by the end of 2023, 9,800TCD by 2024, and subsequently to 15,000TCD.
According to Mr. Dan-Musa, Dangote Sugar Refinery Numan has contributed immensely in the realization of the Backward Integration programme of the Federal Government. “Dangote Sugar Refinery is Nigeria’s largest producer of household and commercial sugar” he said.
President of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, had said that upon completion of the BIP projects, his sugar company will be able to create about three hundred thousand direct and indirect jobs, with positive multiplier effects on the national economy.
Speaking during the media tour, Chief Executive Officer/Managing Director, Chinnaya Sylvain Judex, said the expansion drive has reached a significant mileage.
According to him, the company has acquired state-of-the-art machines to support its production process, adding that it facilities are environmentally friendly.
Mr. Judex said its Backward Integration goal is to become a global force in sugar production, by producing 1.5M MT/PA of refined sugar from locally grown sugar cane for the domestic and export markets.
He said the company operates an independent power system, and that excess energy will be redirected to the national grid.
According to him, the power, from the Dangote Sugar Refinery, Numan, when redirected to the National Grid has the potential to contribute immensely to the rapid development of the economy of the entire Northeast.
Mr. Judex added that the energy will bring about accelerated development and industrialization in the region.
Meanwhile, the Paramount Ruler of Bachama Kingdom in Adamawa state, Dr. Daniel Ismailia has commended the company for its numerous Corporate Social Responsibility activities in the host communities.
Speaking when a team of journalists from the state visited his office, he described the intervention of the company as huge.
The Paramount Ruler said the presence of the company has helped bring down the rate of criminalities in the state.
He commended the company for creating thousands of job opportunities for the people of Adamawa State, and Nigeria, adding that his Kingdom is the biggest beneficiary of the company.
The Executive Director, Climate Africa Media Initiative and Centre (CAMIC) Mr..Aliu Akoshile commended the Hama Bachama for providing the peaceful environment needed to do business in his domain.
The State Chairman of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), Comrade Ishaka Donald Dedan, commended the Monarch for always playing a fatherly role, adding that the Adamawa people are proud that the company has provided jobs for their people.
In his earlier presentation, Prof. John Ngamsa of Modibbo Adama University, Yola, urged journalists to invest in environmental journalism with all seriousness because the environment is man’s only protective territory.
