Benue Cement change

President of Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, has now taken over
affairs of the ailing Benue Cement Company (BCC) Plc as the new core
investor with a firm pledged to turn around the fortunes of the Gboko-based
plant which has an envisaged turnover of N40 billion per annum in the next
12 months. Dangote announced plans for the cement plant in Makurdi at a brief ceremony
where the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) at the Government House Makurdi
officially handed over BCC to him. The ceremony marked the end of the four-year feud, which trailed the privatisation of the company since April 2000 when the Benue State
Govern-ment opposed the appointment of Dangote Industries Limited as the
core investor.

Announcing his plans for the company, Dangote said he would increase the
installed production capacity of the 24 year old cement factory from 900,000
to 3Mta within the next 12 months. The expanded installed capacity of the company would also fetch an annual turn over of N40 billion at which performance, Dangote said, BCC would be
the fifth largest company in the country. "This is not a joke I am putting
my name into it, you can write it down by February next year, BCC will be
producing three million metric tones by the grace of God," he pledged to the
applause of the stakeholders present.