The Chairman of Dangote Industries Limited, Aliko Dangote says the devaluation of naira from N460 to N1400 created the biggest mess for the company in 2023 and has affected other business owners.
Dangote said this during the annual general meeting of Dangote Sugar Refinery PLC held on Tuesday.
In his words, “The biggest mess created was the devaluation of the naira from N460 to N1,400.
“You can see that almost 97 per cent of companies in the food and beverage business, none of them will pay dividends this year. But we will try and get out of it as soon as possible.”
Dangote also spoke on the suspension of the planned merger of Dangote Sugar Refinery with Nascon Allied Industries PLC and Dangote Rice Limited. He confirmed that the merger was put on hold because the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) wanted the rice factory to begin.
He added that the rice factory in Jigawa is expected to be commissioned soon, and Dangote Sugar will reapply for the merger when the time is right.
Nascon PLC which had announced the suspension of its proposed merger with Dangote Sugar on the 19th of April noted that the merger was not completed due to the current non-operational status of Dangote Rice.
The goal of Dangote company is to ensure that all products sold by the company is produced domestically, Dangote noted.
“So, by the grace of God, in the next four years maximum, our company should be producing what we are selling currently, all domestic, 100 percent domestic.”