Dangote Cement Plc has commissioned and handed over a newly built cottage hospital to the Obajana community in Kogi State, part of a broader package of health, education, infrastructure and youth empowerment projects the company runs across its host communities.
Acting Plant Director at the Obajana Plant, Panjala Sreedhar, said the facility grew directly out of consultations and community needs assessments that identified healthcare as a top priority, and was designed to deliver comprehensive primary and secondary healthcare services that reduce how far residents of Obajana and neighbouring communities need to travel for medical treatment. The hospital includes male, female and children’s wards, private wards, consulting rooms, a meeting room, 19 sanitary facilities, digital blood pressure monitoring equipment and a dedicated borehole water supply, and Sreedhar said he expects it to improve maternal and child healthcare and strengthen overall wellbeing across the surrounding area. He noted that Dangote Cement has consistently invested in education, healthcare, infrastructure and livelihood programmes across Obajana, Oyo, Iwaa, Apata and Jakura communities, and announced further approved projects, including ICT centres for Oyo and Iwaa, electrification in Jakura, vocational training for youth, perimeter fencing for the Obajana Cultural Heritage Site and fencing for the UBE Secondary School in Apata, thanking Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo for creating an enabling environment that has supported the company’s growth in Kogi State.
Speaking for Governor Ododo, Special Assistant on Corporate Social Responsibility Paul Sunday commended Dangote Cement’s sustained community investment and urged the company to provide medical personnel to run the facility until local government health workers can be deployed. Lokoja Local Government Chairman Abdullahi Adamu called the hospital a major intervention that would improve healthcare access, urging residents to make good use of it, and separately appealed to Dangote Cement to keep supporting local vigilante groups to strengthen security around Obajana. The Obaro of Kabba and Chairman of the Okun Traditional Council, Oba Solomon Owoniyi, praised the company’s contribution, saying that although a full general hospital would have been preferable, the cottage hospital remains a significant addition to community development, and urged Oworo land residents to take ownership of the facility through proper maintenance. Group Head of Socio Performance at Dangote Cement, Wakil Olayiwola, said the project reflects the company’s cordial relationship with its host communities and confirmed that stakeholders’ observations and requests have been noted, adding that since 2025 the company has expanded its social responsibility work beyond its immediate host communities.
