The Punch: Tuesday, August 30, 2011: http://www.odili.net/news/source/2011/aug/30/814.html


A statement by the company on Monday said that the fund would be used to develop and improve the agricultural sector of the economy.

According to the statement, signed by the Group Head, Corporate Communications, Dangote Group, Mr. Tony Chiejina, this group's new focus is as a result of the previous seeming neglect of the development of the agricultural sector over the years.

The statement cited the President, Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, as disclosing the planned investment at a meeting between the Federal Government and the Organised Private Sector last week.

To this end, the statement added, the group was named the highest private sector investor in Nigeria by the Federal Government, with an investment portfolio running into billions of dollars.

The Minister of Trade and Investment, Mr. Olusegun Aganga, recently said the Federal Government would, as a matter of necessity, put in place a platform to recognise the contributions of entrepreneurs like Dangote in the country.

He added that there was the need to encourage such entrepreneurs to do more so that other businessmen would be motivated to invest in the development of the nation's economy.

"I must say that much has been achieved by Dangote Cement in an attempt to meet local demands, and the government would like to replicate these exploits in the production of rice, sugar and wheat," Aganga had stated.

Speaking on a recent survey conducted by the ministry on some local companies, Aganga said that the result of the survey showed that the local companies would invest N1.52tn in the Nigerian economy within the next 12 months.

The investments, he said, would come from the non-oil sector of the economy alone.

According to the survey, manufacturing, real estate, agro-allied and automotive sectors would make N1.06tn; N198.5bn; N67.8bn and N45bn investments, respectively, while tourism, trade and commerce, transport and others will make up the rest.

Aganga, who commended Nigerian investors for their confidence in the economy, added that the Federal Government was committed to providing a conducive environment to enable the private sector to play a pivotal role in the transformation of the country's economy.

According to Nigeria's Vision 2020 document, Nigeria needs to invest N34tn in growth areas in the next four years. Of this, the Federal Government should account for N10tn; state governments, N9tn; and private sector, both local and international, N15tn.

The statement said that the overall macroeconomic target for the medium term was for Nigeria to achieve a target Gross Domestic Product of N50tn ($333bn) by 2013, as well as growth in GDP per capita from $1,075 in 2009 to $2,008.75 by 2013.

Pls GOD save us. Wil d poor be able 2 feed? He will make agric products more expensive . Does he want to monopolise like

Pls in one simple language which sector is he monopolising with facts and figures ?