(3 minutes read)
· BUA Cement said it never received any blanket approval to export cement through the Nigerian land borders at a time the borders were closed
· The company was granted only a limited approval to export some cement to Niger Republic, which is 100kms from its plant
· There were some media reports giving details of the cement export of Dangote Group, despite the border closure policy put in place
· The report said that the Nigerian government had allowed Dangote Cement to resume cement export across its land borders
BUA Cement said it never received any blanket approval to export cement through the Nigerian land borders at a time the borders were closed. The company was granted only a limited approval to export some cement to Niger Republic, which is 100kms from its plant. There was news that rival Dangote Cement got approval from the Nigerian government to export cement through some of Nigeria’s land borders at a time the borders were closed.
There were some media reports giving details of the cement export of Dangote Group, despite the border closure policy put in place. The report said that the Nigerian government had allowed Dangote Cement to resume cement export across its land borders. The report further said that export of cement was allowed to Niger and Togo in the third quarter for the first time in ten months.
The news went viral and sparked outrage on social media. Many Nigerians questioned the rationale for granting such approval to selected businesses while other businesses suffer the effect of the year-long blockade. However, the management of Dangote Group denied the report and said that the development as misleading and ischievous. The company said it was not the only company enjoying such privilege to move goods through the land borders. There are reports that rival BUA Cement also received a similar waiver earlier in the year.
