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Dangote inducts youth in technical skills acquisition as Ravindra says Merger of Dangote food subsidiaries will benefit stakeholders

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As part of its commitment to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), the Dangote Cement Plc, Obajana Plant, Kogi State, has commenced the training of youth in technical skills under the tutelage of technical units of Dangote Cement Transport, Obajana. The participating youth were selected from the host communities of Oyo, Iwaa, Apata, and Obajana.

The Technical Skills Acquisition programme, according to the Plant Director, Dangote Cement Plant, Obajana, JV Gungune, is aimed at empowering the youth and developing entrepreneurial skills around its catchment areas.

Mr. Gungune told newsmen that the youths which also included female trainees, were mostly secondary school leavers.

Speaking at the inauguration of the scheme, General Manager, Community Affairs /Special Duties, Mr. Ademola Adeyemi, said the trainees are being paid monthly stipends while the training lasts. “When completed, the youth will add great value to their communities, Kogi State, and Nigeria,” Mr. Adeyemi said.

Reacting, Divisional Director Transport of the Dangote Cement Plc, Mr. Ajay Singh, said some of the areas of training include: auto mechanic, auto electrical, welding and panel beating/fabrication.

The Workshop Manager, Engineer Alfa Adamu, said the trainees were shared into different engineering sections based on their strengths and interest, adding that the trainees have so far spent three months.

In the same vein, the Chief Executive Officer of Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc, Ravindra Singhvi has assured stakeholders that the proposed merger between Dangote Sugar Refinery, NASCON Allied Industries, and Dangote Rice to form Dangote Foods Plc is expected to yield many benefits, solely for the growth of the business and high returns to all the key stakeholders.

Speaking last week on the Business Morning Programme of Channels Television, Ravindra said that the merger when completed will bring economies of scale to the business. He maintained that the merger would lead to cost reduction as the evolved company will gain with an increase in production. The cost, according to him, will now be spread over many goods.

According to him, Dangote Foods will have operational efficiencies, as there would be a reduction in the time needed to obtain raw materials, fuel, manpower, etc for production. Husk and biomass from Rice and Sugar Units will be useful to generate power for the running of the plants. Also, it is expected that the merger will result in improvement in the supply side of the food industry as many products will roll out of the one-stop food company. The Dangote Sugar Refinery helmsman opined that the merger will further advance the backward integration strategy of the Group as resources, machinery, and skilled manpower are to be harnessed to drive the process.

Dangote Foods Plc, he stated will have the potential for more geographical spread than the legacy companies as the products will be readily available in all the niche markets of the former and even more given the combined assets in terms of manpower, product range, transport, and warehouses.

The company will have a stronger business case for access to capital as the combined business will be bigger and more attractive to lenders, he added.

Speaking on the impact of deregulation of the foreign exchange market, he lamented that many manufacturing companies have sustained forex-linked losses in the period as they made provisions for the slump in the value of the Naira against the dollar. Manufacturers, he noted are making provisions monthly to take care of the fluctuations in the value of the Naira.

He said, ‘The headwinds are really there. So, we have to be careful in provisioning for changes in the value of the local currency. The floating of the Naira led to a massive fall in its value. This has affected our operations in the sugar industry.’

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EU fines Apple and Meta €700m, risking Trump fury

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Apple Inc. and Meta Platforms Inc. were hit by relatively modest European Union fines totaling €700 million ($798 million) for violating tough new antitrust rules for Big Tech, following warnings of harsh retaliation from US President Donald Trump.

EU regulators levied the penalties — €500 million against Apple and €200 million against Meta — under its Digital Markets Act, which includes a list of dos and don’ts mainly aimed at Silicon Valley giants.

“Apple and Meta have fallen short,” EU antitrust chief Teresa Ribera said on Wednesday.

“All companies operating in the EU must follow our laws and respect European values.”

The punishments — the first under the DMA — are far lower than previous penalties under traditional EU competition law, and are likely to be seen as an attempt to avoid further provoking Trump, who recently laid out a swath of tariffs on global economies.

He’s specifically called out the EU’s tech regulations as the kind of non-tariff trade barrier that his so-called reciprocal tariffs are intended to target.

The European Commission said that Apple had failed to allow developers to link out from its App Store in order to make sales outside of the company’s marketplace.

Meta’s business model for ad-free services on Instagram and Facebook also fell foul of the tech law, which gives regulators fining powers of up to 10% of a company’s global annual revenue.

Both firms must comply with the EU decision within 60 days, or face the risk of further financial penalties.

Apple was also warned that its new fee structure for app developers — itself a plan devised to comply with EU rules — isn’t in line with the EU Big Tech rulebook.

Apple responded fiercely to the EU penalty, accusing the bloc’s regulators of discriminating against the company and forcing it to give away its technology for free.

The Cupertino, California-based company said it would appeal the fine to the EU courts. Just last year, the company was hit with a €1.8 billion EU fine for shutting out music-streaming rivals on the iPhone.

Meta’s head of global affairs Joel Kaplan also hit back, saying the EU “is attempting to handicap successful American businesses while allowing Chinese and European companies to operate under different standards.”

The EU decision “isn’t just about a fine; the commission forcing us to change our business model effectively imposes a multi-billion-dollar tariff on Meta while requiring us to offer an inferior service,” said Kaplan.

“And by unfairly restricting personalized advertising the European Commission is also hurting European businesses and economies.

”The White House didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.Asked about whether the commission had deliberately kept the fines low to avoid provoking Trump, the Brussels-based EU commission said the fines were “proportionate” to the alleged gravity and duration of breaches of the DMA, which became applicable two years ago.

“This is about enforcement. It’s not about trade negotiations,” commission spokesperson Arianna Podesta told reporters.

Still, the size of the fines “suggest an easing of European regulatory pressure on US tech giants,” according to Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Tamlin Bason.

“Penalties under the competition law could have been as much as 10% of total revenue, but ended up being less than 0.15% of each company’s 2024 sales, likely reflecting caution on aggressive enforcement against a tense backdrop in US-EU relations,” Bason said.

Despite its fine, Apple did see EU watchdogs close an investigation into online browsers after it rejigged how it offers users more choice on their iPhones.

EU regulators also backtracked on their decision to target Facebook Marketplace under the DMA. Meta was hit by a €798 million EU fine for alleged abuses on that service last year under standard antitrust law.

Apple shares rose 3.5% and Meta advanced 7% in early New York trading while the S&P 500 Index was up 3%.

Over recent years the EU has made costly penalties against firms, including more than $8 billion in fines against Alphabet Inc.’s Google and a separate order for Apple to pay Ireland back taxes of €13 billion.

Under its abuse-of-dominance rules, it has also forced changes out of Amazon.com Inc.’s marketplace platform and Apple’s tap-and-go chip, while also investigating Microsoft Corp. video conference software, Teams.

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Uber, Bolt, inDrive workers to down tools in Lagos on May 1

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The Amalgamated Union of App-Based Transporters of Nigeria (AUATON), Lagos State Chapter, is planning a 24-hour protest on May Day over alleged anti-labour practices by app-based companies including Uber, Bolt.

In a statement signed by AUATON Public Relations Officer Steven Iwindoye on Tuesday, the union said members would be staying off the apps, refusing to work, and demanding that their rights be respected.

According to Iwindoye, the union is protesting against alleged poor wages, unjust deactivations, insecurity and unsafe working conditions.

Others are excessive commissions taken by app companies, lack of proper rider profiles, mandatory facial recognition systems and harmful and exploitative work policies.

He alleged that app-based companies like Uber, Bolt, Lagride, inDrive, and Rida had ignored the union’s concerns and disrespected its rights.

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BACITI Advocates Market Shift for Nigerian Exporters

Nigerian agricultural and manufacturing SMEs that have carved out a market in the U.S.now face a price disadvantage.

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The Bashir Adeniyi Centre for International Trade and Investment (BACITI) says that Nigerian fertilizers manufacturers and industrial goods had better consider exporting regionally under the AfCFTA .

BACITI also urges the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) and Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) to help exporters cope with the tariff’s cost through rebates, tax breaks, or low-interest loans to affected exporters.

BACITI , in its Economic Insight April 2025, noted that the U.S. tariff will hit Nigeria’s non-oil export sector hardest.

Said the report: ” Many African countries rely on preferential access to the U.S.market under AGOA (African Growth and Opportunity Act), which granted duty-free treatment to thousands of African exports.African manufacturers who invested with AGOA preferences in mind are now at risk.

Textiles, leather, and agro-processing exports from countries like Kenya,Ethiopia, Ghana, Lesotho, and Nigeria may now face 10–14%tariffs, rendering the uncompetitive.

This could lead to job losses in export zones and industrial park.

Nigerian agricultural and manufacturing SMEs that have carved out a market in the U.S.now face a price disadvantage.

Niche products like Nigerian cocoa butter, dried fruits, or textiles and apparels which entered the U.S. duty-free will become costlier and uncompetitive.

Fertilizer makes up 2–3% of Nigeria’s exports to the U.S. A 10-14% tariff on fertilizer could lead U.S. buyers to seek cheaper suppliers, thus Nigerian producers might lose that market or have to accept lower net prices.

While crude oil is less likely to be directly impacted by the new tariffs, the broader uncertainty stemming from the ongoing trade war is likely to exert downward pressure on global oil prices, thereby affecting Nigeria’s export revenues and fiscal stability.

Indirect macro impact via oil prices: fallin oil prices due to slow global trade and economic uncertainty.

This would further reduce Nigeria’s export earnings and government revenue. A $10 drop in oil price, for example, costs Nigeria billions in export earnings.

Fiscal and FX pressures: A decline inNigeria’s export earnings would reduce dollar inflows, placing pressure on the naira.

In times of global uncertainty or trade wars, investors often retreat from riskier markets. As a result, Nigeria could face capital outflows, further currency depreciation, and rising inflationary pressure.”

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