the problem of the third world is not "unavailability of solution but denial of it".
we all know the truth here but will not like to say it for one reason or the other.

Lets be sincere,
1) if there is anyone to sue Ibeto, it's not Dangote,
a)bc he is not the gov,
b)he has enjoyed the same benefits in the past.
c)He is guity of monopolizing naija business.
d)he is trying to take laws into his hand.
e)he wants to practice oligarchy in business.

2) Is it not obvious to us that Dangote cannot compete therefore his riches is questionable.
a)how come he made all the money without facing any challenge.
b)our children need to be trained to be competative minded not to be opportunists like Dangote.

3) this kind of move by Dangote can be propeled only be wickedness, greed, envy, bitterness and hatred.

4) As much as i like equal opportunity, let it be for everyone not for sacred cows.
and if gov should revoke anybody licence let it affect all these elites and return tax should also affect them all.
i know quite well if Dangote should return taxes he will be poorer than church rats.

AK 48: Why r people not seeing what I m seeing?

Dangote on one hand is manufacturing locally and employing thousands of nigerian graduate n school cert holder,while on the other hand ibeto is "importing" all ready made cement,indirectly employing thousands of foreigner.

Keeping sentiment aside,I think ibeto should be discouraged by fire by force against importation,let him build plants n employ us.
I don't av a job............

ebamma: una even sabi read english sef, dangote wants the import waiver to be revoked and to me i think he is right.imagine ibeto importing cement materials into the country without paying customs duty and selling it at a cheaper rate,if u were his competitor what will u have done?

The point is an injustice was meted on Ibeto by Obasanjo and his pallies. It favoured the likes of Dangote and he never complained of the bad thing done to his counterpart, he gladly seized the opportunity to rake in his billions. Now that the courts came to the aid of Ibeto, Dangote is screaming blue murder.

The compensation given by the courts have a time period to elapse, Dangote should respect the court's order until the time passes. He should take his grievances to Obasanjo his friend for trying to rob an innocent man because he was in the corridors of power.

I don't blame Dangote so much because he is just doing what he was brought up with.
the upbringing of fulani/hausa's puts the elites over other's, and whatever they want they get.

But we in the south has different culture .
Our Elite can also has shops or companies just like their the people they rule and equaly compete just as everybody else.

Can somebody do us a favor and tell Dangote that Nigeria is a Secular country not fulani/hausa promise land as they are thinking.

i want to advice the government to throw open more licence to whoever is capable in every other items Dangote deals on.
let him compete for just one year lets see.

And this is the right thing to do.

Somehow am seing that EVERYTHING HAUSA/FULANI in nigeria is falling apart.

but let me hold my peace. i don't wish people bad and can never wish any so.

*washing my face with water and reading again*

See Dangote ooo SMH for Nigeria

MONOPOLISTIC OPERATION IN THE CEMENT INDUSTRY IS BAD FOR NIGERIA Public Statement Issued by Ibeto Cement Company Limited. The Ibeto Cement Company Limited has noted a series of misleading press reports and comments being orchestrated for the purpose of negating the very compelling reasons for which the Federal Government made the decision to reopen our cement bagging plant in Port-Harcourt and recreating adverse conditions that will frustrate the restoration of work on the plant. These press reports mostly trade on sophistry and guile, in order to obfuscate the truth and confuse the very same Nigerians for whose benefit our plant is being reopened. Quite obviously this calumnious press campaign is being orchestrated by the same monopolistic cartel that first contrived the closure of the plant but their statements of deception are easily exposed. We wish to refer specifically to the following newspaper publications: a. This Day newspaper of Wednesday July 25; a front page report titled “Cement prices set to crash”. b. Punch newspaper of Monday July 30; a back page report titled “Cement Importation; Nigeria May lose $647 million.” c. Independent newspaper of August 5; on page C1 titled “High Expectations, Cautious Optimism as Ibeto Cement Returns.” d. Punch newspaper of Friday August 10; on page 17, under the Business and Economy review, titled “Why Cement Prices Remain High.” The above publications quoted copiously from statements issued by certain representatives of certain members of the Nigerian cement cartel, namely, Mr. Akin Adesokan, Managing Director, Dangote Cement; Mr. Joseph Okonmah, Corporate Affairs Manager, Dangote Group; Mr. George Lourandos, Managing Director, WAPCO of the Lafarge Group (Elephant and Atlas Cement) and Chief Emmanuel Ukpabi, Managing Director, Flour Mills of Nigeria (Burham Cement). In response to the numerous untruths and contrived disinformation that are credited to the above-named persons and the organizations that they represent, for the benefit of the Nigerian public, it is necessary to present the incontrovertible facts. These are: 1. The Ibeto Cement Company Limited has not been favoured with an exclusive right to import bulk cement into Nigeria. The truth is that about 80% of all the cement currently consumed in Nigeria is imported. It is also pertinent to note that there are only six (6) organisations in Nigeria with the capacity to import or manufacture cement. These are; the Lafarge Group, Dangote Cement, Flour Mills of Nigeria, Eastern Bulkcem (Eagle Cement), Ibeto Cement Company and the Cement Company of Northern Nigeria. Among these, Dangote has been and remains the biggest importer of bulk cement into Nigeria, thanks to the Federal Government yearly allocation that favours Dangote with a quota of 6.5 million – 9 million MT per annum, against 3.2 million MT per annum shared out among the rest of the other four companies, excluding Ibeto Cement. 2. The essential information regarding the operation of these organisations are as follows: a) The Lafarge Group, comprising Ashaka Cement in Gombe State currently producing a mere 700,000 MT per annum; Ewekoro and Sagamu (WAPCO) in Ogun State with a combined production capacity of just 1.4 million MT per annum. This means that the total output of all three cement factories owned by the Lafarge Group in Nigeria is only 2.1 million MT per annum. The Lafarge Group also has a floating plant in Port- Harcourt (Atlas Cement), for bagging imported bulk cement which has a production capacity of 2 million MT per annum. Lafarge, a French company, had entered Nigeria some ten years ago, promising to invest heavily in the Nigerian cement industry. A grateful Nigerian government threw our doors open, enabling the company to pick up some very rich assets at rock-bottom prices. These included Ewekoro, Ashaka and Sagamu cement factories. Since these concessionary acquisitions, Lafarge has largely been reaping without sowing. Practically none of the expected expansions promised by the company in these plants have been realized. Instead Lafarge manoeuvred itself into becoming the Lease Manager of the Onigbolo Cement Factory, owned by the governments of the Benin Republic (51%) and Nigeria (43%). Lafarge, which has no single share in this partnership, has become the main beneficiary of that investment. This is achieved through manipulating the loophole that allows Lafarge to import cement duty-free from Benin Republic, which is an ECOWAS member country. The Onigbolo plant has become a clever conduit for cement to be brought in from overseas and laundered through the Onigbolo plant and then pushed into Nigeria, duty free, under cover of the ECOWAS protocol. This is why Lafarge is able to import so much cement into Nigeria from this tiny Benin plant with the claim that the plant is producing at full capacity. The question should be asked, why is it that La Farge cannot perform the same miracle in its Nigerian factories which are all struggling on at very low capacity utilisation? The truth is that there is no be miracle being performed by La Farge at Onigbolo that is in any way beneficial to Nigerians and the Nigerian economy. What is going on there is that La Farge is engaged in trickery utilizing that plant to smuggle imported cement into Nigeria. Money lost to Nigeria and gained by this foreign company, Lafarge, through its many ploys is in excess of $500 million US. dollars per annum. This situation requires to be fully investigated by the appropriate agencies of our government, especially, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and Nigerian Customs Service. This is especially important because of the fact that there is no evidence that the duty waiver so far enjoyed by Lafarge has translated into lower prices for the Nigerian consumer or substantially the improved welfare for the company’s Nigerian workers. It is noteworthy that just before he left office, President Obasanjo directed the Bureau of Public Enterprises to transfer to the Dangote group the Federal Government’s shareholding in this tiny Benin Republic Cement plant. Could it be that the La Farge and Dangote monopoly-promoting and strategically mutually beneficial relationship in Nigeria is being exported to the cement plant in the Benin Republic? Meanwhile Mr. George Lourandos, the Greek Managing Director of Lafarge’s WAPCO subsidiary, prefers to be cunningly economical with the truth. He appears to take delight in deceit and influence peddling by manipulating public opinion and government policy with false statistics. Mr. Lourandos may want to explain to Nigerians by what magic he intends to produce 5.7 million MT of cement in one year, from the figure of 2.1 million MT that his three plants (Ashaka, Ewekoro and Sagamu) are actually producing. A good example of this foreign company’s manipulative ways was, in the recent past, manifested in their success at contriving with President Obasanjo to shut down Ibeto Cement – a setup by the vicious cement cartel of which Lafarge is an important arrowhead. b) Dangote Cement, comprising Benue Cement purchased from the Bureau of Public Enterprises in 2001 and still struggling at a meagre production level of 350,000 MT per annum; Obajana new cement plant hurriedly commissioned by President Obasanjo with a claimed capacity of 5 million MT per annum which in reality is producing less than 500,000 MT per annum. Dangote Cement has been in the business of bagging bulk cement since 1995, over 12 years ago, using Nigerian Ports Authority infrastructure and buildings. It was only this year, in May 2007, that Dangote finally commissioned a cement manufacturing plant of its own initiative. Dangote, Nigeria’s largest importer of bulk cement, has four bagging plants in the country: the Lagos Cement Terminal at Apapa Port, the Aliko Inland Terminal at Lagos, one in Onne/Port Harcourt and one in NPA Area 1 Port Harcourt with a combined production of 3 million MT per annum. With its overriding influence on the Obasanjo regime, Dangote Cement always managed to seize cement import quotas of between 6.5 and 9 million MT per annum. Keeping hold of so much import quota enabled Dangote to limit what was available to other operators. Dangote regulated how much of their cement import quota to use and when to use it and so has successfully been manipulating market prices. Dangote Cement did not only tyrannize other producers but also succeeded in frightening away would-be new entrants into the cement industry with bogus claims. These claims included wild production and expansion figures that were never met but were accepted by the Obasanjo government as a basis for the issuance of import quotas. One wonders at the reasons for the company to put the cost of its 5 million MT capacity plant at Obajana at One Billion US dollars, when Ibeto cement is building its own plant of the same capacity for less than 300 million US. Dollars. We believe that the only discernible reason is that Dangote is acting to frighten away prospective investors and thereby reduce competition. More ominously, one would want to know if these claims on plant costs and investment costs would be accepted by the Securities and Exchange Commission without question in giving value to the company’s shares if and when the company decides to go public. We believe that the most viable strategy for achieving cement security for our dear country via local manufacture lies in implementing public policies that encourage more investors to enter the cement industry with plants of all sizes, some costing just about 20 million US. Dollars, as is the case in China which has over 120 cement factories. Numerous Chinese businessmen have approached Nigerian investors with offers for turnkey cement projects, at the above- mentioned price and even lower, but the monopolistic trends in the industry have proved too discouraging for these Nigerian investors. Recent efforts by the Yar’Adua government to create a level playing field in the country are most commendable and should be supported by all true patriots. c) Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc (Burham), the nation’s second largest importer of bulk cement has only facilities for bagging imported bulk cement, which they have been operating for over twenty-five years without any known operational cement factory in place in Nigeria. This company owns four 55,000 MT DWT ships dedicated to bringing bulk cement into Nigeria for the past 25 years. The plant has a production capacity for bagging 2 million MT per annum. All the claims the company makes about developing a cement factory in Calabar are based on the existence of a company called UNICEM in which it is a minority shareholder in partnership with the following companies; Dangote (22%), Holcium and Orascom. So much for the claims of its Managing Director, Chief Emmanuel Ukpabi of having invested the sum of $800 million on cement production facilities. All these false claims are just to keep Ibeto Cement, a bona fide competitor, out of business. d) Eastern Bulkcem (Eagle Cement) which has a bagging plant in Port-Harcourt with a capacity of 600,000 MT per annum. The company purchased Nigercem Nkalagu from the BPE and is working hard to reactivate it, despite problems with shareholders and labour. This company also suffered victimization during the Obasanjo era for failing to join in the plot against Ibeto Cement. It was shut down for 9 months and three of its cement vessels were prevented from discharging their cargoes. e) Ibeto Cement Company Limited, operating a bagging plant in Port-Harcourt with a production capacity of 1.5 million MT per annum commissioned in July 2005. This plant, erected on virgin mangrove swamp in downstream Port Harcourt reclaimed by Ibeto Cement, was certified by the Federal Ministry of Industry as the best bagging plant in the country. Other operators of bagging plants are utilizing developed NPA facilities. The company is also developing a 5 million MT per annum cement factory in Ebonyi State, in partnership with the government of that state. These two projects were grounded in November 2005 after only four months of the operation of the bagging plant, by the order of the former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, applying an executive fiat that was not supported by any discernible rationale, except for the spurious claim by a foreign company, La Farge, that Ibeto Cement was not supporting government industrialisation efforts by not instantaneously completing a local cement manufacturing factory prior to operating the bagging plant which the Federal Government had given it permission to erect. This charge was duly debunked by investigations carried out by the Federal Ministry of Industry which found that Ibeto Cement was very seriously engaged in establishing a cement manufacturing plant in Ebonyi State. Based on the findings of the Inter-ministerial Committee (made up of Ministry of Industry, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Solid Minerals Development, all cement manufacturers and bagging plant operators, Standards Organization of Nigeria), the former Minister of Industry recommended to the President to reopen the Ibeto Cement factory. To the consternation of most operators in the industry, except of course, the monopolists who had instigated President Obasanjo’s earlier decision to close down the factory, this recommendation was turned down by the former President. f) Cement Company of Northern Nigeria, manufacturing 300,000 MT per annum in Sokoto State. This company is the only producer that is fully dedicated to manufacturing as it does not engage in importation of bulk cement for bagging. 3. Concluding Remarks With all the facts and figures on the ground especially when all cement plants in Nigeria are still importing bulk cement, it is obvious that the closure of the Ibeto Cement plant was ill-motivated and unjust. It was definitely not in the best interest of the generality of Nigerians. We believe that it was grossly unfair, malicious and wicked of those who had enjoyed the right to import and bag bulk cement for 10 to 30 years before venturing into manufacturing, to insist that Ibeto Cement must first build a cement manufacturing factory, before being allowed to operate its own bagging plant. We believe that there is no justification whatsoever in shutting down a 12 billion Naira factory after just four months of operation on the basis of pressure from monopolists, especially when, with all the records available to the Federal government that approved all the applications to set up that bagging plant by Ibeto Cement before the company commenced the project Moreover the Federal Government, through its relevant officials (including the person of the Head of that Government, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo), was constantly briefed on progress of work as the plant was erected on that very challenging virgin mangrove swamp. For the same people who contrived to shut down Ibeto Cement plant to continue in the same vein in an effort to frustrate the wise decision of President Yar’Adua, made after due process of consultation with all relevant government ministries and agencies, to reopen the plant, is simply unpatriotic and selfish. They are all better advised to desist from their efforts at eliminating competition by all means and concentrate on making their operations more efficient. This is the sure way to survive competition in Nigeria’s emerging democracy. Finally, we wish to assure the Federal Government and all Nigerians that, while running our bagging plant in Port Harcourt, we will assiduously and relentlessly continue with the realization of our green field cement manufacturing project in Ebonyi State and will do everything possible to fast-track its completion and commissioning. Dr. Ben You.C. Aghazu Director ( Projects and Public Affairs) Ibeto Cement Company Limited 17th June 2007

sadi78: Dangote is not a wicked man! He just dominated the market due to ur slumber! You know you igbos are not hard working, you are masters in piracy and drug pushing!

Hahahaha.....u sounded like some one coming from the zoo. How many importers do u people have, how many manufacturers do u have, how many scholars do u have, how many big hotels in Abuja belong to non Igbo people, how many estates in Abuja belong to non igbo, how many Bank MD's do u people have, how many graduates and undergraduates do u produce. ....Note. Ur political power gotten tru illiterate military charlatants is gone, and gone for ever, so ur profession now is Terrorism..and u'll guys will die as bloody terrorists!

This dangote vs Ibeto issue is NOT a hausa vs Igbo thing. Chai !!!! see naija mentality, very backwards.

I understand what most posters here are complaining here about. Monopoly is not good for any economy. Not withstanding you cannot blame Dangote for have a monopoly in some certain sectors in our economy.

Lets encourage dangote and ibeto, Nigeria and indeed africa market is large enough for 2 monopolist if they so wish.

Abeg make I think of how i go be monopolist myself

ibeto nnewi nwoke ike...........

ACM10:

Dangote cement aint even the best. I was reliably told by the person who is molding the exterior interlocking tiles that will be placed in my uncles compound that the interlocking tiles molded with Dangote cement dries slowly and cracks easily, no matter the quality of the mixture. He further said that the best cement to be used in that work is Ibeto cement. So high cost does not necessarily mean high quality.

.
U go pay for adver o

rhymz: My friend, it is you who has not been following the goings-on in Nigeria's Cement factory. In 2005 Dangote in connivance with FG, and the Lafarge group forced Ibeto( who was then the largest importer of Cement) out of business under the pretence that he, Dangote was ready to start manufacturing cement locally even when it was then very clear that he could not meet up with demands. What did he do after forcing his major competitor out, he increased his import quota and monopolized the cement industries. Just as he claimed he was building a Cement factory to cater for the market, Ibeto to too had a very large cement factory he was building until FG and Dangote closed them, they both were importing cement and bagging them in their factories. Ibeto went to court and won thus giving rise to the benefits he now enjoys, as we speak, nobody, I repeat none of them, Ibeto and Dangote has the capacity presently to meet the demand except through importation and bagging it in their factories, Fact. Forget all that noise Dangote was making about Obajana, their capacity is meagre and dangote still imports cement, if you doubt me, take a walk to his cement factory to confirm, what they do there is bagging of imported cement just thesame as Ibeto, so why is he crying loud. They are serving him his own medicine, he has no business acumene than to force compititor out of the game, now he has met his match in Ibeto he is screaming blue murder.

I beg close your dirty mouth!!! You don't know what you are doing! You never been to Obajana,BCC Gboko, and Igbese cement plant that is why you are talking of re-bagging of imported cement! Na jealousy go kill all of you!!! Thunder fire you and your Ibeto!! Lazy Igbo people! You only sabi drug pushing and armed robbery.

9ja voice: I don't blame Dangote so much because he is just doing what he was brought up with.
the upbringing of fulani/hausa's puts the elites over other's, and whatever they want they get.

But we in the south has different culture .
Our Elite can also has shops or companies just like their the people they rule and equaly compete just as everybody else.

Can somebody do us a favor and tell Dangote that Nigeria is a Secular country not fulani/hausa promise land as they are thinking.

i want to advice the government to throw open more licence to whoever is capable in every other items Dangote deals on.
let him compete for just one year lets see.

And this is the right thing to do.

Shut up your dirty mouth! Nigeria is not a secular state! We hausa/fulani are born to rule you in every sector of life!!! Come 2015 wait and see what is going to happen.

^^^
Pls make una ignore this troll above. He doesn't even sound like a northerner. He's here with a fake id to ignite and perpetuate tribal fight.

I remembered abt three weeks ago when I said about Dangote trying to take over the market in a monopolist competition, when he opened his other company, many people termed me bad belle and asked me if I new what monopoly is. LOL, yall should enjoy it because that's what Nigerians want.

alj harem: This dangote vs Ibeto issue is NOT a hausa vs Igbo thing. Chai !!!! see naija mentality, very backwards.

I understand what most posters here are complaining here about. Monopoly is not good for any economy. Not withstanding you cannot blame Dangote for have a monopoly in some certain sectors in our economy.

Lets encourage dangote and ibeto, Nigeria and indeed africa market is large enough for 2 monopolist if they so wish.

Abeg make I think of how i go be monopolist myself

first time your posting something reasonable in a long time.

Do you all know that Dangote's Cement sells 30% less in Ghana than in Nigeria?
Until recently, for over 10years dangoter has been importing cement in bulk and bagging it and enjoying all the attendant waiver that came with it. He and the Lafarge group instigated ObJ to close down Ibeto and decieved Nigerians about meeting up with demands from their manufacturing plant when actually he was still importing and having a feel time yanking up the price. Na God go punish am.

sadi78: Dangote is not a wicked man! He just dominated the market due to ur slumber! You know you igbos are not hard working, you are masters in piracy and drug pushing!

Your boko harams are really hard working.

sadi78: I beg close your dirty mouth!!! You don't know what you are doing! You never been to Obajana,BCC Gboko, and Igbese cement plant that is why you are talking of re-bagging of imported cement! Na jealousy go kill all of you!!! Thunder fire you and your Ibeto!! Lazy Igbo people! You only sabi drug pushing and armed robbery.

Make that thunder return fire only you, idiot lazy, fura drinking fool.

CHIDI EJIOGU: This dangote person is a serious tribalist.
what does he against the igbo people? He not only succeeded in collecting the licence of my kinsman but he has made sure that no cement plant will function in the East.This hausa kunta kunte that made money thro dinning with the generals will meet there doom one of these days.

Ofcos he will meet his waterloo one day. Where is kennis today in the music industry,abiola met his too, the abiola family is never in any news again except the story os deji abiola duping some one of just a mere 30 million. Any body dat wants to eat alone will purge.Na only dangote we go chop?

betrani: u can't do without this so-called bastard! He is everywhere! In ur bed, in ur kitchen in ur trouser, in ur pant, in ur mouth, in ur stomach! Where u pot ur joystick, I mean everywhere! Ur chic uses him when that time reaches, she washes with him, cooks with him, u see him in the fastfood outlets, u drink him in ur water, everywhere! Ok tell me hw u wan avoid am? I'm not in support of what is happenin, but thats a fact!

Don't worry dangote will soon fissle away the way of abiola, NITEL, etc

sadi78: Dangote products is must buy for every Nigerian directly or indirectly! You must eat bread or cake made of Dangote flour and Sugar, or Block made by Dangote cement or you can eat Macaroni and Spaghetti in Eateries made by Dangote!
He dominated the Nigerian commodity market due to ur (Igbo) laziness and need of quick money! That is why your presence in seen in prison worldwide for drugs, cocaine, armed and other related offences!

look at this bastard talking. IGBO people lazy people? And housa people are hard working. Well am not a tribalist but u are just a fargot

mukina2:

http://www.dailytimes.com.ng/article/dangote-vs-ibeto-judge-wants-single-hearing

Dangote is living illucive effect of Obasanjo's administration dat grant him total monoply even at d detriment of his fellow entrepreneur. He is now worried about d court judgment dat favour his oppressd. IBETO ka anyi ga eso

cupid4ig: sadi78: Dangote products is must buy for every Nigerian directly or indirectly! You must eat bread or cake made of Dangote flour and Sugar, or Block made by Dangote cement or you can eat Macaroni and Spaghetti in Eateries made by Dangote!
He dominated the Nigerian commodity market due to ur (Igbo) laziness and need of quick money! That is why your presence in seen in prison worldwide for drugs, cocaine, armed and other related offences

Give any other person the sole licence to import an essential commodity and sell to 160m people whether he will not dominate.

avaridious

sadi78: Shut up your dirty mouth! Nigeria is not a secular state! We hausa/fulani are born to rule you in every sector of life!!! Come 2015 wait and see what is going to happen.

You are right. Lets waiit for 2015. Thats if you dont blow yourself up before then

cupid4ig: look at this bastard talking. IGBO people lazy people? And housa people are hard working. Well am not a tribalist but u are just a fargot

na ur papa be bastard!

sadi78: na ur papa be bastard!

boko haram they will soon give 7000 to go blow ur self up. Ewu hausa

basadenet:

@chidi ejiogu. i think you are 100% wrong with your assertion here. Do you know that other tribes too are involved in cement manufacturing in Nigeria? Do you know that this Dangote Guy is one of the few Business men that employed more Yoruba's and Igbos in their companies than his own tribes men. so from little analogy you see Dangote is not a tribalistic person as you claim. .

Do you know the number of people hausa,ibo and yoruba guys this Dangote bastard is keeping out of job because the human being wants everything to himself.O.k, lets leave tribal sentiments aside,since he has taken over sole importation and distribution of cement how many plant(s) does he have in the east or even in the west? My point is he should allow other big time importers who will employ and compete so that the cement will be available to the the common man.