Aliko Dangote, President of the Dangote Group, has officially stepped down as Chairman and Director of the Board of Dangote Cement Plc, effective July 25, 2025.
A statement issued on Friday by the Group Chief Branding & Communications Officer, Anthony Chiejina, confirmed the development.
Dangote is stepping down to focus more on his other major projects, such as the Dangote Refinery, petrochemical and fertiliser plants, and government relations.
“Foremost entrepreneur and founder of Dangote Cement Plc, Aliko Dangote has announced his retirement as a Director and the Chairman of the Board of Directors, effective July 25, 2025.
“He is relinquishing his position as chairman and retiring from the board so as to focus more attention on the refinery, petrochemicals, fertiliser and government relations, in order to drive the company’s five-year business trajectory to a superlative height,” Chiejina added.
Following his retirement, the Board appointed Emmanuel Ikazoboh, an independent non-executive director, as the new chairman.
“The board of Dangote Cement has, therefore, announced the appointment of an independent non-executive director, Emmanuel Ikazoboh, as the new Chairman of the Board of Directors,” the statement noted.
“In the same vein, Hajiya Mariya Aliko Dangote was also appointed to the Board of Directors of the Company while Prof. Dorothy Ufot retired from the Board,” the statement added.
The company acknowledged Dangote’s impact, saying he made a significant contribution to the company and the entire industry.
“His vision and tenacity redefined not just a company, but the entire cement industry landscape by becoming Africa’s largest cement producer and largest exporter of cement and clinker in Sub-Saharan Africa.
“Aliko Dangote’s journey with cement began with a bold dream: to make Nigeria and Africa self-sufficient in cement production. Through strategic investments in state-of-the-art plants and a commitment to local content, he not only met that goal but exceeded it.
“Dangote Cement Plc has 52.0Mta capacity across the African continent, with Nigeria accounting for 35.25Mta. Currently, additional greenfield plants are coming up in Côte Ivoire (3.0Mta) and Itori, Nigeria (6.0 Mta) and on completion this year, will push total capacity to 61.0Mta. Under his visionary leadership, Dangote Cement Plc recorded the highest revenue and Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortisation in the history of the company. According to the unaudited results for the six months ending 30th June 2025, the group revenue went up by 17.7 per cent, from N1.76tn at the same period in 2024 to N2.07tn, representing the highest revenue in the history of the company,” the statement read.
In his acceptance speech, the new Chairman, Emmanuel Ikazoboh, expressed gratitude for the appointment and pledged his commitment to the company’s continued success.
“Emmanuel Ikazoboh was previously the Group Chairman of Ecobank Transnational Inc., the Pan-African banking group. He started his professional career at Akintola Williams Deloitte.
“He first became the Managing Partner for francophone offices in Cameroon and Côte d’Ivoire and later became the Managing Partner of the Deloitte firm in West and Central Africa until 2009. In 2010, he was appointed by the Securities and Exchange as an Interim Administrator to carry out capital market reforms of the Nigerian Stock Exchange and the Central Securities Clearing System Plc,” the statement concluded.
