Aliko Dangote, Chairman, Dangote Group, says 98% of all dairy products consumed in Nigeria are imported.

“Ninety-eight per cent of all the milk and dairy products we consume in Nigeria are imported.

“This is why Dangote Group has planned to develop dairy plants, and develop homegrown milk production, to reduce importation,” he said.

The Chairman of Nigeria’s largest conglomerate made the assertion on Monday while speaking to some students of the Executive MBA class of the Lagos Business School who visited the Dangote Petrochemical Refinery.

The Dangote Group announced in July of its plans to expand into dairy production starting in 2018.

He added that the nation was at risk of hunger in the next few years if the mass food importation was not checked.

“By 2020, it is estimated that the Nigerian population would have risen to between 207 million and 210 million. If we do not make efforts to grow and process our own foods, God forbid, we will go hungry.

“We have been in talks with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on ways we can add value to our local produce, and we have marked massive dairy production for the next three years.

“We cannot solve all Nigeria’s problems, but at least we can embrace and add value to areas where we have comparative advantage,” Dangote said.

He said that Dangote Group was the most capitalised company on the stock exchange, with investments which include six ongoing projects that would create not less than 250,000 jobs across the nation.