Economy
Dangote: How Indians pillage Nigeria through one of its own citizens [Editorial]
The Chairman/CEO of Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, has recently engaged 11,000 workers from India to work in his refinery which was commissioned hours before former President Muhammadu Buhari relinquished power on May 29, 2023.
Explaining his choice of Indians over and above his kits and kins, Alhaji Dangote said that the reason for the neglect was that youths from Nigeria lacked the adequate skills required to be engaged.
Observers have noted with dissatisfaction Dangote’s choice and queried his decision not to employ Nigerian and African youths in the refinery, rather Indians.
Besides the employment or non-employment thereof, the billionaire businessman seems not to realise that Indians are pillaging Nigeria through him.
According to reports, they are everywhere in his company doing all manner of jobs, even menial ones, while blaming it on the absence of National Occupational Standards in many countries.
Dangote Refinery under construction
One such observer, who spoke anonymously, said: “It is such a shame his Indian managers are using these laborers to pack our foreign exchange out.
“The disrespect and treatment of Nigerians as slaves in their own country by someone who is a beneficiary of government’s benevolence is unimaginable.
“One can only imagine the level of pillaging happening with these Indians everywhere.
“Let’s just say Dangote established all those companies with our money for Indians to benefit from.
“Most times, these Indians are as much as seven deep in a department!”
Another practice which has been observed going on in the refinery is the criminal underpricing of Nigerian local contractors.
According to a source, Dangote’s beloved Indians are edging Nigerian contractors out by underpricing and frustrating them out.
The source explained that they will make unreasonable and unacceptable offer to Nigerian contractors and wait for them to reject them.
As soon as they do, they then turn around and give the same contract to their Indian competitors at much higher rates than were offered the Nigerian contractors in the first place.
The source lamented: “Something really has to change; these Indians and Chinese conglomerates are being used to hollow out our commonwealth.
“It is time someone brings it to the attention of Dangote that he is building all these companies to employ Indian workers and not Nigerians.
“He cannot be getting all the tax breaks, waivers and Forex only to turn around and give everything to the Indians,” he added.
On its part, a group, the Sub-Saharan African Skills and Apprenticeship Stakeholders Network (SASASNET), thinks that this is a wake-up call to Nigerian stakeholders in particular, and African stakeholders in general.
Speaking in a communiqué issued at the end of its two-day meeting in Abuja on July 26, 2023, the Secretary-General of SASASNET, Ousman Sillah, explained that the reason for the neglect was that youths from Nigeria lacked the requisite skills to be engaged.
The network noted that it had resolved that each country in Africa develop a national skills qualification framework that will enable ease of labour migration across the continent.
Sillah said: “There is need for SASASNET to engage in vigorous public awareness and engagement to change the negative perception of the public on the value of skills and apprenticeship.
“The Dangote Refinery in Nigeria under construction has engaged over 11,000 work force from India, while our youths lack the required skills to be engaged.”
He, therefore, called on Africa leaders to avoid a repeat of the same in the upcoming $25 billion Trans-Saharan Gas Pipeline traversing the Gulf of Guinea to Europe.
This, however, is not the first time that Dangote will kick the butt of Nigerians and his Nigerian competitors, even well-established companies and industrialists.
A peep into the antecedents of Dangote will suffice…
When former President Olusegun encouraged local production of cement, the Managing Director of Ibeto Cement Factory, Nnewi-born billionaire businessman, Chief Cletus Ibeto, promised to flood Nigerian market with cement and drastically reduce the price of the product.
Billionaire businessman, Chief Cletus Ibeto
Ibeto fulfilled his promise and flooded the country with higher quality cement, crashing the price of cement in the process.
The development jolted Dangote and his cement business was adversely affected, and without wasting time, he rolled his sleeves.
The business mogul wrote a petition to former President Obasanjo, kicking against the authority the federal government granted Ibeto to import 800,000 metric tons of cement.
Obasanjo immediately issued a directive, stating that Ibeto was not allowed to import cement into the country until it proved its investment in local production.
Thousands of staff of Ibeto cement were rendered jobless, while Dangote and his firms thrived!
When late President Umaru Yar’ Adua succeeded Obasanjo, Ibeto applied for import allocation on July 2007 and it was granted and he quickly flooded the country with quality cement, and the prices crashed.
Once again, Dangote quickly filed a suit alleging that Ibeto Cement Company is gaining undue advantage by the federal government.
On its part, the government contended that Dangote Cement PLC is plotting to wipe out fair competition and create a monopoly in the industry and transform itself to the only cock that crows in Nigeria.
The tug-of-war continued while former President Goodluck Jonathan was at the helm of affairs until former President Muhammadu Buhari came to power.
Ibeto Company applied for foreign exchange from the CBN but was denied. Dangote applied and was granted. He has continued to enjoy all manner of waiver.
Like Dangote did during the Obasanjo regime, he was said to have approached his Fulani brother. Buhari banned Ibeto cement because they are afraid of competition from a south eastern lgbo man who comes from the wrong part of the country.
Read the full story below:
Dangote’s Government Waivers And The Sins Of Ibeto
Next came Innoson.
As soon as another Nnewi-born billionaire businessman Chief Innocent Chukwuma Ifediaso rolled out his brand of vehicles popularly known as Innoson Vehicles Manufacturing Company (IVM Motors), Dangote became restless.
New official vehicle made in Nigeria for the President of Nigeria by Innoson Vehicles Manufacturing Company
Before long, he flung open a Peugeot Assembly Plant in Kaduna to showcase made in France product which he had obtained the franchise.
To make that monopoly so effective, however, he must have to “kill Innoson brand by fire by force”.
Read the narration by Mazi Odera below:
INNOSON: Killing Igbo Business With Federal Might
The billionaire chairman of Dangote Group, however, did not limit his violent romance to Nnewi businessmen as another northern billionaire businessmen Samad Rabiu has tasted his bitter pill.
Read also:
Dangote petitions Trade Ministry, wants BUA Sugar Refinery shut down
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The United States government has said that Nigeria’s new N70,000 minimum wage has lost real value due to the sharp fall of the naira, leaving millions of workers trapped in poverty.
According to the 2024 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, released by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labour, the wage translates to just $47.90 per month.
The report noted that currency devaluation and weak enforcement have undermined the wage increase.
The report also revealed that many states are yet to implement the new wage law. Several governors cited financial challenges as the main excuse.
Even where the law exists, compliance remains poor because of limited labor inspectors and weak oversight from authorities.
Wage Devaluation and Exclusion
The report highlighted that firms with fewer than 25 workers are excluded from the minimum wage law, leaving millions of employees without protection.
This also explained that about 70 to 80 percent of Nigeria’s workforce operates in the informal sector, where wage and labor rights are almost never enforced.
This means a majority of Nigerians continue to earn far below the national benchmark, despite the government’s approval of N70,000 as the new minimum wage.
The U.S. report stressed that the naira’s sharp decline, trading above N1,500 to the dollar, had worsened the wage erosion. This has left workers unable to afford basic needs, pushing many deeper into poverty.
Human Rights and Labor Challenges
The document pointed out that weak enforcement of labor laws contributes to worsening poverty levels in the country.
Workers in the informal sector, such as street vendors, artisans, and small traders, rarely benefit from labor protections.
The report also noted that Nigeria’s minimum wage is rarely sufficient to cover basic food, housing, and transport needs.
This has further exposed structural gaps in the government’s approach to economic reforms and poverty reduction.
Governors Push Investment Platform
Meanwhile, the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) has launched a new investment initiative called NGF Investopedia.
The platform seeks to attract capital flows into bankable projects across all 36 states, with the goal of tackling Nigeria’s annual $100 billion infrastructure financing deficit.
The launch event in Abuja gathered governors, international partners, and investors. The forum described the platform as a long-term strategy to unlock growth opportunities across states and strengthen Nigeria’s subnational economies.
NGF Chairman and Kwara State Governor, Abdulrahman AbdulRazaq, said Nigeria must urgently leverage its human and natural resources to address poverty and joblessness.
“Here is Africa’s largest economy, endowed with abundant human and natural resources,” he said, stressing that state governments must play a bigger role in attracting investments and supporting local industries.
A Widening Gap
The contrast between the U.S. report on wage decline and the governors’ push for investment highlights Nigeria’s economic paradox.
While authorities promote foreign capital inflow, millions of workers continue to survive on wages that have lost most of their value.
With inflation rising, food prices soaring, and the naira weakening, the gap between earnings and cost of living keeps widening.
Unless enforcement improves and the informal sector is integrated into wage protections, the N70,000 benchmark may remain symbolic rather than effective.
Fidelity Bank may have hit another milestone the Fidelity Naira Card is now accepted globally.
This was disclosed in a message sent to Diaspora Digital Media (DDM) via email on Monday.
According to the statement entitled “Your Fidelity Naira Card Now Works Globally; Shop, Pay and Withdraw with Ease!“, customers can buy favourite global brands online using their Fidelity Naira Card.
The band also stated that they can equally pay at POS terminals abroad and make cash withdrawals at ATMs as they travel.
The message reads:
“We’re excited to let you know that your Fidelity Naira Card is now enabled for global use — so you can shop, spend and withdraw internationally with confidence.
“Here’s what you now enjoy every quarter:
|
Channel |
Transaction Limit |
| ATM Withdrawal abroad | $500 |
| Online/Web & POS Payments | $ 1,000 |
“What does this mean for you?
- Shop your favourite global brands online
- Pay at POS terminals abroad with ease
- Withdraw cash at ATMs when you travel.”
The statement, however, noted that the $1,000 quarterly limit applies to all international transactions combined, including ATM withdrawals, online purchases, and POS payments.
The bank urged customers who may need assistance with setting card limits or activating their cards for global use, to contact the bank’s customers care “Centre Trueserve”, which is available round the clock, whether in Nigeria, or outside the country.
“Your world, your card — spend smart, spend globally with Fidelity,” the message concludes.
(DDM) – The Abia State Government has paid 340 former staff of Ogbonnaya Onu Polytechnic, Aba, who were disengaged between 2018 and 2021.
Governor Alex Otti announced the payment while briefing journalists at Government House, Umuahia.
DDM gathered that the Governor explained that out of 461 sacked workers, 340 had received their entitlements, while the balance would be settled after a verification process.
He said the state would not only pay but also review the circumstances of their dismissal.
According to him, anyone unfairly removed from service would be reinstated to ensure justice is served.
The Governor’s statement comes after years of protests and petitions by affected workers, who accused past administrations of victimization and negligence.
Many of the disengaged staff had spent years without salaries, pensions, or benefits, forcing some into hardship and ill-health.
Otti assured that his government would not abandon them and pledged to treat workers fairly, regardless of political affiliations.
He further commended the management of Ogbonnaya Onu Polytechnic for attracting a N2 billion intervention fund from Tertiary Education Trust Fund, TETFund.
According to him, such funding would help reposition the institution and improve the learning environment for students.
On the $125 million Islamic Development Bank loan recently approved for Abia State, Otti dismissed fears of debt traps.
He explained that the only challenge that might arise would be foreign exchange instability, but maintained that the loan was a low-risk facility.
The Governor insisted that the facility would be managed responsibly and transparently to support development projects.
Otti also revealed that his administration had spent about N14.43 billion on retrofitting 61 public schools as of June 2025.
He dismissed allegations by an APC group claiming that N54 billion budgeted for schools had been squandered.
According to him, the opposition was spreading propaganda to discredit his administration’s achievements in education.
He emphasized that the projects were visible across the state and could be verified by residents and the media.
In the health sector, the Governor directed the Commissioner for Health, Professor Enoch Uche, to commence the construction of an isolation and treatment centre.
The facility will be located at the Abia State Specialist Hospital, Amachara, as part of plans to strengthen public healthcare.
Otti said his government was determined to deliver projects that would directly impact citizens instead of indulging in wasteful spending.
He added that Abia had chosen a new path of transparency, accountability, and people-centered leadership.
The Governor maintained that the era of abandoned projects and fake promises in Abia was over.
Economy
BREAKING: Emiral hosts Warri business summit, dinner party, unveils elixir for natural health solution
DDM News
(DDM) – Warri, Delta State, is set to witness a major business and lifestyle gathering as Emiral brand hosts its highly anticipated Business Summit and Dinner Party.
The event, scheduled for Saturday, August 16th, 2025, will begin at 11 AM at the Jubilee Retreat and Conference Centre, behind Mother of the Redeemer Catholic Church in Warri.
Organizers say the summit is designed to bring together professionals, entrepreneurs, and business leaders for a full day of networking, business insights, and celebration.
Emiral, a fast-growing name in the health and wellness industry, is also using the occasion to showcase its flagship product, Emiral Elixir.
DDM gathered that the elixir is marketed as a natural health solution crafted with 100% organic ingredients sourced from Africa and Asia.
According to the company, the product detoxifies the body, burns excess fat naturally, and strengthens the immune system.
The firm says consistent use of the elixir can help prevent and assist in the treatment of multiple health conditions.
These include stroke, fibroid, fertility challenges, arthritis, asthma, various cancers, epilepsy, diabetes, hepatitis, prostate disorders, high cholesterol, liver and kidney complications, fungal infections, sickle cell anemia, and high blood pressure.
The brand further highlights its effectiveness in easing food poisoning and hangover symptoms.
One of the unique features of Emiral Elixir is the inclusion of hydrogen water in its formulation.
Emiral insists this scientific addition preserves the potency of the natural ingredients and aids in transporting medicinal benefits to the cellular level.
The company describes the elixir as a holistic wellness solution, balancing hormones, improving gynecological health, and enhancing skin appearance.
It is also promoted as effective in reducing pain, bloating, and heavy bleeding in women, while providing overall vitality for daily living.
The Warri summit, therefore, is not just a product promotion but a strategic platform for Emiral to strengthen its identity as a premium lifestyle brand.
Industry watchers believe the gathering highlights how Nigerian businesses are merging health, innovation, and entrepreneurship to serve a growing wellness-conscious population.
Emiral says its mission is to foster a community that values knowledge, health, and connection through business-focused events.
Observers argue that the timing is crucial, as Nigerians increasingly embrace natural health solutions amid rising awareness of the dangers of processed supplements.
The brand is positioning itself to compete in a global market where organic and plant-based remedies are gaining momentum.
DDM notes that Warri, a city traditionally known for oil and commerce, is also becoming a hub for health-focused enterprises and entrepreneurial summits.
With Emiral’s outreach, the city could further consolidate its reputation as a centre for innovation in southern Nigeria.
For more details about Emiral Elixir and its distribution, the company has urged interested participants to contact its representatives through official channels.
As expectations rise ahead of the summit, Emiral appears poised to make a bold statement about natural wellness and sustainable business growth in Delta State.
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(DDM) – The Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has issued a clarification following backlash over her comments on Nigeria’s economy during her visit to President Bola Tinubu.
Dr. Okonjo-Iweala explained that her recent statements had been misunderstood and that she recognizes the economic hardships Nigerians are currently facing due to reforms.
She emphasized the importance of implementing social safety nets to aid vulnerable populations who are being affected by these reforms.
During her meeting with President Tinubu at the State House in Abuja, which took place alongside Trade Minister Jumoke Oduwole, discussions focused on Nigeria’s economy and strategies to cushion citizens from the adverse effects of ongoing reforms.
The WTO Director-General highlighted the launch of the Women Exporters Fund for the Digital Economy, a collaborative initiative between the WTO and the International Trade Centre aimed at empowering Nigerian women to create and sustain jobs.
She revealed that Nigeria was among four countries globally selected to benefit from this fund, with 67,000 women applying and 146 winners slated to receive direct financial and technical support to boost their businesses.
According to Okonjo-Iweala, the fund is designed to help women weather economic challenges while fostering growth and employment.
While acknowledging the efforts made by President Tinubu and his administration to stabilize the economy, she reiterated that economic stability alone is insufficient.
She stressed that the next critical step is economic growth and the urgent need for social safety nets to support those impacted by the government’s reforms.
In her own words, Dr. Okonjo-Iweala stated, “We need to grow the economy and put social safety nets in place so that people feeling the pinch of the reforms can have some support to weather the hardship.”
Her comments came in the wake of criticism suggesting that she had overly praised the administration, but she clarified that she was acknowledging the progress made while underscoring the continuing struggles faced by many Nigerians.
Opposition voices, such as the African Democratic Congress, had accused the government of distorting the WTO chief’s remarks to paint an overly positive picture of the economy.
They pointed out that despite a so-called stable economy, widespread poverty, unemployment, and inflation remain critical issues that must be urgently addressed.
The World Trade Organisation leader’s visit to President Tinubu also coincided with the launch of impactful economic initiatives aimed at empowering women business owners and reinforcing digital trade, demonstrating her commitment to inclusive economic development.
Dr. Okonjo-Iweala’s clarifications spotlight the complex realities of Nigeria’s current economic condition, where reforms have brought certain stability but also significant hardship necessitating comprehensive social programs and growth measures.
Her remarks call on the government to balance reforms with proactive support for Nigerians struggling with poverty and joblessness to build a more resilient, inclusive economy over the coming years.
![Welcome to the hottest episode of DDM Celebrity Gossip Show! 🍵 Dive into the latest Naija gist that’s got everyone buzzing! 😎 This week, we’re spilling the tea on Toke Makinwa’s tearful baby reveal—her emotional journey to motherhood at 40 will leave you speechless! 🚨 Plus, comedian Sabinus is making waves with his epic Port Harcourt road move—is this his boldest flex yet? 🛣️ We’re also breaking down the BBNaija eviction shock with Otega and Kayikunmi OUT of the house fans are shook! 😱 And don’t miss Ayra Starr’s spicy photo drama that’s lighting up the internet! 📸
🕒 Timestamps
[00:19] Intro with Josiah & Blessing - DDM Celebrity Gossip Show
[01:11] Toke Makinwa’s Tearful Baby Reveal
[03:51] Sabinus’ Epic Port Harcourt Road Move
[06:42] BBNaija Eviction Shock: Otega & Kayikunmi OUT
[09:39] Ayra Starr’s Spicy Photo Drama
[15:13] Final Thoughts & Hot Takes
[17:00] Outro - Subscribe & Join the Gossip!
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