News Wings

Tag: strategy

  • The Final Chapter of BBNaija Season 10 Begins at the Reunion

    The Final Chapter of BBNaija Season 10 Begins at the Reunion

    After ten weeks of twists, shifting alliances, emotional confrontations and unforgettable moments, the BBNaija Season 10 house may have closed its doors, but many of the conversations it sparked never truly ended.

    Now, months after Imisi emerged victorious and walked away with the ₦150 million grand prize, all 29 housemates are set to return for the Season 10 Reunion, hosted by Ebuka Obi-Uchendu. As anticipation builds for BBNaija Season 11, the reunion offers fans one final opportunity to revisit the stories that kept the 10/10 season at the centre of conversation.

    And if there’s one thing viewers know about BBNaija reunions, it’s that they have a way of bringing unfinished business back to the surface.

    For starters, fans will be eager to hear from Dede and Kola, whose complicated dynamic generated countless conversations throughout the season. What exactly was happening between them? Was it friendship, attraction, strategy, or a little bit of everything? Months later, many viewers are still searching for answers.

    Then there is Victory and Gigi Jasmine, whose rollercoaster relationship became one of the season’s most talked-about storylines. From mixed signals and emotional conversations to unexpected decisions that left viewers divided, theirs was a relationship that rarely lacked drama. The reunion could finally reveal where things stand between them today.

    Questions also remain around Faith, one of the season’s most controversial and talked-about housemates. His journey from strong contender to disqualification sparked intense debate among fans and fellow housemates alike. With Sultana and Imisi both playing significant roles in some of the season’s biggest conversations about him, the reunion may provide long-awaited clarity on one of the season’s defining storylines.

    Of course, no look back at the 10/10 season would be complete without revisiting the relationships that captured viewers’ attention. Fans will be curious to know whether connections such as Koyin and Isabella’s survived beyond the house, evolved into something more, or simply became part of the BBNaija experience.

    There are also questions surrounding Jason Jae, whose interactions with Joanna, Sultana and Dede kept fans speculating throughout the season. Was he simply playing the game, following genuine connections, or navigating a complicated mix of both? The reunion may finally offer some answers.

    Meanwhile, Bright Morgan and Mide’s relationship remained one of the season’s most debated situationships. With emotions, misunderstandings and unanswered questions lingering after the show, viewers will undoubtedly be looking forward to hearing their perspectives now that months have passed.

    Beyond the individual stories, the reunion is also an opportunity for housemates to reflect on the alliances, rivalries and decisions that shaped one of the most unpredictable seasons in BBNaija history. Friendships were tested, loyalties shifted, and housemates often found themselves on opposite sides of conversations that dominated social media week after week.

    Whether it’s old rivalries, unresolved tensions, surprising reconciliations or long-awaited explanations, fans can expect the conversations they have been waiting months to hear.

    The BBNaija Season 10 Reunion premieres on June 8 at 10:00 PM WAT on Africa Magic Showcase and Africa Magic Family. Episodes will be available on DStv Stream and GOtv Stream, ensuring viewers never miss a moment of the revelations, resolutions and memorable conversations that await.

  • Feature: The Reality of Aligning Product, Growth, and Brand

    Feature: The Reality of Aligning Product, Growth, and Brand

    by Ememobong Udofot

    Inside most companies, product, growth, and brand exist as separate functions with shared goals but different incentives. Product is focused on building, Growth on scaling, and Brand on perception. In theory, they should reinforce each other. In practice, they often operate in tension.

    Product optimises for functionality and delivery timelines. Growth optimises for acquisition and conversion. Brand attempts to create coherence across both, often after key decisions have already been made. The result is subtle misalignment that compounds over time.

    The product promises one thing through design and capability; growth amplifies another through messaging and campaigns, brand tries to reconcile both into a narrative that feels consistent, and users experience the gaps. This is not a communication failure. It is a systems failure.

    Alignment does not happen at the level of messaging. It happens at the level of decision-making. To understand this, it helps to reframe what each function is actually responsible for. Product is not just about building features. It defines what the system does, how it behaves, and what users can reliably expect. Growth is not just acquiring users. It is setting expectations at scale. Every campaign, every headline, every incentive communicates a version of reality that users will later validate against their experience. Brand is not decoration. It is the governance layer that ensures what is said, what is built, and what is experienced are in sync. When these roles are not clearly understood, misalignment becomes inevitable.

    A common pattern looks like this. Growth identifies a compelling angle that drives acquisition. Speed, for example. Instant payouts. Fast transactions. Seamless experience. The message performs well, acquisition increases, but the product, constrained by infrastructure or operational realities, cannot consistently deliver on that promise under all conditions. Delays happen, edge cases emerge and exceptions increase as scale grows. Brand is then forced into a reactive position, managing perception, adjusting language, explaining gaps, and trying to maintain trust while the underlying system is still stabilising. This is where most companies begin to erode credibility without realising it, not because they intended to mislead, but because their system allowed expectation to outpace reliability.

    True alignment requires a different approach. It starts with a shared definition of truth within the company. What can the product consistently deliver today, not occasionally or under ideal conditions, but reliably across real use cases. This becomes the foundation. Growth does not amplify the best-case scenario. It amplifies the most dependable reality. This may feel less exciting, but it creates a stable feedback loop where user expectations are consistently met or exceeded. Brand then encodes this into clear, repeatable signals, language that reflects reality, positioning that users can verify through experience and a narrative that does not need to be defended because it is continuously proven.

    As the product improves, the ceiling of what can be communicated expands. Growth scales what is already working and Brand evolves the narrative without breaking continuity. This creates compounding trust.

    The alternative is far more common. Growth leads with aspiration. Product catches up under pressure, and Brand manages the gap. While this can drive short-term metrics, it introduces long-term instability. Users learn to discount messaging; internal teams begin to operate with different versions of truth and decision-making becomes fragmented.

    The alignment, then, is not about collaboration meetings or shared documents. It is about sequencing and discipline. Product defines reality, Growth scales reality, and Brand ensures reality is understood the same way everywhere. Anything outside this order creates distortion.

    The companies that sustain trust over time are not the ones with the most aggressive growth strategies or the most creative campaigns. They are the ones where what is promised, what is built, and what is experienced are tightly coupled. Because in the end, users do not evaluate functions. They evaluate outcomes. And alignment is what makes those outcomes feel intentional, not accidental.

    Ememobong Udofot E. is a branding and communications executive specialising in strategy, systems thinking, and trust design within financial technology. She currently leads Branding and Communications at FlashChange, a digital value exchange platform focused on enabling reliable, efficient movement of digital assets.

    Her work sits at the intersection of brand, product, and growth, where she focuses on building coherent systems that align what companies promise with what users consistently experience. With a strong grounding in behavioural insight and market dynamics, she brings a structured, operator-led perspective to how trust is built, communicated, and sustained in low-trust environments.

    Through her writing, Ememobong explores the deeper mechanics of user behaviour, credibility, and execution in emerging markets, offering clear models and practical thinking shaped by real-world application

  • Feature: The Visibility Trap

    Feature: The Visibility Trap

    by Ememobong Udofot E.

    There is a persistent assumption in modern business that attention is progress. If people are seeing you, engaging with you, and talking about you, then you must be growing. On the surface, this feels true. In practice, it is one of the most expensive misconceptions companies carry.

    Visibility is not legitimacy. And confusing the two creates fragile businesses that look successful long before they actually are.

    Visibility is distribution. It is how often you are seen, how far your message travels, and how loudly you exist in a market. It is driven by campaigns, partnerships, content, and media. It is measurable in impressions, reach, mentions, and recall.

    Legitimacy is something else entirely. It is not what people see. It is what they conclude. It is the quiet but critical judgement a user makes when deciding whether to trust you with something that matters. Their money, their time, their reputation, their belief. Legitimacy is not declared. It is inferred. This is where most companies miscalculate.

    A platform can be highly visible and still feel unsafe. It can be everywhere and still feel uncertain. It can dominate conversations and still fail at conversion when the moment of decision arrives. Because today, users are not asking, “Have I seen this before?” They are asking, “Do I trust what happens next?”

    In financial services, especially in emerging markets, this distinction becomes sharper. Users do not operate from abundance. They operate from risk awareness. Every transaction is evaluated, consciously or not, through a lens of potential loss. What could go wrong? How fast can I recover if it does? Who is accountable if it fails? Visibility does not answer these questions. Legitimacy does.

    Legitimacy is built through signals that reduce perceived risk. Not theoretical safety, but experienced reliability. It shows up in consistency of outcomes, in how predictable your system is under pressure, and in whether your platform behaves the same way every time, not just when everything is working but also when something breaks. It is reinforced by clarity. Users trust what they understand, not what is explained to them in long paragraphs, but what is immediately obvious in interaction. What happens next, how long it takes and what they can expect. It is strengthened by accountability. Not in policy documents, but in visible behaviour. How issues are handled, how quickly they are resolved, whether responsibility is assumed or deflected.

    These are not branding elements in the traditional sense. They are operational realities. But this is exactly where branding is often misunderstood. Brand is not what you say about your product. It is the system of signals that shape how your product is perceived before, during, and after use. While visibility amplifies your presence, legitimacy sustains your relevance.

    When companies prioritize visibility without building legitimacy, they create a dangerous gap between expectation and experience. Growth accelerates, but trust does not compound at the same rate. Eventually, the system corrects itself. Users withdraw, reputation weakens, and recovery becomes significantly harder than initial growth.

    On the other hand, when legitimacy is established first, visibility becomes an accelerator rather than a risk. Every new user acquired enters a system that can hold them. Every interaction reinforces the same conclusion. This works; I can rely on this.

    This is slower to build, but far more durable. The strategic implication is simple but rarely followed. Do not ask how to be seen more; ask what conclusions users are forming when they see you. Do not optimise for attention in isolation, optimise for the alignment between what is promised and what is experienced. Do not treat trust as a communication problem, treat it as a systems problem that communication must accurately represent. Because in the end, markets do not reward visibility. They reward reliability that has been observed, tested, and believed. And that is legitimacy.

    Ememobong Udofot E. is a branding and communications executive specialising in strategy, systems thinking, and trust design within financial technology. She currently leads Branding and Communications at FlashChange, a digital value exchange platform focused on enabling reliable, efficient movement of digital assets.

    Her work sits at the intersection of brand, product, and growth, where she focuses on building coherent systems that align what companies promise with what users consistently experience. With a strong grounding in behavioural insight and market dynamics, she brings a structured, operator-led perspective to how trust is built, communicated, and sustained in low-trust environments.

    Through her writing, Ememobong explores the deeper mechanics of user behaviour, credibility, and execution in emerging markets, offering clear models and practical thinking shaped by real-world application.

  • Feature- A Merger is Not a Reset Button

    Feature- A Merger is Not a Reset Button

    by Emelia Sunday-Edet

    Most product announcements assume users are starting fresh. They are not; users carry memory of friction, of silence, of accounts frozen without explanation. Of being told repeatedly that a product “does not support your region.”

    So when two companies announce a partnership or merger, users do not ask what has changed. They ask what will actually change, and whether the product will behave differently when it matters.

    That is why some deals land with excitement, and others with quiet unease. From the inside, mergers are framed as a strategy. Scale. Market access. Synergy. From the outside, they are interpreted as continuity until proven otherwise.

    Products accumulate history through behaviour, not announcements. Through how issues are handled. Through how power is exercised when users have little leverage. Through what happens when something goes wrong.

    This is why confidence does not reset when a deal is signed. It compounds. Recent fintech partnerships involving global and African platforms make this tension visible. On paper, the logic is sound. Local distribution meets global infrastructure. Access expands. Yet user response is cautious. This is not cynicism. It is pattern recognition.

    Many users remember years of limited access, sudden restrictions, slow dispute resolution, and unclear communication. A new partnership does not erase those experiences. It reactivates them. Leaders see a new chapter. Users see unresolved history.

    Confidence is often treated as a marketing outcome. In practice, it behaves like a core product feature. It is built through predictability. Through clarity during failure. Through consistent behaviour under stress.

    In digital finance, especially in emerging markets, unpredictability is expensive. Funds are not abstract. They are livelihoods. When a product fails silently, users do not forget.

    Global experience reinforces this. Platforms that retained trust through regulatory tightening or market shocks did not do so because they avoided failure. They did so because they communicated early, clearly, and consistently. Those that struggled often had comparable technology. What differed was judgement.

    Africa’s context amplifies this dynamic. Adoption is high and retail-driven. Trust in financial systems is fragile, shaped by currency volatility and limited recourse. Users become careful observers. They remember who showed up when things went wrong.

    They remember who disappeared. This is why partnerships involving global brands can trigger discomfort rather than celebration. It is not resistance to progress. It is due diligence by experience. Mergers integrate systems. They align roadmaps. They do not transfer trust.

    Trust belongs to the behaviour users have experienced over time. When a local platform partners with a global one, it does not inherit goodwill automatically. It also does not escape unresolved trust debt. In practice, the local brand often absorbs it. This is where leadership judgment matters most.

    Traditional due diligence focuses on numbers, systems, and compliance. Rarely does it examine product memory. Yet the most consequential questions are simple.How do users describe us when we are not present? Which past failures still shape perception? What pain was never fully acknowledged? Ignoring these questions does not remove risk. It delays it.

    Confidence is not rebuilt through reassurance. It is rebuilt through behaviour. Leaders who understand this focus on consistency, not persuasion. They explain how behaviour will change, not just why the deal makes sense. They address past pain directly. They invest in response time, clarity, and human escalation.

    Most importantly, they accept that confidence takes time to rebuild.There are no shortcuts.

    A merger is not a moment of arrival. It is a moment of exposure. It reveals whether leadership understands its users or merely assumes them. Whether trust was earned or borrowed.

    Strategy can change overnight, but product behaviour cannot. Users do not react to intent, they react to experience. You cannot out-announce memory. You cannot out-market past behaviour.

    A merger is not a reset button, it is a mirror.

    Emelia is the Head of Product at FlashChange, a fintech platform redefining secure digital asset exchange. With a strong background in software testing and quality assurance, she has played a key role in shaping, building and delivering reliable financial products in emerging markets. Drawing on her testing expertise, she brings a quality-first mindset to product building. Emelia is passionate about trust-centered innovation and inclusive financial systems in Africa, and is a vocal advocate for technology that solves real problems and drives meaningful impact.

  • Access Holdings Delivers ₦320.6 Billion Profit Before Tax in H1 2025

    Access Holdings Delivers ₦320.6 Billion Profit Before Tax in H1 2025

    Access Holdings Plc has delivered a profit before tax (PBT) of ₦320.6 billion for the half year ended June 30, 2025, a demonstration of its strategy, diversified growth model, and execution.

    Profit after tax (PAT) stood at ₦215.9 billion, underscoring the Group’s ability to generate sustainable returns amid a challenging macroeconomic environment consistently.

    Access Holdings recorded gross earnings of ₦2.5 trillion, a 13.8% increase from ₦2.2 trillion in H1 2024, supported by robust growth in interest income, which rose by 38.9% year-on-year to ₦2.0 trillion. Net interest income almost doubled, up 91.8% to ₦984.6 billion, while net fees and commission income grew 16.1% to ₦237.7 billion.

    This performance reflects the Group’s deliberate diversification strategy, balancing growth across banking and non-banking subsidiaries, to ensure sustainable profitability and superior shareholder value.

    The Banking Group continued to drive performance, reporting a PBT of ₦303.0 billion and PAT of ₦199.3 billion. Interest income grew by 38.7% to ₦2.0 trillion, and net interest income surged 85% to ₦992.7 billion. Fee and commission income climbed 27% to ₦294.9 billion, propelled by higher transaction volumes across digital and retail channels.

    Banking subsidiaries contributed 65% of total PBT, reflecting the Group’s strong footprint across Africa and its proven ability to convert scale into value.

    Access Holdings’ non-banking subsidiaries continued to validate the Group’s diversified investment thesis.


    Access ARM Pensions posted a 65.1% year-on-year growth in PBT to ₦13.1 billion, with ROAE at 48.1% and a PBT margin of 62.5%.

    Hydrogen Payments delivered a 273% surge in PBT, processing ₦41.1 trillion in transactions, more than triple the value recorded in H1 2024.

    Access Insurance Brokers achieved a 161% increase in PBT, reflecting its expanding market presence and profitability.
    Oxygen X, the Group’s digital lending platform, posted ₦2.2 billion in PBT on ₦5.4 billion in revenue, sustaining strong momentum since launch.

    Access Holdings closed the half year with total assets of ₦42.4 trillion, customer deposits of ₦22.9 trillion, loans and advances of ₦13.2 trillion, and shareholders’ equity of ₦3.8 trillion, demonstrating a resilient balance sheet.

    Access Holdings remains focused on disciplined growth, operational efficiency, and transformation. As it executes its five-year strategic plan, the company continues strengthening its position as one of  Africa’s most diversified financial services groups, creating sustainable value for shareholders while driving inclusive economic impact.

  • Zedcrest Wealth Appoints Renah Osiemi as Managing Director

    Zedcrest Wealth Appoints Renah Osiemi as Managing Director

    Leading asset management firm, Zedcrest Investment Managers Limited (Zedcrest Wealth), a subsidiary of Zedcrest Group, has appointed Renah Osiemi as Managing Director, reinforcing its commitment to delivering best-in-class, innovative financial solutions to millions of Nigerians.

    Osiemi assumes the role following her successful tenure as Chief Operating Officer (COO) during which she demonstrated strong leadership and steered the company’s affairs, operations, product and business development to success.

    With nearly two decades of professional experience spanning sales, business development, strategy, and product management, Osiemi brings deep expertise in building sustainable investment products, strengthening partnerships, and leading teams to deliver great results.

    She began her career as a Relationship Officer at Access Bank Plc before joining AXA Mansard Investments as Head of Business Development. Prior to Zedcrest Wealth, she also led the Solutions Development team at AXA Mansard Investments, where she was responsible for driving scale and business growth, enhancing user experience, and leveraging partnerships for technology-driven distribution.

    Commenting on the appointment, the Group Managing Director of Zedcrest, Adedayo Amzat, CFA said: “Renah Osiemi is a results-driven, thoroughbred financial expert who has proven beyond doubt that she is the right leader for Zedcrest Wealth. As Acting Managing Director, Renah delivered exceptional results, strengthened our operational capacity, and demonstrated a clear vision for the future. The Board and I are confident that under her leadership, Zedcrest Wealth will reach greater heights.”

    In her remarks, Osiemi expressed gratitude to the Board and Executive Management of Zedcrest Group for entrusting her with the mandate: “It has been an incredibly rewarding journey serving as Acting Managing Director, and I am excited to continue working with our formidable team to expand our offerings, deliver exceptional client service, and unlock new opportunities for Zedcrest Wealth. We are building the best investment app on the planet, and we will continue to strengthen our position as a leading wealth management firm in Africa.”

  • PZ Cussons Nigeria PLC appoints Oludare Elusakin as CFO

    PZ Cussons Nigeria PLC appoints Oludare Elusakin as CFO

    The board of Directors of PZ Cussons Nigeria PLC approved the appointment of Mr. Oludare Ebenezer Elusakin as the new Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of the Company, effective 11 November 2024, following the expiration of the contract of the Interim CFO, Mr. Brian Egan.

    Mr. Elusakin is a commercial and finance leader with over 18 years’ experience in Financial Planning and Analysis, Business Performance Management, Strategy, Project Management, Process Improvement, Shared Service, Operations Finance, ERP Implementation, Controllership, Fundraising, Reporting and Compliance.

    He has held several senior level finance roles in major multinationals, across different geographies, and in various industries including Fast Moving Consumer Group, Health Technology, Manufacturing, Renewable Energy, Hospital Management, and Quick Service Restaurant. He is an alumnus of top corporate brands like Unilever, Diageo, and Royal Philips, a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria, and a beneficiary of several management and executive programs hosted by globally recognised institutions.

    The outgoing CFO, Mr. Egan will exit the business on 20 December 2024 having served the Company with dedication and professionalism. We extend our appreciation to him for his valuable contributions over the years and wish him well in his future endeavours.

  • Chiemeka’s appointment as NGX CEO will deepen market growth – Professional Group

    Chiemeka’s appointment as NGX CEO will deepen market growth – Professional Group

    The appointment of Jude Chiemeka as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) has continued to generate widespread acclaim from industry professionals, who believe his extensive experience and proven leadership qualities will drive NGX towards sustained success.

    Chiemeka, a seasoned executive with a robust background in finance and management, brings over 30 years of professional experience in securities trading, asset management, and investment banking across African markets. He joined the Nigerian Stock Exchange as the Divisional Head of Trading Business in February 2019 and became the Divisional Head of Capital Markets in 2021. Before his current position, he was the Executive Director of Capital Markets at NGX.

    As Chiemeka steps into his new role, the Securities and Investment Empowerment Network (SIEN), a prominent professional group in the finance sector, has described his appointment as a transformative force capable of deepening growth and further enhancing confidence in the market.

    The group in a statement signed by its President, Dr. Albert Ogunseyinde, said Chiemeka’s extensive experience provides him with a deep understanding of the complexities of the financial markets and the strategic vision needed to navigate them.

    “Chiemeka’s appointment as CEO of NGX is a testament to his exceptional leadership abilities and extensive industry experience,” said  Ogunseyinde. “His deep understanding of the financial markets, coupled with his strategic acumen, makes him the ideal person to lead NGX into a new era of growth and innovation.

    “His amiable leadership style, characterized by a commitment to excellence and a focus on stakeholder engagement, has earned him a reputation as a transformative leader. His previous roles have demonstrated his ability to drive organizational change, enhance operational efficiency, and foster a culture of transparency,accountability and empathy.”

    Before joining the Exchange, Chiemeka worked at United Capital Securities Limited, a subsidiary of United Capital Plc. As the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, he led significant initiatives such as the first cross-border trading under the West African Capital Market Integration initiative. He was also instrumental in strategy, market penetration, product development, and client management. Notably, he spearheaded the issuance and listing of the first Eurobonds Mutual Fund ($10M) on the Nigerian Exchange Limited and launched the Wealth for Women Mutual Fund, the first gender-focused mutual fund listed on the Exchange.

    Before his tenure at United Capital Plc, Chiemeka served as the CEO/MD of Chapel Hill Denham Securities. In this role, he was responsible for strategy, leadership, product development, and customer relationship management. Under his leadership, the firm ranked among the top 10 brokerage firms, accounting for over 70% of market trades with a 4% market share. Before that, he was the CEO/MD of RenCap Securities (Nigeria) Limited, a subsidiary of Renaissance Capital Plc, where he handled customer relationship management, trading, management reports, budgets, and client acquisition.

    In 2008, he was the Head of Securities Trading at Afrinvest West Africa Ltd, managing fixed-income and equities transactions across African markets for international and domestic institutional clients. He participated in several landmark transactions, including the first Global Depository Receipts (GDR) transaction on the Nigerian Stock Exchange, Nigerian International Debt Fund, and Reverse GDR trades. His career began in 1994 at Dominion Trust Limited.

    SIEN said with Chiemeka’s boisterous resume, NGX is expected to undergo significant advancements under his leadership. The group said industry experts anticipate that his strategic initiatives will focus on leveraging technology to enhance trading processes, improving market accessibility, and fostering investor confidence.

    Chiemeka’s vision for NGX aligns with the broader objectives of positioning the exchange as a leading player in the global financial markets. The Nigerian Exchange Limited plays a crucial role in the nation’s economic development by facilitating capital formation and promoting investment opportunities. With Chiemeka at the helm, we are confident that NGX will continue to contribute significantly to the growth and diversification of Nigeria’s economy,” said Ogunseyinde.

    “There is now a palpable sense of optimism about the future of the Nigerian Exchange Limited as the financial community looks forward to a new era under Chiemeka’s leadership. With his extensive experience, strategic vision, and commitment to excellence, we believe Chiemeka is well positioned to steer NGX towards a path of sustained success and greater prominence in the global financial ecosystem.”

    Chiemeka, is a Fellow and Council Member of the Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (FCS), a Member of the Institute of Directors (IOD), and the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment (CISI), UK. He is also a Fellow of the Association of Investment Advisers and Portfolio Managers and an Associate of the Certified Pension Institute of Nigeria. He holds degrees from the University of Oxford, UK, Lagos Business School, and the University of Lagos. He is married to Temitayo Chiemeka and they are blessed with Children.

  • Dangote bags Second NECA’s Lifetime Achievement Award

    Dangote bags Second NECA’s Lifetime Achievement Award

    …as Dangote Cement wins in Chemical & Non-Metallic products sector

    For the second consecutive year, Aliko Dangote, Africa’s foremost entrepreneur and humanist, was honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award and accorded special recognition by the Organised Private Sector employers in the country, under the aegis of Nigeria Employers Consultative Association (NECA).

    In a night of honour and reward for deserving member organisations, Dangote Group, the Pan-African conglomerate emerged top carting away the award in the ‘Resilience and Sustainable Growth’ category, while its subsidiary, Dangote Cement PLC was named the “Best Company in the Chemical and Non-Metallic Products Sector” during the 2022 Employers Annual Excellence Award held at the Eko Hotel in Lagos.

    The Dangote Group also got a special Plaque as one of the sponsors of the 3rd edition of the NECA 2022 Annual Employers’ Excellence Award. The Dangote Group had won an award as the best company in the Chemical and Non-Metallic Products sector in the 2021 edition.

    Chief Olusegun Osunkeye, former Chairman of Nestle Nigeria Plc. was the second personality given special recognition and honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the well-attended event.

    The Lifetime Achievement Award was received on the Dangote Group President’s behalf by a top management team led by the Group Executive Director, Strategy, Portfolio Development & Capital Projects, Mr. Devakumar Edwin; the Group Chief Human Resources Officer, Nglan Niat, and Director, Human Assets Management, Dangote Projects, Mr. Fola Ali. The other awards were also received by Mr. Edwin and Mrs. Adeola Oyetan, Head, Talent Management of Dangote Cement Plc.

    Speaking while presenting Aliko Dangote’s Lifetime Achievement Award to the Dangote team at the high-brow event, former President of NECA and industrialist, Mazi Sam Ohuabunwa said the citation of the business tycoon which was read out to the warm applause of the participants “was only to fulfil all righteousness, as the name of Dangote looms larger than life for his exemplary works.”

    He added, “I am proud that a lot of employers are here tonight. This is a great opportunity to catch up and build new networks. We need a lot of investments that would create more jobs and reduce poverty.”

    Ohuabunwa, who also presented the Award for ‘Resilience and Sustainable Production’ said, “If you sow sparingly, you will reap sparingly. But if you sow bountifully, you will reap bountifully. The last award (Lifetime Achievement) was to Aliko Dangote, but this one (Resilience & Sustainable Production Award) is to the Dangote Group that has shown resilience and sustainable growth for others to emulate. They are setting the trend in sustainable growth.”

    In his remarks after receiving the awards, Mr. Edwin, described NECA as an organisation that promotes leadership, good governance, innovation, productivity and corporate performance, and “therefore Mr. Dangote cherishes the award coming from a quarter like NECA.”

    According to him: “NECA continues to remain a partner in progress, rewarding deserving companies for their contribution to national development.  The Dangote Group will continue to contribute its quota to nation building and promote responsible business all sectors we operate.”

    Also speaking, NECA President, Mr. Taiwo Adeniyi, explained that this year’s edition of the NECA Annual Employers’ Excellence Award, the third in the series, was to reward organisations that have forged on despite the challenges in Nigeria’s business environment and the economy, which was reflected in the event theme ‘Against All Odds’.

    Adeniyi said the Employers Excellence Awards were meant to reward and encourage best practices in Corporate Performance, People Management and Industrial Relations practices amongst employers in Nigeria. He said the 2022 NECA Annual Employers’ Excellence Awards are to celebrate persistence and resilience, and added that, “In the quest for enterprise competitiveness and sustainable production, we are all winners.”

    Minister of Labour and Employment, Simon Lalong, who was represented by Mr. M. Yusuf, an official of the Labour Minstry, congratulated the employers’ body and its leadership for organising the event to recognise that have displayed resilience despite the challenges facing in the private sector.

    Other winners in various categories include Nigeria Bottling Company in the Food & Beverages Non-Alcoholic Sector; MTN in the Telecommunications and Allied Services category; TGI Group in the Agro & Agro Allied Services category; Nestle in the Food and Beverages and Workplace Innovation and Peoplecentric Creativity categories; Julius Berger in the Construction and Construction Services sector; NLNG in the Petroleum and Natural Gas sector.

  • FBNQuest partners Teach for Nigeria to promote educational development in Nigeria

    FBNQuest partners Teach for Nigeria to promote educational development in Nigeria

    FBNQuest, the investment banking and asset management business of FBN Holdings Plc, has partnered with Teach for Nigeria (TFN) to deliver a charity walk to support education for underprivileged children.  

    Teach for Nigeria is a non-profit organisation committed to developing leaders and promoting educational development across the nation by recruiting graduates and professionals to teach in under-served schools as full-time teachers. The walk was organised as a fundraiser to support the provision of academic fees for students in underprivileged communities in Nigeria.

    Access to education is critical for social and economic empowerment, and, unfortunately, financial limitations prevent many children in our community from being educated. The Walk allowed employees to unite to support deserving children and their right to education.

    Commenting on the charity walk, Funke Shobanjo, Head, Strategy, Transformation, People and Brand Management at FBNQuest, stated, “Every child should have the opportunity to acquire the knowledge and skills that will improve their future. She emphasised the importance of education as a catalyst for growth and development and reiterated the organisation’s commitment to equipping young people with the necessary skills to excel”. 

    “Our ultimate objective is to provide young leaders with enhanced access to opportunities that will contribute to establishing a stable economy. We firmly believe that strategic partnerships are crucial in attaining this objective. The proceeds from the walk will be utilised solely to support underprivileged children in dire need of educational assistance”. She added.

    FBNQuest is dedicated to supporting and enabling education in Nigeria through its education investment products. These products, such as the FBN Education Endowment Plan and Children Education Trust, are designed to secure the future of young adults. Additionally, FBNQuest participates in various initiatives focused on knowledge and skills development, people empowerment, and financial literacy to build future leaders.

  • Feature: Do we need another cloud?

    Feature: Do we need another cloud?

    By Jaap Scholten

    Amazon Web Services launched its cloud services in 2006, followed shortly by Microsoft’s Azure offering in 2010. Three years later, the word ‘hyperscaler’ entered our lexicon – meaning large cloud service providers that can provide offerings such as computing and storage at enterprise scale – and #CloudFirst became the buzzword amongst everyone, from developer to CISO.

    Systems integrators were unsure how to measure the potential threat of cloud business, compared to traditional hardware and infrastructure sales. However, the groundswell of cloud adoption was not to be ignored, despite raising so many questions.

    Business benefits and costs under the spotlight

    One of the biggest shifts in executive think-tanks centred around ICT results versus business outcomes. Spurred on by the COVID-19 pandemic, cost-saving efforts were being applied at all levels of the business, and ICT – known for its ever-increasing price/performance indexes – was put under the spotlight as an easy target for cost saving.

    The question being asked was how a cloud-first strategy would align to business outcomes: was this a pure-play in technological evolution, which would only benefit the new economy – the Ubers and Airbnbs of this world? And would the cost of modernising mainstream businesses into a cloud-first era outweigh the benefit?

    Early results posed questions

    After witnessing the mass-migration of numerous large customer workloads, the first rounds of feedback were not as euphoric as the technologists had hoped for. More questions were raised, and yet another word entered our vocabulary: ‘bill-shock’.

    Compliance officers also raised concerns over the sovereignty of company data. Patient records, student marks, financial information and intellectual property… where exactly was all of this data being hosted? And why do organisations have to pay to retrieve their own records?

    As the dust settled, customers began moving some workloads back, in an attempt to regain control, both financially and in terms of compliance. A serious re-think of the cloud-first strategy was required.

    Dollar-based billing resulted in IT budgets experiencing unprecedented cost increases, without realising any associated operational benefit. The cost of extracting data, as well as the compliance issues around data sovereignty, rapidly led to a new approach. Given that almost all of an organisation’s records – customer, supplier, product and financial records, applying to entities both large and small – now lived as data somewhere, it became paramount to place data at the centre of such a strategy.

    And so, the #DataFirst concept was born.

    New solutions, better results: ‘Data First’

    A healthy data-first approach results in a strategy that supports the fundamentals of where data is hosted, how it is transported, and how it is secured. These underlying principles must be supported by a 360-degree approach, encompassing assessment, implementation, support, modernisation and continued gap analysis to assess the strategy’s execution progress. Ultimately, a data-first strategy is aligned to business outcomes and outperforms a pure ICT strategy.

    Systems integrators started building smaller private/public clouds, hosted in sustainable data centres where power is guaranteed, with easily accessible sub-millisecond onramp paths and high levels of physical and cybersecurity, while addressing Rand-based billing and locally-based data sovereignty. These clouds offer organisations Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) as well as Platform as a Service (PaaS) options, which often mean a happy home for many applications that are not hyperscaler native.

    With multiple availability zones, users of these services address their disaster recovery needs and can start to realise large-scale, long-term savings compared to their pure hyperscaler or on-premises deployments.  Systems integrators and cloud providers tend to concentrate top skills in these areas, thereby providing their customers with innovation, strategy, financial modelling and managed services all year long, while the customer can focus on their core business.

    Multi-cloud adoption between different providers has proven to be both cost-effective and risk averse, now that multi-cloud management tools are readily available – even ‘as a Service’ – simplifying cost management, reporting engines, and optimisation efforts. Tools ensure that business outcomes are enhanced and realised.

    As to the question “do we need another cloud”, the answer is therefore a resounding “yes!” – and there will be many more clouds to follow, almost moving into the boutique-genre of clouds designed for specific classes of workloads.

    By Jaap Scholten, Head of Group ICT Strategy at Datacentrix, and COO of eNetworks, a Datacentrix company

  • LALIGA EA SPORTS gets ready for 2023/24 kick-off

    LALIGA EA SPORTS gets ready for 2023/24 kick-off

    LALIGA EA SPORTS, Spanish football’s top tier, is once again back and raring to go featuring the biggest clubs on the planet and new world-class talent.

    This summer LALIGA entered a new era with a wholescale transformation encompassing brand evolution, strategy, positioning technology, audiovisual and digital innovation, befitting what is now the world’s largest football ecosystem.

    After a summer in which LALIGA unveiled a comprehensive transformation and entered a new era in its history, it’s time for football to retake centre stage.  The 2023/24 LALIGA EA SPORTS season will once again feature the greatest talents in world football and a host of talented new additions that provide the perfect showcase for what is Europe’s most competitive major league, not only in stadiums but also on screens across the planet.

    As always, the start of LALIGA EA SPORTS throws up a host of unmissable storylines. FC Barcelona became the third different club to win the Spanish league title in three seasons last time out and they now head into the new campaign looking to become the first side to retain their crown in half a decade. But with perennial challengers Real Madrid having made important additions to their squad this off-season and 2021 champions Atlético de Madrid strengthening their team across the board, the reigning champions will have their work cut out. Can Real Sociedad, who last season broke into the top four for the first time in a decade, Real Betis, Villarreal CF, and Sevilla FC, fresh from winning a record seventh Europa League title, finally take that next step and muscle their way into title contention?

    The world class stars to follow this season

    LALIGA has opened its doors to a host of new signings and world class talent this summer to join established stars such as Robert Lewandowski, Vini Jr, who is perhaps the most exhilarating player in world football right now, and Antoine Griezmann. Real Madrid made the biggest transfer move in the world this off-season to bring in England international Jude Bellingham and add to a stacked midfield including Ballon d’Or winner Luka Modric, while FC Barcelona brought in a host of big names to strengthen their chances of retaining the title. Champions League winning captain Cesar Azpilicueta returned to LALIGA with Diego Simeone’s Atlético de Madrid, Ivory Coast international and Ligue 1 champion Jonathan Bamba joined Rafa Benitez’s new-look RC Celta side, and proven top-flight goalscorer Alexander Sorloth swapped Real Sociedad for Villarreal CF.

    LALIGA continues to boast the brightest young rising stars in world football too, with the likes of Gavi and Pedri already indispensable to FC Barcelona’s starting XI; 21-year-old Spain international Nico Williams established as a LALIGA star at Athletic Club; and Real Madrid’s new 18-year-old Turkish sensation Arda Güler set to wow fans around the world not only this season but for years to come.

    LALIGA EA SPORTS welcomes three new clubs into the top flight

    Granada CF, as champions of LALIGA HYPERMOTION, UD Las Palmas, and Deportivo Alavés join LALIGA EA SPORTS this season. Both the former and the latter are back in the elite after a single season down in the second tier, while UD Las Palmas will be familiar to fans of Spanish football fans having enjoyed a three-year stint in LALIGA EA SPORTS between 2015 and 2018.

    The season on Friday 11th August with UD Almería vs Rayo Vallecano, a match which kicks-off a flurry of headline fixtures. The iconic Madrid Derby between Real Madrid and Atlético de Madrid will be the first of LALIGA’s classic derbies on the weekend of September 24th, followed by the unique Basque Derby between Real Sociedad and Athletic Club in October, and the fiery Seville Derby between Sevilla FC and Real Betis in November. ElClásico, the highly awaited clash between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid and most high-profile club match on the planet, returns for the latest instalment in its storied history on the weekend of October 29th.

    LALIGA is back, but not as you know it

    Off the field, the summer months heralded the arrival of a new era in LALIGA history. A revolutionary strategic partnership with new title sponsor EA Sports brings with it a new and disruptive way of conceiving FÚTBOL, breaking down the barriers between the physical and the digital worlds, creating a unique product in the sports world which seeks to reach a much wider audience than conventional sports leagues have done in past years.

    LALIGA is no longer just 42 clubs across LALIGA EA SPORTS and LALIGA HYPERMOTION, Spain’s rebranded top two divisions; it also encompasses other tournaments such as LALIGA GENUINE, the first league in the world for players with intellectual disabilities, and LALIGA FC FUTURES, the world’s most prestigious youth football tournament. It now also branches out beyond the limits of the pitch, with experiences such as LALIGA TwentyNine’s, LEGENDS: The Home of Football, OMG! and LALIGA BUSINESS SCHOOL touching on areas as diverse as gastronomy, memorabilia, music, and education, among others, allowing the organization to interact with people far beyond the sport. LALIGA also continues in its commitment to eradicating blights such as racism, violence, and intolerance in football through the FUNDACIÓN LALIGA and at an institutional level, allowing it to grow its platform to impact at a wider level throughout society.

    An unprecedented fan experience

    LALIGA continues to lead the way in digital and broadcast innovation to provide football fans around the world with the best possible experience. Spain’s professional football league remains the most followed of Europe’s five major leagues on social media, recently breaking the 200 million follower mark with fans enjoying ever broader and original content in 20 different languages across 16 different platforms. The overarching brand transformation brings with it a new-look LALIGA mobile app – featuring a more personalized user experience, new content formats adapted to new consumer trends – and a revamped LALIGA FANTASY game, with 100% objective scoring and an all-new look and feel.

    LALIGA also continues to innovate and revolutionise its broadcasts, and the viewers both in Spain and around the world will enjoy a more immersive and dynamic viewing experience this season. A complete overhaul of the graphics package in line with LALIGA’s brand transformation will give matches a new-look similar to the EA SPORTS FC video game, with greater use of augmented reality, new bench, aerial and cinematic camera angles, and new and improved graphics packages to boost visibility not only on TV but also mobile and tablet screens.

    A before and after in the history of Spanish football

    The 2023/24 season also comes at a crucial time for LALIGA EA SPORTS and LALIGA HYPERMOTION clubs. BOOST LALIGA (also known as LALIGA IMPULSO), a unique large-scale €2 billion investment project aimed at strengthening the club’s long-term modernisation processes made possible by LALIGA’s agreement with global investment fund CVC, is in full swing and clubs across LALIGA are already working across the board on ambitious development plans in areas such as strategy and business, infrastructures, internationalization, product development and digitalisation, among others.

    Commercially, LALIGA continues to go from strength to strength with commercial net revenues projected to grow by over 10% this season and with guaranteed audiovisual rights revenues of over €2 billion until the 2026/27 season. EA SPORTS joins LALIGA as title sponsor for the first time this season in a historic milestone for both organizations, while PUMA, Microsoft, Mahou and BKT continue as global sponsors.

    With all the passion, drama, thrills and spills and competitiveness from top to bottom of LALIGA EA SPORTS guaranteed across the full 380-match schedule with an unprecedented broadcast experience, you won’t want to miss a single moment of the 2023/24 campaign, which will be available on SuperSport throughout the season. Let the action commence!

  • NESG announces Tayo Aduloju as the next Chief Executive Officer

    NESG announces Tayo Aduloju as the next Chief Executive Officer

    The Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) proudly announces the appointment of Dr. Tayo Aduloju as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO), effective January 1, 2024. Dr. Aduloju, who currently serves as the Chief Operating Officer (COO) and Senior Fellow for Economic Policy, Strategy, and Competitiveness, will succeed the esteemed CEO, Mr. ‘Laoye Jaiyeola, upon the completion of his two-term tenure.

    Under Mr. Jaiyeola’s transformational leadership, NESG has taken a quantum leap, utilising technology and data to promote the inclusive and sustainable growth of Nigeria’s economy while upholding its core principles of a free-market economy, the rule of law, and governance in the national interest. The Chairman, Board of Directors, NESG Mr. Niyi Yusuf, expresses heartfelt gratitude to Mr. Jaiyeola for his dedicated service and impact.

    As the incoming CEO, Dr. Tayo Aduloju brings exceptional vision and expertise to NESG. A distinguished scholar-practitioner, economist, policy entrepreneur, and strategist, he has contributed significantly to various reform initiatives, spanning sectors such as aviation, agriculture, finance, governance, maritime and public service. Dr. Aduloju’s experience includes advising former Presidents Yar’Adua and Obasanjo, as well as spearheading the NESG’s national public-private leadership forums and promoting sustainable development.

    Dr. Tayo Aduloju, with an illustrous academic background as an alumnus of the Federal University of Technology, Akure, University of Oxford, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, possesses the ideal qualifications to lead NESG through its upcoming phase. Notably, Dr. Aduloju holds several distinguished accolades, including the Walden University 2022 Citizens Award for the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences. He has earned a Doctor of Philosophy Degree in Economic Policy and Public Administration. Dr. Aduloju is also a graduate and alumnus of the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, in addition to holding an Executive Certificate in Economic Development from Harvard Kennedy School. He is a fellow of esteemed professional institutions, including The Chief of Staff Association, the Institute of Strategic Management in Nigeria, and the Institute of Management Consultants in the United States.

    Established in 1996, NESG is a non-profit, non-partisan organisation dedicated to advancing economic reform in Nigeria. Through its research, programs, and engagement, NESG has become the leading platform for public-private dialogue, fostering collaboration among the government, private sector, and stakeholders. NESG’s commitment to creating a modern, globally competitive, sustainable, inclusive, and open economy remains unwavering.

    NESG looks forward to Dr. Aduloju’s visionary leadership as its 6th CEO and the continued pursuit of its mission to transform the Nigerian economy. The organisation remains committed to driving positive change, facilitating crucial reforms, and collaboration to shape a prosperous future for Nigeria.

  • Dangote’s 650,000bpd Refinery 97% Completed, says NMDPRA

    Dangote’s 650,000bpd Refinery 97% Completed, says NMDPRA

    …naira will be stronger once the refinery begins operations

    The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has disclosed that the Dangote Petroleum Refinery, upon which the hope of the nation rests for fuel sufficiency is now 97 percent completed. The agency has also commended the work done on the project.

    The refinery, with 650,000 barrels per-day installed capacity is expected to double the total output of Nigeria’s existing ailing refining infrastructure and meet 100 percent of the Nigerian requirement of all refined products will pump out fuel any moment soon, the Agency declared.

    The NMDPRA made this disclosure in Abuja when representatives of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery visited in Abuja to present the work plan for the facility for 2022/2023 as the regulatory agency for the sector.

    The successful completion of Africa’s biggest petroleum refinery and the world’s largest single-train facility is expected to have a significant impact on Nigeria’s foreign exchange through import substitution and substantial savings in earnings. It is expected, that once the refinery commences production, the pressure on the nation’s currency will reduce and a significant inflow of forex, is expected to come in through sales from the refinery.

    On completion of the refinery, it is estimated that Nigeria will import zero petroleum oil products – down from approximately $50 billion current oil product imports per year.

    “Today, representatives of the Dangote Refinery and Petrochemicals presented their 2022/2023 work plan to the Authority which showed that the refinery project is estimated to be at 97 percent completion.

    “Dangote Oil Refinery is a 650,000 barrels per day integrated refinery project under construction in the Lekki Free Trade Zone, Lagos. It is expected to be Africa’s biggest oil refinery and the world’s biggest single-train facility,” the NMDPRA said during the visit.

    NMDPRA’s Chief Executive, Mr. Farouk Ahmed, reiterated the importance of the Dangote petroleum Refinery to the country while assuring that the Authority will give all necessary support to ensure timely completion and kick-start operations.

    Speaking on the refinery project, Group Executive Director, Strategy, Portfolio Development & Capital Projects, Dangote Industries Limited, Mr. Devakumar Edwin said the refinery would stimulate economic development in Nigeria, adding that it can meet 100 percent of the Nigerian requirement of all liquid products (Gasoline, Diesel, Kerosene and Aviation jet), and also have surplus of each of these products for export.

    “The high volume of petrol output from the refinery would transform Nigeria from a petrol import-dependent country to an exporter of refined petroleum products,” he stated adding that the refinery would produce Euro-V quality gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, kerosene and poly-propylene for local consumption and also have a surplus of each of the products for export.

    On employment generation, he disclosed that over 30,000 people are currently working at petroleum Refinery project sites through various contractors noting that when operational, the refinery will generate over 100,000 direct and indirect jobs for the youths.

    On local content development, Edwin said the company had trained over 600 artisans selected from the host communities in the areas of masonry, AC electricians, plumbing, welding, iron bending and auto mechanics.

    The refinery design, according to the company, conforms to World Bank, United States (US), United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the European Union (EU), and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) standards.

    The refinery has its own dedicated steam and power generation system with adequate standby units of reliable/uninterrupted utility supply to operating plants.435 Power plant in the refinery.

    “It also has self-sufficient marine facility with the ability for freight optimisation; the largest single order of 5 SPMs anywhere in the world; Crude SPM for unloading ships up to ULCCs; 3 product SPM for product exports up to Suez Max vessels and 2 X 48” subsea crude pipelines with interconnection.

    “Dangote industries has developed a port and constructed quays with a loading bearing capacity of 25 tonnes/sq meters to bring Over Dimensional Cargoes close to the site directly to handle liquid cargoes. The jetty is situated at a distance of 12.3 km from the refinery thereby effectively reducing the travel time.

    “Dangote Petroleum Refinery maintains high standards for all its business practices, valuing health, safety, environment and rights for its employees, compliances with all applicable local and international laws, and being a committed partner to communities, governments and the environment,” Edwin added.

  • Dangote Refinery, a Game Changer that’ll drive Africa’s Refining Revolution, says FG

    Dangote Refinery, a Game Changer that’ll drive Africa’s Refining Revolution, says FG

    The Federal Government has described the 650,000 barrels-per-day Dangote Petroleum Refinery as a game-changer that is capable of driving a refining revolution in Africa.

    Nigeria’s Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, who made this declaration during a media tour of the $19 billion Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals Plant at Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos, said the project would be a game-changer once it comes on stream.

    The Minister, who also went on a tour of the $2.5 billion Dangote Fertiliser Plant, listed the benefits of the Refinery to include huge value addition that will contribute to increasing in Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP); conservation of foreign exchange as the importation of petroleum products would be eradicated; generation of forex through the export of finished product; availability of petroleum products thus ending petrol queues, and attraction of foreign capital investment.

    He stated, “After visiting the facilities, one can conveniently say that Dangote is leading Nigeria’s industrial revolution. The coming into being of such huge industrial complex as the Dangote Fertiliser Company and the Refinery were made possible by the enabling environment provided by the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.

    “Today, businesses are springing up in all sectors, thanks to a conducive business environment. Under this Administration, the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) has implemented over 150 reforms, moving Nigeria up 39 places on the World Bank Doing Business index since 2016. Mr. President also signed the Companies and Allied Matters Act, 2020 (CAMA 2020) – Nigeria’s most significant business legislation in three decades.

    “The result of this favourable business environment is the birth of new businesses such as the $2.5 billion Dangote Fertiliser Plant that will produce 3 million metric tonnes of Urea every year; the 650,000 barrels-per-day oil refinery due to open later this year; Lekki Deep Sea Port, one of the most modern seaports in West Africa; the 5,000 barrels-per-day Modular Refinery in Ibigwe, Imo State, and three more modular refineries to be commissioned before May 2023 in Edo and Bayelsa states just to mention a few.”

    Speaking on the benefits of Dangote Fertiliser to the economy, Lai Mohammed said prior to the inauguration of the present administration, Nigeria had a fertiliser shortfall of about 3.5 million tonnes per annum.

    According to him, with the coming on stream of the Dangote Fertiliser Plant, Nigeria is now self-sufficient in the production of urea. “In fact, Nigeria is now the leading producer of Urea in Africa. The Dangote Fertiliser plant is already exporting to the US, India, Brazil, Mexico and Argentina. We were fortunate to witness a ship being loaded with urea for export to Argentina,” he added.

    Mohammed said the conducive business environment created by the government and its support had enabled the coming on stream of the $2.5 billion Dangote Fertiliser Plant which was inaugurated recently by the president. He said the 650,000 barrels-per-day refinery was due for opening later this year, adding that both projects would guarantee food and energy security for Nigerians.

    On his part, Group Executive Director, Strategy, Capital Projects and Portfolio Development, Dangote Industries Ltd., Mr. Devakumar Edwin, thanked the government for the support towards the completion of the projects.

    Edwin said the refinery was the world’s largest single-train petroleum refinery and was designed to maximise production of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) with a capacity of about 53 percent compared to 20 percent by other refineries. He said: The petroleum refinery can meet 100 per cent of the requirements of Nigeria, of all the liquid products – Gasoline (PMS), Diesel (AGO), Kerosene (DPK) and Aviation Jet Fuel (Jet A-1).

    “While 60 percent of the production of this petroleum refinery can meet the entire requirement of Nigeria, the rest 40 per cent will go for export, generating huge amount of foreign exchange”, he added.

    Justifying the government’s decision to acquire a 20 per cent stake in the refinery, Edwin noted that the project was of strategic national importance and a win-win for the nation and the Dangote Group.