Lafarge steps up to the plate

Lafarge Nigeria, one of the leading cement companies, recently revealed that its business operations in the North-Eastern part of the country was disrupted by the activities of terrorists in the region.

As a result of this, the company immediately decided to be part of the re-building project in the North-East, a region that has been ravaged by the Boko-Haram menace.

Lafarge Africa has entered into a partnership agreement with the Federal Government to undertake the re-building of the affected region.

The company, in a statement released on their website, said that they decided to partner with the Presidential Initiative for the North East, (PINE), to “rebuild the ravaged region by contributing to drive the economic turn around and pave the way for long term economic prosperity of the area.”

The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Lafarge Africa plc, Mr. Guillaume Roux, after a meeting with Prof. Soji Adelaja, Chairman of Presidential Initiative for the North East, (PINE), said that 'Collaborating with PINE was a step in the right direction for the company as it would assist the organization to complete the ongoing N100 billion expansion project in AshakaCem in record time.'

He also stated that 'PINE has contributed to our objective of staying in business in all circumstance since the beginning of the insurgence, and we are inclined to work more closely with the Committee at a time like this because we view sustainability as a core part of our business. Lafarge is not only producer of building materials, but solutions provider for building better cities.'

In his response, Prof. Adelaja said 'The partnership between PINE and Lafarge as a major production and single largest employer in the North East region is imperative to step up the leadership role of Lafarge as a corporate entity that identifies with the region and strives to accelerate its redevelopment.'

He also encouraged other businesses to emulate such gestures.