By Lekan Adejuwon
A group, Arewa Think Tank (ATTAK) has urged billionaire businessman, Aliko Dangote of the Dangote group of companies to emulate his business counterpart, the chairman of BUA Cement Plc, Abdul Samad Rabiu, in crashing the price of cement in the country.
Rabiu had recently reduced the price of a bag of cement from N4,800 to N3,500 to make it affordable for the people.
The convener of Arewa Think Tank, Muhammad Yakubu, in a statement on Wednesday, October 4, called on Dangote to do the same.
Yakubu said: “We are urging Dangote to do the same in the spirit of giving back to the society as part of social responsibility. We are happy with the Chairman of BUA and we are advising him to maintain the tempo and continue to take social responsibility seriously.
“We are also calling on all Commercial Banks, MTN, Glo, Airtel and all other Cooperate bodies to emulate BUA by slashing the prices of their services and goods.”
The group also commended the minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, Nyesom Wike for awarding 135 road contracts in less than three months in office.
It stated: “We understand that Wike did not only award the roads contract but that he equally paid for it immediately. We are watching other Ministers, and we are advising them to emulate Wike.
“We would also like to appreciate Mr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, Minister of Interior already all the backlogs of over 200,000 copies of passports have been cleared. Arewa Think Tank, however, appealed to Nigerians to be patient with President Bola Tinubu to enable him to roll out goodies for the country.
“We are calling on well-meaning Nigerians and oppositions to allow Tinubu Presidency to breathe so that our great country can benefit from his wealth of experience. What should matter to us as Nigerians should be how the President and his team can impact positively on the average and poor Nigerians. Mr. President’s humility and simplicity should not be mistaken for weakness.”
The group commended the decision taken by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) to suspend the planned nationwide strike, saying that it was a mark of patriotism.
The statement added: “We also want to salute the patriotism exhibited by the leaders of the Labour Union in calling off the strike and showing some understanding. It’s a mark of commitment to see the country progress at a time of socio-economic travails when every hand is on deck to salvage our dear nation.
“We also want to use this opportunity to felicitate with one of Nigerians’ respected, revered, and elder statesman General Alani Akinrinade (Retired) on his 84th birthday.
