The Dangote Group of Companies on Tuesday expressed the readiness of the business organisation to help create 210,000 jobs for unemployed Nigerians within the next 2 years, especially in the agricultural sector.
According to Vanguard, chairman of the Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, said this in Katsina in a goodwill message at the opening of the Katsina Economic and Investment Summit where he expressed support for moves to deepen the diversification of the Nigerian economy.
“We will create 210,000 jobs between now and 2018 with 80 per cent coming from the agricultural sector.
‘’So, we should pay attention to the agricultural sector for investment opportunities, particularly when the crude oil is now becoming unreliable,’’ he said.
Dangote made references to Brazil as another developing nation similarly faced with the kind of challenges experienced in Nigeria but which now has about $350 billion in its foreign reserve, adding that 80 per cent of the fund was from agriculture.
‘’Brazil is now a leading producer of sugarcane, soya beans, wheat and poultry in the World,’’ he said.
Dangote also said that he would establish the largest single refinery with the capacity to produce 650,000 barrels per day and two subsea pipelines of 550 kilometers in Delta, Ogun and Lagos.
The chairman said that he would also assist government to reduce pipeline vandalism as well as provide 12,000 megawatts of power. He called for the creation of an enabling environment for investors by identifying areas with comparative advantages.
‘’You don’t need to call for investors, just create enabling environment for the local ones, you will see the foreign ones gate crashing,’’ he said.
