Kogi State gives Dangote 20,000 hectares of land for Sugar plantation, refinery

By The Citizen

Kogi State Government on Thursday announced the allocation of 20,000 hectares of land in Kogi State to Dangote Group for its sugar plantation and refinery.

Kogi State Governor, Idris Wada, who made the announcement after Dangote Foundation donated N220 million to support 22,000 women across the state's 21 local government areas, also conferred a honorary membership of the Kogi State Executive Council to Aliko Dangote in recognition of his achievements and also as an extended, value adding, participatory role at the state's executive council meetings.

Aliko Dangote, appreciated the Kogi State government and the people for the good gesture and promised to continue working hand in hand with the State in creating sustainable development that would create more jobs and alleviate poverty in the state.

 

He said the proposed sugar plantation and refinery in Kogi State is expected to directly employ 30,000 workers, excluding other indirect workers. 

It would be recalled that Dangote Foundation last Thursday continued the distribution of N10 billion grants to all the women and youths in Lokoja, Kogi State under the Dangote Micro-grants Programme.

 
Through this programme Dangote foundation intends to provide a one-off grant that would enable its  recipients to grow or start an enterprise, invest in product assets, improve the health of their families, and/or take on new activities that reduce their vulnerability and enhance their economic standing.
According to the business mogul, the cash transfer intervention Programme is national in scope and will systematically cover all the 774 local government areas of Nigeria working through partnership with state governments.

Explaining the partnerships with State governments, he said, 'this is in keeping with Dangote Foundation's belief in working through partnerships for effectiveness, scale and impact in tackling the challenges that we face as a nation. This is a key feature of the Programme which aims to support and compliment state governments' poverty reduction efforts.'