Management of Dangote Cement Plc (DCP) has expressed its irrevocable commitment to training and constant retraining of its truck drivers to promote operational efficiency and safe driving across Nigeria.
Speaking during its 2025 Annual Drivers’ Retreat, Dangote Cement’s group managing director, Arvind Pathak, emphasised that as a leading cement manufacturer with thousands of trucks in its fleet, safety on the road remains the company’s core mandate. He said the essence of the yearly training is to remind the drivers of the core values of the brand and ensure that they are all committed to the Absolute Safer Road Policy of the Group.
The training exercise for the drivers in the DCP Ibese Plant took place in the Ilaro area of Ogun State, with over 900 drivers in attendance. Another extensive retraining exercise for more drivers has been scheduled to take place in Obajana, Kogi State, next week.
The Dangote Cement boss reaffirmed the company’s commitment to road safety, transparency, appropriate ethical conduct, and provision of detailed clarity on the comprehensive systems and procedures to mitigate against any incident along roads across the country.
Mr Pathak said Dangote was a responsible organisation that consistently cooperates with the Nigeria Police and other relevant authorities in the investigation of reported incidents, with support of all lawful processes aimed at establishing the facts, and routinely implements recommendations that strengthen public safety.
He explained that every driver employed by Dangote Cement is required to undergo an extensive and rigorously structured recruitment process that includes a valid driver’s licence Class G, background verification of both the driver and their guarantors, and a comprehensive medical evaluation, including vision screening (eye test), blood pressure checks, body mass index (BMI), random blood sugar (RBS) test, as well as drug and alcohol testing.
“Other recruitment screening covers usage within a three-month detection window, ensuring identifying any history of substance use before employment and completion of a two-week intensive training programme, which consists of twelve safety modules, practical driving assessments, and written examinations,” the cement’s GMD stated.
According to him, “In the past two months alone, over 2,000 prospective drivers have successfully completed this process. Only those who meet 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.”
Mr Pathak stated that 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 are not only standardised but also continuously improved, adding that these authorities are also actively involved in monitoring and evaluation of their safety practices.
He maintained that Dangote Cement remains fully committed to strengthening driver onboarding and training, enforcing strict safety and behavioural standards, applying punitive measures to curb errant driving, collaborating with government agencies, regulators, and communities to improve road safety, ensuring transparency, accountability, and compassion in everything they do.
Also addressing the assembled drivers, the Group Chief, Health Safety, Social and Environment Officer, and Sustainability function, Dangote Industries Limited (DIL), Dr James Adenuga, stressed the importance of safety protocols and noted that the process was not just to train the drivers on the consequences but to continuously remind them of the essentials of safety guides.
Adenuga further stated that the regular training was to educate them in the language they understand and teach them how the training matters to them. He gave insights on the measures put in place to ensure the right individuals are recruited as drivers, saying some of the qualifications for recruiting the drivers included a minimum of a secondary school certificate, ability to speak English language with writing and reading skills, free of substance abuse, 2-5 years driving experience, possession of Class-G drivers’ license, guarantors and rigorous training among other measures.
“We also partner Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) to train and prepare them for professional driving, so as to equip and give them the basics and fundamentals to prevent them from reckless driving. We equally have a process to give recognition and award to those who profess conduct and good behaved drivers among their peers,” he added.
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 accident-free journeys.
Mr Ebhota listed acts such as aggressiveness, impatient driving, use of phones while driving, taking alcoholic drinks, and disobedience to traffic signs as negatives against the tenet of safe driving.
He advised the assembled drivers to be conscious of dangerous overtaking and to drive within the driving limit of 60km per hour so that they do not veer off the road and cause accidents that could negatively affect other road users.
According to him, “Let me tell you all, drivers are the ambassadors of Dangote Group. Aside from being ambassadors, you are also stakeholders who should be careful and consider other road users as important while on the road.”
