The Dangote Coal Mines Limited has commissioned and handed over two blocks of fully furnished classrooms to Odoba-Otukpa community in Ogbadibo Local Government Area of Benue State.
The project, comprising a block of three classrooms each at Odoba-Ogaje and Odoba-Ogicho, delivers six fully equipped learning spaces with desks and benches, each designed to accommodate 36 pupils.
Speaking at the event, the General Manager, Special Duties, Nuhu Noel Elujah, said the project was part of the company's corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives aimed at improving education in host communities.
He also revealed that the company had awarded scholarships to 40 indigent students of the community currently enrolled in tertiary institutions between 2020 and 2025, indicating its investment in human capital development.
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Elujah appealed to residents to safeguard the infrastructure and embrace dialogue over protests when expressing grievances, in line with the Community Development Agreement.
Representing the Ogbadibo Local Government Chairman, Education Secretary, Anebi Michael, commended the company for the timely intervention, describing the gesture as a relief amid widespread infrastructural decay in many of the area's schools.
He urged parents to ensure the proper use and maintenance of the classrooms and assured that more teachers would be deployed once the ongoing SUBEB recruitment exercise is concluded.
On behalf of the community, Clan Heads, Chief Patrick Ochekwu and Chief Ali Adukwu expressed appreciation to Dangote management, pledging peaceful cooperation and assuring that future community engagements would be constructive.
The handover documents were thereafter signed, and the classroom keys were formally presented to the community's traditional leadership.
