Dangote Cement Plc announced on Friday, July 25, 2025, that its founder and majority shareholder, Aliko Dangote, has retired as Chairman of the company’s Board of Directors.
The disclosure was made by the Group Chief Branding and Communications Officer, Anthony Chiejina, in an official statement.
Chiejina explained that Dangote’s retirement was to enable him to dedicate more attention to the Dangote Petroleum Refinery, petrochemicals, fertilizer projects, 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,” Chiejina stated. “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.”
The company simultaneously announced key board changes, appointing Emmanuel Ikazoboh, an independent non-executive director, as the new Chairman. Hajiya Mariya Aliko Dangote was also appointed to the board, while Professor Dorothy Ufot retired from her position as an independent non-executive director.
The statement highlighted Dangote’s exceptional leadership legacy at the cement company, noting record financial performance under his tenure. According to unaudited results for the first half of 2025, Dangote Cement achieved a 17.7% revenue growth to N2.071 trillion compared to N1.760 trillion in the same period of 2024 – the highest in the company’s history.
Financial metrics showed robust growth across all key indicators: Group EBITDA surged 41.8% to N944.9 billion from N666.22 billion; Nigeria operations EBITDA grew 82.4% to N845.4 billion; Profit before tax skyrocketed 149% to N730 billion from N292.96 billion; Profit after tax jumped 174.1% to N520.5 billion from N189.90 billion.
The board expressed confidence that the new leadership would build on this strong foundation while Dangote shifts focus to his ambitious refinery and petrochemical ventures.
