The management of Ashaka Cement, Nigeria has promised its host communities a range of benefits in 2006, as hundreds of youths protested over unemployment problem, non provision of scholarship and social amenities. The Managing Director of the company Alhaji. Mohammed Daggash while reacting to last Friday’s protest which led to the closure of the company for about seven hours and loss of a significant truck loading time, said the company had been doing its best to make the host communities comfortable.

According to Daggash, the company had been giving free medical care and scholarship to the communities within the company’s financial limit. “We have been fulfilling our responsibilities and the state government has set up a committee to look into what Ashaka cement has been doing in terms of social responsibilities”.

The leader of the demonstrators Mallam Mohammed Zubairu Kwairanga told newsmen that they had to protest the marginalization of their communities. According to him, Ashaka cement had not been living up to its responsibilities by providing jobs, scholarship and social amenities to its host communities. He alleged that Ashaka Cement had been making a lot of profits annually but nothing tangible had been done for the communities.
Advertisement