Dangote Group was recently honoured as Chief Cornerstone of Business in Africa at the 2025 Nigeria’s Pride Awards, alongside the organisation’s Group Head of Corporate Communications, Anthony Chiejina who emerged as The Most Impactful Corporate Marketing Officer of the Decade.
Others who received awards at the event that took place in Abuja on September 30th include the Governor of Ebonyi State, Francis Nwifuru, Aviation Minister, Festus Keyamo, Senator Ireti Kingibe, Director General of Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Jideani Agabaidu, Director General of CLTC, Hon. Rinsola Abiola, Nollywood personalities, Tonto Dikeh and Empress Njamah, among others.
The Awards was organized by First Green White Resources (FGWR), publishers of African Leadership Scorecard Magazine and Nationwide Reports; and was chaired by Gen. Paul Boroh (Rtd), former Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta/Coordinator of Amnesty Programme while the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Alhaji Mohammed Idris was Guest Speaker with Dr. Sarah Jibrin, former Presidential Adviser on Ethics and Moral Values served as Mother of the Day.
While addressing a post-event press conference in Abuja on Monday, October 13 in Abuja, the Founder of FGWR, Bonaventure Phillips Melah, said Nigeria’s Pride Awards was founded to identify, recognize, appreciate and celebrate citizens, other nationals and corporate citizens that distinguish themselves through selfless service, patriotism, exemplary and inspiring leadership and therefore contribute positively to the development, prosperity, peace, unity and security of Nigeria as well as overall wellbeing of humanity.
He said although Nigeria is a country in search of quality leadership, many of its citizens at home and in the Diaspora are doing well in diverse fields of human endeavour and should be celebrated as according to him, a society that does not reward good people does not deserve good people in the first place.
He described Dangote Group as truly the Chief Cornerstone of Business in Africa, saying the Group’s Founder, Alhaji Aliko Dangote is a rare gift of God to Nigeria and Africa, adding that Nigeria in particular and Africa in general have benefitted immensely from the various businesses established by the conglomerate across the country and continent.
On the part of Anthony Chiejina, he described him as a media colossus, who have deployed his expertise and wealth of experience to ensure that Dangote Group was a most sought-after brand, household name that has maintained a credible reputation without blemish, despite attempts by detractors and business competitors to malign the organization.
Melah said apart from the existing 18 subsidiaries of the organization that is currently having more than 50,000 workers on its payroll, Dangote Group recently commenced the establishment of a $2.5billion fertilizer plant in Ethiopia, which he said would add positively to the growth of Africa and help to enhance the continent’s drive for self-sufficiency, adding that in all these, Anthony Chiejina has been a strategic factor in achieving the feats.
He also lauded Alhaji Aliko Dangote for establishing Dangote Foundation through which thousands of people have been lifted from poverty with many community-based health, water, sanitation and educational facilities have been provided to ease life for rural dwellers.
“Dangote Group was established in the 1970s, and is the largest industrial conglomerate in West Africa as well as one of the top-three in Africa with over 50,000 Nigerians and other nationals in its employment. With over 18 subsidiary companies, Dangote Group is involved in diverse businesses including transportation, fisheries, textile, flour milling, salt processing, fertilizer production, rice, sugar refining, construction, haulage, cement production and others. The successful takeoff of the Dangote Refinery, recoginsed as the largest single-train refinery in the world with the capacity of 650,000 barrels per day which also produces diesel, aviation fuel and other products, is a landmark achievement unprecedented in history; and is being celebrated by every well-meaning Nigerian, as it has ended the perennial fuel scarcity that afflicted the nation and her people for decades.
“Due mainly to Dangote’s patriotism and human-oriented business approach, the Group has been at the forefront of efforts to reduce price of petroleum products in Nigeria, especially petrol, which at the moment stands at N840 per litre from the N1,200 last year. The same is true of cooking gas and others.
“With its decision to distribute petrol free of charge and acquisition of 4,000 brand new trucks for the purpose, Dangote is set to further reduce prices in August when the new initiative would take off. Dangote Group was therefore awarded The Chief Cornerstone of Business in Africa for these remarkable feats,” he said and praised other awardees for their individual and collective achievement, adding that Nigeria’s Pride Awards would henceforth be an annual event to be celebrated as side event to the anniversary of Nigeria’s Independence.
