A total of twenty-six individuals including, business mogul Alhaji Aliko Dangote, Chairman of UBA and philanthropist, Mr Tony Elumelu and the Chairman of Channels Media, Mr John Momoh, are to be honoured with the 2019 national productivity order of merit award.
Addressing journalists ahead of the ceremony on Thursday, November the 28th, the minister of labour and productivity, Dr Chris Ngige, said the award is in recognition of the recipients’ outstanding contributions to national productivity.
Besides the individuals, seven organisations are also among the awardees.
The NPOM Award was instituted by the Federal Government through the Ministry of Labour and Employment to honour deserving Nigerians in recognition of their hard work.
Speaking on the awards, the Minister stated that the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria has approved the conferment of the National Productivity Order of Merit Award on the recipients in recognition of their high productivity, hard work and excellence.
Aliko Dangote, Bill Gates and President Muhammadu Buhari
President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday applauded the contributions of Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, as well as Aliko Dangote Foundation to humanitarian and developmental activities in Nigeria.
Meeting with the duo at the sidelines of the 74th United Nations General Assembly in New York, the President said they have touched humanity in many positive ways and congratulated them “for achieving what you had set out to do.”
“Thanks for deriving pleasure in helping people. Congratulations to you for returning part of your wealth to the people in diverse ways. Whatever we save in areas in which you have intervened, we can deploy to other areas like the building of infrastructure,” President Buhari said.
On agriculture, in which Alhaji Dangote makes huge investments, the President noted that farmers were very happy in Nigeria now, “as we have made fertilizer available, cut the price by half, and given many other incentives. They have no regret going back to the lands. The more we invest in agriculture, the better for us.”
Mr. Gates congratulated President Buhari “for assembling a cabinet that excites us,” saying he was pleased that one of the priorities of the administration was human capital development, of which health, nutrition, and education are key components.
Noting that Bill and Melinda Gates, as well as Aliko Dangote Foundations, keep track of Nigeria’s attainments on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), as enunciated by the United Nations, he submitted that they were encouraged that there was an improvement in reduction of child mortality.
“Every local government area has better health/education situation today than in the year 2000. We are delighted with that. Nigeria is our biggest commitment to Africa. It’s only in India we do more in the world,” Mr. Gates said.
On polio eradication, he said Nigeria reached a zero wild poliovirus free milestone for three years in August, noting that the next six months were critical so that the country could finally be declared polio-free.
Alhaji Dangote appreciated the Nigerian military for helping with vaccination in the theatres of war while fighting insurgency, thus adding to the advances in the country’s polio status.
Africa richest man Aliko Dangote has promised the Super Eagles of Nigeria 50,000 dollars (18 million naira ) for every goal they score in the semi-final of the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations, (AFCON).
Another Nigerian billionaire, Femi Otedola has also promised the team 25, 000 dollars( 9 million naira) for every goal scored.
The President of the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF), Amaju Pinnick disclosed this to the team at breakfast today in Cairo while congratulating them for their victory against South Africa.
President Buhari with CEO Heirs Holdings Tony Elumelu, CEO Zenith Bank Jim Ovia and CEO Forte Oil Femi Otedola.
President Buhari with Executive Director Sahara Group Mr Tope Shonubi, Elder Statesman Ahmed Joda and Alhaji Aliko Dangote as he hosts Business Community and APC NWC to Break of Ramadan Fast in State House on 24th May 2019
Aliko Dangote has revealed that he once withdrew $10 million just to prove to himself that he was rich.
Dangote who is Africa’s richest man revealed this on Saturday, April 6, at the Mo Ibrahim governance weekend in Abidjan, while he was chatting with the convener, Mo Ibrahim.
Dangote said, “The way it is that when you first start a business, your target is to make your first million. Fine, I did that.
“After a year or so, I realised that I had much more, and I said ok, fine, all these numbers are just written numbers.
“One day I went to a bank, and at that time, there were no restrictions, and I wrote a cheque and cashed $10m from the bank and put it in the boot of my vehicle, and I went home and I opened it and I looked at $10m and I said ‘now I believe I have money’.”
Meanwhile, the Chief Executive Officer of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, has called on governors in Northern Nigeria to do more in mobilizing local private sector investors in their states.
Dangote made the call at the Kaduna Economic and investment summit on Wednesday, where he stated that such a move can spur huge inflow of private capital, reduce insecurity, unemployment, and poverty.
“Northern Nigeria will continue to fall behind if the respective state government does not move to close the development gap. Closing these gaps requires huge multi-year investment and the government will not be able to raise the capital required to fund this. Only the private sector can raise the capital required to fund the level of investment this country needs.
“Efforts should be more in terms of attracting local investors, there is no foreigner that will come and invest without seeing the local investors invest. So local investors are key to attracting foreign investments and we must pay attention to that.”
Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote has projected that Nigeria’s economy will grow, following the conclusion of the Presidential elections.
Mr. Dangote is of the opinion that there will be a positive growth trajectory for the business community regardless of the outcome of the elections.
He stated this in an exclusive interview with Channels Television in London.
According to the business mogul, Nigeria has experienced lots of investment with or without the elections coming to play.
” There are quite a number of things that have happened in Nigeria, we in business didn’t really bother with the elections or not but there have been investments in the country and we will continue to invest.
“For me, I think we will have better days ahead”, he said.
Dangote, the President of Dangote Group was recently ranked as the world’s 64th richest person after he gained $5.8bn within 24 hours, causing his total net worth to rise to $16.6bn on Tuesday.
This is according to Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index, a ranking of the world’s 500 richest people.
The Index showed that Dangote’s wealth fell from $10.5bn at the end of last year to a low of $9.63bn on January 1, 2019. But it grew to $10.8bn on Monday, February 25.
It further revealed that Dangote’s net worth increased by 23 per cent from $13.5bn on February 26, 2018, to $16.6bn, emerging 64th richest person in the world.
The list shows that Dangote’s wealth rose by 58 per cent so far this year, making him the second biggest mover after Andrew Forrest, founder and largest shareholder of Fortescue Metals Group, the world’s fourth-largest iron ore producer, whose wealth grew by 59 per cent.
Dangote was the only Nigerian on Bloomberg’s list of 500 billionaires and retained his position as Africa’s richest person.
Aliko Dangote, the President of Dangote Group has been ranked as the world’s 64th richest person after he gained $5.8bn within 24 hours, causing his total net worth to rise to $16.6bn on Tuesday.
This is according to Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index, a ranking of the world’s 500 richest people.
The Index showed that Dangote’s wealth fell from $10.5bn at the end of last year to a low of $9.63bn on January 1, 2019. But it grew to $10.8bn on Monday, February 25.
It further revealed that Dangote’s net worth increased by 23 per cent from $13.5bn on February 26, 2018, to $16.6bn, emerging 64th richest person in the world.
The list shows that Dangote’s wealth rose by 58 per cent so far this year, making him the second biggest mover after Andrew Forrest, founder and largest shareholder of Fortescue Metals Group, the world’s fourth-largest iron ore producer, whose wealth grew by 59 per cent.
Dangote was the only Nigerian on Bloomberg’s list of 500 billionaires and retained his position as Africa’s richest person.
Bloomberg’s net worth figures are updated every business day at the close of every trading day in New York, with assets categorised as publicly traded companies, private assets (including closely held businesses, art and real estate), cash and other liquid investments and liabilities.
Other Africans on the Bloomberg list were Nicky Oppenheimer of South Africa, who was ranked 216th with a net worth of $7.05bn; Johann Rupert of South Africa (ranked 225th with $6.92bn wealth); Nassef Sawiris of Egypt occupied the 228th position with $6.83bn; Natie Kirsh of South Africa (ranked 263rd with a net worth of $6.10bn) and Naguib Sawiris of Egypt emerged 331st with a fortune of $5.12bn.
Chairman of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, has applauded the Federal Government for signing an executive order which now enables private companies to build roads in the country.
Mr Aliko who was a guest lecturer at the National Defense College in Abuja on Monday noted that logistics issues resulting from poor road infrastructure are a major difficulty that companies in Nigeria are grappling with.
According to him, the newly signed executive order will make it possible for private companies to build roads in order to ease the transportation of goods and services from the production point to the market.
President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday signed the Executive Order 007 allowing private companies to build roads which the government says it will pay back through tax relief.
The President admitted that the initiative had become imperative because funding infrastructure had become a burden which the government alone could no longer bear.
Read the President’s full statement below.
REMARKS BY
His Excellency, Muhammadu Buhari
President, Federal Republic of Nigeria
At the Presidential Signing Ceremony Of The
Executive Order #007 Of 2019 on the Road Infrastructure Development & Refurbishment Investment Tax Credit Scheme,
In The Council Chambers, State House, Abuja, Friday, 25rd January 2019
PROTOCOLS:
1. It is my pleasure to welcome you to witness this Ceremony of signing into law of the Executive Order #7 of 2019 on the Road Infrastructure Development and Refurbishment Investment Tax Credit Scheme.
2. This is another opportunity to demonstrate the commitment of this Administration to conceive, design, develop and deliver Public Private Partnerships with notable investors so as to close the road infrastructure gap in the transportation sector.
3. Since I oversaw the successful implementation of the Petroleum Trust Fund roads development programme in the 1990s, various models have been adopted in addressing this infrastructure gap. In recent years, our reliance on annual budgetary allocations to fund roads development has been disappointing, given that our budget proposals have not always been passed in an expeditious manner by the National Assembly.
4. There have also been revenue shortfalls that have hampered our efforts to fully fund critical projects. Furthermore, at the inception of this Administration, we met a significant backlog of local contractors’ debts, which we, as a responsible Administration, have undertaken to clear.
5. We did so with a view to improving the confidence of construction firms in the Federal Government, and to confirm our ability to honour financial commitments for infrastructure projects, as and when due.
6. Despite these challenges, this Administration remains committed to keeping our promises to deliver qualitative roads and transportation infrastructure to our citizens, communities and businesses. In this regard, we have consistently adopted innovative solutions to complement the annual budgetary spending on infrastructure.
7. You may recall that on 25th February 2018, I approved the establishment of a Presidential Infrastructure Development Fund, through which the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority is investing in critical Roads and Power Projects nationwide such as the 2nd Niger Bridge, Lagos to Ibadan Expressway, East-West Road, Abuja – Kano Road, and the Mambila Hydroelectric Power Project.
8. To date, N71 billion (Seventy-One Billion Naira) of funding of this N2.5 trillion (Two-point-Five Trillion Naira) initiative, has come from the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority, the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Dividend Account, the Federal Budget, as well as counterpart funds from China Exim, China Development Banks, and other development partners.
9. The N100bn (One Hundred Billion Naira) raised by the Debt Management Office through the Sukuk issuance in September 2017 has been fully deployed by the Ministry of Power, Works and Housing for 25 critical economic road projects located across each of the six Geo-political Zones.
10. Furthermore, in December 2018 we raised an additional N100bn (One Hundred Billion Naira) for funding of another set of 28 road projects also spread across the six Geo-Political Zones. Through these innovative funding mechanisms, we have been able to address the challenges of project funding, cost variation and completion risks that have plagued the development of the nation’s critical roads infrastructure assets.
11. Today’s event marks another milestone in changing the narrative that has dogged past efforts at developing critical roads infrastructure nationwide. Pursuant to the Road Infrastructure Development and Refurbishment Investment Tax Credit Scheme, 19 Eligible Road Projects are to be undertaken by 6 leading manufacturing and construction firms, located in 11 States, and in each of the six Geo-political Zones.
12. Through this Scheme, companies that are willing and able to spend their own funds on constructing roads to their factories or farms, will recover their construction costs by paying reduced taxes, over a period of time. We shall ensure complete transparency in these set-offs.
13. I call on other local and international investors, as well as the State Governments, to embrace this roads infrastructure development Scheme. I personally invite you to submit viable proposals for more road projects, such that, in time, the scope of this initiative will cover all 36 States of the Federation.
14. I note the prudent fiscal risk management measures which the Minister of Finance has adopted to protect the integrity of this programme. The Minister has submitted to me, a Fiscal Implications Report that indicates how the programme’s tax credits are to be administered in a manner that does not impair our revenue projections.
15. The Minister has also laid out a set of revenue enhancement and other fiscal measures, which are targeted to increase revenues over the medium-term horizon pursuant to the Strategic Revenue Growth Initiatives programme, which she launched here in Abuja, on Wednesday, 23rd January 2019.
16. I have charged the Minister of Finance to ensure that the Management Committee, which is saddled with the responsibility of implementing this roads infrastructure development Scheme, is promptly inaugurated, so as to enable the swift and smooth take-off of this landmark initiative.
17. I trust that the members of the Management Committee, under the leadership of the Minister of Finance, as well as the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, will discharge their duties in a diligent, responsible and patriotic way.
18. In closing, I wish to express my gratitude to the participating Investors for their commitment to working with this Administration to develop and deliver critical roads infrastructure, in key economic hubs and industrial centers. I also thank the 11 State Governors, and their States, for their willingness to participate in the Pilot Phase of this programme.
19. I also thank Nigerians for the confidence reposed in this Administration’s strategy, under the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan, to ensure sustainable, inclusive and diversified growth, as well as to guarantee the socio-economic development of the nation.
20. We trust that as we shortly go to the polls, the Nigerian people will revalidate our mandate to continue to deliver on economic prosperity, national security and good governance, devoid of the bane of corruption.
21. I thank you most sincerely for your attention.
Dangote Group, MTN Nigeria, and Globacom have emerged as the top three brands in Nigeria.
Twelve-time Nigeria Media Merit Award (NNMA) winner, Channels Media Group, also led the television category.
The Chief Executive Officer of Top 50 Brands Nigeria, Mr Taiwo Oluboyede, revealed this at an event organised recently in Lagos to herald the formal award presentation ceremony.
“We evaluate a brand’s ability to deliver on those promises. We do it from the consumers’ point of view,” he said while explaining the selection process in an interview with Channels Television.
“When we have the aggregate of it, the ones that are on the top (of the chart) are what we called the Top 50 Brands in Nigeria.”
According to Oluboyede, there are seven variables considered during the process and each brand is assigned with points based on the aggregate.
He disclosed that Channels TV made the list as a result of points gathered from its online engagements to become a celebrated brand in the country.
“We have the popularity survey, we have online engagement, and we try to test how the platform is. Channels, for example, the online is part of the things that gave them a very good rating,” he said.
Some of the other brands that also made the list are GTBank, Coca-Cola, First Bank of Nigeria, Unilever, UBA, Zenith, and Airtel.
The formal award presentation ceremony has been scheduled to hold in October.
President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday had dinner with Africa’s richest Aliko Dangote and other members of the business community.
At the dinner which was held at the State House in Abuja to break the Ramadan fast, the President thanked Nigerians for their continuous support to his administration.
He said he is particularly happy with the performance of the agriculture sector in the past two years.
The Chairman and CEO of Sahara Energy, Tope Shonubi; Chief of Staff to the President, Abba Kyari; and Deputy National Chairman, North, APC, Senator Shuaibu Lawan, were among those at the dinner.
President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday hosted philanthropist and Co-Founder of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Bill Gates to a dinner at the State House in Abuja.
Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, and top government officials were also at the dinner.
Gates and Dangote are among those scheduled to speak at a special session of the National Economic Council on Thursday.
The session will take place at the old Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa, Abuja, according to Mr Laolu Akande, the Senior Special Assistant to Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo.
“The special session, which comprises the Federal and State governments, will also be attended by Alhaji Aliko Dangote, Chairman of the Dangote Foundation, and Bill Gates, Co-Chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation,” a statement by Mr Akande read in part.
“The Vice President will preside and speak at the event. Similarly, Dangote and Gates will also deliver opening speeches.”
The national Economic Council is chaired by the Vice-President and has all 36 state governors, the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, and ministers as members.
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has been playing significant humanitarian and philanthropic roles in Nigeria in the areas of polio eradication, maternal health and other areas.
