Lagos: Dangote Cement Plc has reaffirmed its commitment to road safety by training over 200 drivers in a comprehensive program aimed at reducing accidents and promoting responsible driving.
Group Managing Director, Mr. Pushpraj Pathak, emphasised the company’s dedication to safety as a core value, noting that the initiative aligns with broader efforts to protect lives and enhance operational efficiency in a statement on Friday in Lagos.
Pathak said this at the 2025 Annual Driver’s Retreat with the theme, “Drive Safely, Arrive Safely”, held at its Ibese plant in Ogun.
The retreat witnessed the training of over 200 drivers.
Pathak said Dangote Cement would continue to collaborate with the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) and other regulatory agencies to ensure that all training, compliance, and operational processes were up to standard.
He added that these authorities were also actively involved in monitoring and evaluating their safety practices.
He reaffirmed the company’s commitment to road safety, transparency, and ethical conduct. He provided detailed information on the comprehensive systems and procedures in place to mitigate incidents along roads across the country.
Dangote is a responsible organisation that consistently cooperates with the Nigerian Police and other relevant authorities in the investigation of reported incidents with the support of all lawful processes.
“This is aimed at establishing the facts and routinely implementing recommendations that strengthen public safety.”
He explained that every driver employed by Dangote Cement was required to undergo an extensive and rigorously structured recruitment process.
He listed them to include a valid driver’s licence class G, background verification of both the driver and their guarantors, a comprehensive medical evaluation, including vision screening (eye test).
Others, he listed as blood pressure checks, BMI (body mass index), RBS (random blood sugar test), as well as drug and alcohol testing.
“Other recruitment screening covers usage within a three-month detection window, ensuring the identification of any history of substance use before employment.
“Completion of a two-week intensive training programme, which consists of twelve safety modules, practical driving assessments, and written examinations”, he said.
He noted that in the past two months alone, over 500 prospective drivers had completed this process, stating that only those who met all required standards were engaged and certified to operate any Dangote Group vehicles.
“Our commitment to safety extends beyond recruitment. All drivers undergo mandatory pre-trip medical assessments, conducted by licensed nurses and doctors.
“These include regular checks on blood pressure, vision, and overall fitness, ensuring drivers are physically and mentally fit to operate safely.
“To enforce compliance with our zero-tolerance policy on substance use, random drug tests are conducted routinely across our operations,” he said.
He maintained that the organisation enforced strict safety and behavioural standards and would apply punitive measures to curb errant driving.
The Group Chief, Health Safety, Social and Environment Officer, Dangote Industries Limited (DIL), Mr James Adenuga, while addressing the drivers, noted that the training was to remind the drivers of safety guides.
Adenuga noted that the regular training was to educate them in the language they understood and teach them how the training mattered to them.
Taking the drivers through some requirements for safe driving, a road safety expert, Mr Oje Ebhota, explained that the choice of the topic for his paper centred on safe driving habits for an accident-free journey.
He advised drivers to be cautious when overtaking and to stay within the 60km per hour speed limit to avoid veering off the road and causing accidents that could harm other road users.