Dangote Made N221.5bn In 24 Hours As Nigerians Battle High Cement Price

As Nigerians lament the current spike in the price of cement, the founder of the country’s largest cement company, Aliko Dangote made a whopping $144m, an equivalent of N221.46bn (N1,537.9/$) in a single day.

According to the Bloomberg Billionaire Index, Dangote’s wealth increased by $144m to $15.9bn (N24.5trn) on Friday, a fortune made from his Dangote Cement Plc, Dangote Sugar and other investments.

Dangote founded and chairs Dangote Cement Plc which is Africa’s largest cement producer. The Kano-born billionaire owns 85 per cent of publicly traded Dangote Cement through a holding company.

Dangote and his counterpart Abdul Samad Rabiu, the Chairman of BUA Cement have been under criticism for exploitative cement prices, a product for which raw materials are sourced locally.

From around N5,200 last month, cement prices have been jerked to over N9,000 and in some locations, prices have reached N10,000 for a 50kg bag.

In October last year, Rabiu announced a slash in ex-depo price from N4,650 to N3500 after he met with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu while Dangote was silent on the matter.

Both businessmen are benefiting from the Nigerian system. Last year, Dangote was accused of accessing foreign exchange from the Central Bank of Nigeria from 2014 to 2022 below market rate.

The Dangote Cement’s office was invaded by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) but the company denied wrongdoing.

Although the Nigerian government, through the Minister of Works, Dave Umahi said he would meet cement manufacturers over the escalating cost of cement, Nigerian experts think that the meeting may not remedy the situation.