Topics
Countries
Nigeria News
Would you like to access news/blog content published by sources located in Nigeria?
Code example
If you'd like to make a REST call, then make a following POST request:
Endpoint /api/v1/article/getArticles
Request body
{
"sourceLocationUri": "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nigeria",
"resultType": "articles",
"apiKey": "API_KEY"
}
If you'd like instead to do a GET request then call:
/api/v1/article/getArticles?sourceLocationUri=http%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FNigeria&resultType=articles&apiKey=API_KEY
Example of JSON response
Below is an example JSON object that you would receive as the result of the request. You can retrieve also additional properties such as concepts, categories, source details, etc. by specifying additional parameters in the request as described on the documentation page.
{
"articles": {
"results": [
{
"uri": "9434483466",
"lang": "eng",
"isDuplicate": false,
"date": "2026-08-17",
"time": "02:16:58",
"dateTime": "2026-08-17T02:16:58Z",
"dateTimePub": "2026-08-17T02:16:36Z",
"dataType": "news",
"sim": 0,
"url": "https://www.thisdaylive.com/2026/08/17/nsdc-mobilises-1bn-investment-pipeline-to-drive-nigerias-sugar-self-sufficiency/",
"title": "NSDC Mobilises $1bn Investment Pipeline to Drive Nigeria's Sugar Self-Sufficiency",
"body": "- Targets two million tonnes of locally produced sugar under NSMP 2.0\n\n- Tightens import-quota enforcement, deploys satellite monitoring for backward integration\n\nSunday Ehigiator\n\nThe National Sugar Development Council (NSDC) has unveiled a fresh investment and enforcement strategy aimed at accelerating Nigeria's drive towards sugar self-sufficiency, anchored on a $1 billion engineering, procurement and construction (EPC)-plus-finance partnership with China's SINOMACH and a ₦10 billion Sugar Project Acceleration Fund.\n\nThe Council said the initiative, which forms part of the Nigeria Sugar Master Plan (NSMP) 2.0, is designed to transform the country's sugar industry into a major industrial and investment opportunity while reducing dependence on imported sugar.\n\nThe Executive Secretary/Chief Executive Officer of the NSDC, Kamar Bakrin, disclosed the plan when he received members of the Abuja Chapter of the Chartered Institute of Directors (CIoD) on a courtesy visit to the Council's headquarters in Abuja.\n\nAccording to the Council, Nigeria consumes about 1.8 million metric tonnes of sugar annually, with an estimated $1 billion flowing to foreign producers every year.\n\nBakrin said the figure represented a ready domestic market that could be captured by Nigerian producers, generating jobs, rural incomes, foreign-exchange savings and industrial capacity.\n\nHe said the central challenge confronting the sector was not the absence of government policies but poor implementation.\n\n\"We don't lack policy. What we have struggled with is world-class execution,\" Bakrin said.\n\nHe added the problem was fundamentally one of governance rather than farming, arguing that effective institutions could close the gap.\n\nBakrin described NSMP 2.0 as an \"acceleration mandate\" designed to compress Nigeria's journey towards self-sufficiency, with a target of producing about two million metric tonnes of sugar locally.\n\nThe NSDC boss said the Council's ambition extends beyond replacing imported sugar, noting that sugarcane could serve as the foundation for a wider bio-industrial economy.\n\nHe explained that sugarcane could produce sugar, ethanol, animal feed and electricity, making it capable of supporting several interconnected industries.\n\n\"We have been blessed with a crop that is one of the most generous God has ever made. From sugarcane you can get sugar, you can get ethanol, you can get animal feed, you can produce power. Our job is to build a bio-industrial ecosystem around it, this is not just about producing a commodity,\" he said.\n\nTo strengthen investor confidence, the Council said it had also redesigned its Backward Integration Programme around four principles: qualify, reward, verify and enforce.\n\nUnder the new regime, companies seeking import quotas would be required to demonstrate genuine commitment to backward integration, while major refiners would provide audited production commitments linked to their quotas.\n\nThe NSDC said consequences would apply where companies fail to meet their commitments.\n\nIt added that satellite imagery would be deployed alongside physical field inspections to independently verify activities at sugar project sites, replacing reliance on self-reporting with data-driven monitoring.\n\nBakrin said the Council had identified the absence of bankable projects, rather than a shortage of capital, as a major obstacle to investment in the sector.\n\nTo address this, the ₦10 billion Sugar Project Acceleration Fund, established with the Bank of Industry, would finance feasibility studies and project preparation, turning greenfield sugar sites into investment-ready projects.\n\nThe resulting projects would feed into the $1 billion EPC-plus-finance agreement with SINOMACH, creating a channel for construction and financing once projects are prepared.\n\nThe Council said it was also engaging the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) and partnering with the Nigeria Governors' Forum to accelerate the development of sugar estates across the country.\n\nThe Council said smallholder farmers and host communities would remain central to the new strategy through the Sugarcane Outgrower Development Programme.\n\nUnder NSMP 2.0, every sugar estate would be required to reserve land for outgrowers and invest part of its capital in host communities through social infrastructure, employment and physical infrastructure.\n\nThe Council said the arrangement was intended to make rural prosperity an integral part of sugar-sector development rather than an afterthought.\n\nBakrin also cited Brazil as an example of what Nigeria could achieve through strong institutions, arguing that the country's success in sugar production was driven more by institutional development than superior agricultural practices.\n\n\"Brazil did not win by planting better cane. They won by building institutions that compounded productivity for years, for decades.\"\n\nHe said the NSDC was applying the same philosophy internally by developing standard operating procedures for its critical functions using Six Sigma methodology.\n\nAccording to him, the objective is to create standardised and sustainable processes capable of surviving changes in leadership.\n\n\"I hold a very strong conviction that the difference between the countries that industrialised and those that did not rarely has to do with the quality of their plants. It is the quality of their institutions.\"\n\nBakrin also invited the CIoD to support the emerging sugar economy by strengthening corporate governance across sugar estates, mills and outgrower companies, as well as contributing to policy dialogue and consistency required to attract long-term capital.\n\nThe leader of the CIoD delegation, Fatima Nana Mede, commended the Council's reforms and expressed the Institute's readiness to collaborate with the NSDC in advancing the sector.\n\nThe NSDC said NSMP 2.0 would combine investment mobilisation, stronger accountability and enforcement, financing for bankable projects and support for outgrower farmers, while developing sugarcane into a diversified industrial base for sugar, ethanol, animal feed and power.",
"source": {
"uri": "thisdaylive.com",
"dataType": "news",
"title": "THISDAYLIVE"
},
"authors": [],
"concepts": [
{
"uri": "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Engineering,_procurement,_and_construction",
"type": "wiki",
"score": 5,
"label": {
"eng": "Engineering, procurement, and construction"
}
},
{
"uri": "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sugarcane",
"type": "wiki",
"score": 5,
"label": {
"eng": "Sugarcane"
}
},
{
"uri": "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Security_and_Defense_Council_of_Ukraine",
"type": "wiki",
"score": 5,
"label": {
"eng": "National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine"
}
},
{
"uri": "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tonne",
"type": "wiki",
"score": 5,
"label": {
"eng": "Tonne"
}
},
{
"uri": "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acceleration",
"type": "wiki",
"score": 5,
"label": {
"eng": "Acceleration"
}
},
{
"uri": "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sugar",
"type": "wiki",
"score": 5,
"label": {
"eng": "Sugar"
}
},
{
"uri": "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nigeria",
"type": "loc",
"score": 5,
"label": {
"eng": "Nigeria"
},
"location": {
"type": "country",
"label": {
"eng": "Nigeria"
}
}
},
{
"uri": "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-sustainability",
"type": "wiki",
"score": 4,
"label": {
"eng": "Self-sustainability"
}
},
{
"uri": "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abuja",
"type": "loc",
"score": 4,
"label": {
"eng": "Abuja"
},
"location": {
"type": "place",
"label": {
"eng": "Abuja"
},
"country": {
"type": "country",
"label": {
"eng": "Nigeria"
}
}
}
},
{
"uri": "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_National_(Abu_Dhabi)",
"type": "wiki",
"score": 3,
"label": {
"eng": "The National (Abu Dhabi)"
}
},
{
"uri": "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_feed",
"type": "wiki",
"score": 3,
"label": {
"eng": "Animal feed"
}
},
{
"uri": "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth_observation_satellite",
"type": "wiki",
"score": 3,
"label": {
"eng": "Earth observation satellite"
}
},
{
"uri": "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethanol",
"type": "wiki",
"score": 3,
"label": {
"eng": "Ethanol"
}
},
{
"uri": "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commonwealth_of_Independent_States",
"type": "loc",
"score": 3,
"label": {
"eng": "Commonwealth of Independent States"
},
"location": null
},
{
"uri": "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nigerian_naira",
"type": "wiki",
"score": 3,
"label": {
"eng": "Nigerian naira"
}
},
{
"uri": "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chief_executive_officer",
"type": "wiki",
"score": 3,
"label": {
"eng": "Chief executive officer"
}
},
{
"uri": "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China",
"type": "loc",
"score": 3,
"label": {
"eng": "China"
},
"location": {
"type": "country",
"label": {
"eng": "China"
}
}
},
{
"uri": "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_Export–Import_Bank",
"type": "org",
"score": 2,
"label": {
"eng": "African Export–Import Bank"
}
},
{
"uri": "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Import_quota",
"type": "wiki",
"score": 2,
"label": {
"eng": "Import quota"
}
},
{
"uri": "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satellite_imagery",
"type": "wiki",
"score": 2,
"label": {
"eng": "Satellite imagery"
}
},
{
"uri": "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oil_refinery",
"type": "wiki",
"score": 2,
"label": {
"eng": "Oil refinery"
}
},
{
"uri": "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/God",
"type": "wiki",
"score": 2,
"label": {
"eng": "God"
}
},
{
"uri": "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electricity",
"type": "wiki",
"score": 2,
"label": {
"eng": "Electricity"
}
},
{
"uri": "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecosystem",
"type": "wiki",
"score": 2,
"label": {
"eng": "Ecosystem"
}
},
{
"uri": "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commodity",
"type": "wiki",
"score": 2,
"label": {
"eng": "Commodity"
}
},
{
"uri": "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medes",
"type": "loc",
"score": 1,
"label": {
"eng": "Medes"
},
"location": null
},
{
"uri": "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brazil",
"type": "loc",
"score": 1,
"label": {
"eng": "Brazil"
},
"location": {
"type": "country",
"label": {
"eng": "Brazil"
}
}
}
],
"categories": [
{
"uri": "dmoz/Society/Issues/Economic",
"label": "dmoz/Society/Issues/Economic",
"wgt": 20
},
{
"uri": "dmoz/Society/Government",
"label": "dmoz/Society/Government",
"wgt": 21
},
{
"uri": "dmoz/Business/Food_and_Related_Products/Sweeteners",
"label": "dmoz/Business/Food and Related Products/Sweeteners",
"wgt": 22
},
{
"uri": "dmoz/Business/Investing/Socially_Responsible",
"label": "dmoz/Business/Investing/Socially Responsible",
"wgt": 20
},
{
"uri": "dmoz/Business/Financial_Services/Investment_Services",
"label": "dmoz/Business/Financial Services/Investment Services",
"wgt": 20
},
{
"uri": "news/Business",
"label": "news/Business",
"wgt": 100
},
{
"uri": "iptc/economy,_business_and_finance",
"label": "iptc/economy, business and finance",
"wgt": 90
},
{
"uri": "iptc/politics_and_government/international_relations",
"label": "iptc/politics and government/international relations",
"wgt": 77
}
],
"image": "https://global.ariseplay.com/amg/www.thisdaylive.com/uploads/National-Sugar-Development-Council-NSDC-623x400-1.jpeg",
"eventUri": null,
"sentiment": 0.03529411764705892,
"wgt": 524629018,
"relevance": 1
},
{
"uri": "9434482530",
"lang": "eng",
"isDuplicate": false,
"date": "2026-08-17",
"time": "02:14:49",
"dateTime": "2026-08-17T02:14:49Z",
"dateTimePub": "2026-08-16T23:00:35Z",
"dataType": "news",
"sim": 0,
"url": "https://punchng.com/reform-gains-now-governors-must-fix-the-streets/",
"title": "Reform gains: Now governors must fix the streets",
"body": "I write as a Nigerian citizen with no party membership. President Bola Tinubu's administration has taken difficult and consequential steps to address long-standing distortions in the economy. The removal of the petrol subsidy and the reforms in the foreign-exchange market were bound to impose short-term pain. But they were also meant to restore fiscal stability, improve economic management, and create room for government at all levels to invest in development. Like many Nigerians, I feel the harsh reality of this transition. No honest person should dismiss the suffering citizens are enduring.\n\nYet hardship does not mean the reforms have produced no gains. Nigeria's macroeconomic position has genuinely improved. The World Bank's April 2026 Nigeria Development Update reported progress on macroeconomic stabilisation, including firmer fiscal and external positions. The National Bureau of Statistics reported real GDP growth of 3.89 per cent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2026, up from 3.13 per cent in the same quarter of 2025. Nigerians, however, do not experience any of this as a statistic. They experience it through food prices, transport costs, jobs, schools, roads, healthcare, and whether a small business can stay open. The next phase of reform must move beyond Abuja to improvements in citizens' lives at the grassroots.\n\nThe evidence of increased fiscal resources is significant and growing. NEITI's review of Federation Account Allocation Committee disbursements found that total FAAC disbursements reached N15.26tn in 2024. State governments collectively received N5.81tn and local governments N3.77tn, increases of 62 per cent and 47 per cent over 2023. That trajectory continued through 2025: total disbursements to all three tiers, including derivation revenue, rose to roughly N21.9tn for the year. In the third quarter of 2025 alone, NEITI recorded states receiving N1.97tn and local governments N1.45 trillion, a 55.6 per cent year-on-year jump. As of the most recent disbursement on record, for May 2026 revenue, states received N759bn and local governments N534bn in that single month, roughly double what either tier received per month in late 2023.\n\nThese figures should not be read simplistically. Higher nominal allocations do not mean every state suddenly became richer in real terms; inflation, exchange-rate movements, rising government costs, debt obligations and deductions from Federation revenues all matter. But headline inflation had eased to around 16 per cent by mid-2026, so the growing allocation represents real, spendable growth rather than currency erosion. The revenue pool available to the three tiers of government is now substantially larger than during the period of severe fiscal stress before Tinubu's reforms, and that gap is no longer mainly a statistical illusion. The reforms have created an opportunity. They also create an obligation.\n\nThe President has taken difficult decisions at the centre. But the reforms were never going to solve all of Nigeria's problems on their own. Their purpose was to correct major distortions and build a more sustainable foundation for economic management, and the evidence increasingly suggests progress on those fronts. Macroeconomic stability, though, is a means, not the destination. The real destination is a country where families can afford food, businesses can create jobs, farmers can reach markets, children can get quality education, and citizens can access basic public services with dignity.\n\nThat is why the next stage of Nigeria's reform conversation should not be only about the President; it should be about governors and local governments. The question is whether the fiscal space created by reform is being converted into better lives. If allocations have increased, accountability must increase. If revenues have improved, service delivery must improve. If Nigeria is stabilising at the top, citizens must begin to feel progress at the bottom. That is the challenge before Nigeria's subnational leaders: turn fiscal gains into human relief.\n\nThe objective should not simply be to spend more; it should be to spend better. A state receiving more revenue does not necessarily need another prestige project. It needs rural roads, agricultural support, storage, irrigation, help for small manufacturers, stronger primary healthcare, better public education, vocational training, and targeted support for households struggling with the cost of living. The test of increased revenue should be the quality of outcomes, not the size of the budget. Governors should publish a simple citizens' fiscal report every month or quarter: how much the state received from FAAC, how much it generated internally, what deductions or obligations were made, what was spent, which projects were completed, and how many people benefited. This information should not be buried in hundreds of pages of budget documents; citizens should be able to understand it without being accountants or economists. Transparency is not merely an anti-corruption tool; it also builds public trust. The same principle applies even more strongly to local governments.\n\nNigeria's local governments are closest to ordinary citizens. When a rural road becomes impassable, a public market deteriorates, refuse accumulates, a community water project fails, or a primary healthcare facility stops functioning, citizens feel the consequences of local-government failure directly.\n\nThe Supreme Court's July 2024 judgment on local-government financial autonomy made this more urgent.\n\nIt ordered FAAC allocations to be paid directly into council accounts, ending the old state-local government joint account system, and President Tinubu has continued to insist that governors comply. Yet two years on, implementation remains largely stalled in most states, with council funds still flowing through the old structure. That delay should not become an excuse for either side: governors cannot claim to support autonomy while continuing to sit on the funds, and local-government chairpersons cannot use it to explain away every failure once they do get direct access. Financial autonomy without accountability will simply relocate the problem. Local-government chairpersons must be prepared to answer the same questions as governors: What did your council receive? What did you spend? What communities benefited? What measurable improvements can residents see?\n\nCitizens have a responsibility here too. Too often, Nigerians occupy only two positions in public-policy conversations: beneficiaries and critics. We wait for government to announce programmes, and when those programmes fail, we complain. We should do more. Citizens, professionals, researchers, entrepreneurs, farmers, civil-society organisations and Nigerians in the diaspora should identify problems, design practical interventions, analyse data, and show how modest public investments can produce measurable outcomes, then direct these ideas to the relevant state and local authorities in an organised way. Governments need credible ideas on improving food production, logistics and storage, market access, and support for small producers, and on ensuring public interventions reach those who need them. The same applies to jobs, healthcare, education, transportation, waste management, and small-business development.\n\nThis is the conversation Nigerians should begin having with their governors and local-government chairpersons. Government should be challenged, but it should also be engaged: citizens submitting credible proposals, sharing data, organising community feedback, and insisting on evidence of implementation. Even when government is slow to respond, citizens will have played their part. Good leaders pay attention to the people they serve.\n\nDr Adeoti writes from Hong Kong via [email protected].",
"source": {
"uri": "punchng.com",
"dataType": "news",
"title": "Punch Newspapers"
},
"authors": [],
"concepts": [
{
"uri": "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Local_government",
"type": "wiki",
"score": 5,
"label": {
"eng": "Local government"
}
},
{
"uri": "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macroeconomics",
"type": "wiki",
"score": 5,
"label": {
"eng": "Macroeconomics"
}
},
{
"uri": "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nigeria",
"type": "loc",
"score": 5,
"label": {
"eng": "Nigeria"
},
"location": {
"type": "country",
"label": {
"eng": "Nigeria"
}
}
},
{
"uri": "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bola_Tinubu",
"type": "person",
"score": 4,
"label": {
"eng": "Bola Tinubu"
}
},
{
"uri": "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inflation",
"type": "wiki",
"score": 4,
"label": {
"eng": "Inflation"
}
},
{
"uri": "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economics",
"type": "wiki",
"score": 4,
"label": {
"eng": "Economics"
}
},
{
"uri": "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_prices",
"type": "wiki",
"score": 3,
"label": {
"eng": "Food prices"
}
},
{
"uri": "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_National_(Abu_Dhabi)",
"type": "wiki",
"score": 3,
"label": {
"eng": "The National (Abu Dhabi)"
}
},
{
"uri": "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_governments_of_the_United_States",
"type": "org",
"score": 3,
"label": {
"eng": "State governments of the United States"
}
},
{
"uri": "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FAAC",
"type": "wiki",
"score": 3,
"label": {
"eng": "FAAC"
}
},
{
"uri": "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Bank",
"type": "wiki",
"score": 3,
"label": {
"eng": "World Bank"
}
},
{
"uri": "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subsidy",
"type": "wiki",
"score": 3,
"label": {
"eng": "Subsidy"
}
},
{
"uri": "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gasoline",
"type": "wiki",
"score": 3,
"label": {
"eng": "Gasoline"
}
},
{
"uri": "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Small_business",
"type": "wiki",
"score": 3,
"label": {
"eng": "Small business"
}
},
{
"uri": "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grassroots",
"type": "wiki",
"score": 3,
"label": {
"eng": "Grassroots"
}
},
{
"uri": "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_growth",
"type": "wiki",
"score": 3,
"label": {
"eng": "Economic growth"
}
},
{
"uri": "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abuja",
"type": "loc",
"score": 3,
"label": {
"eng": "Abuja"
},
"location": {
"type": "place",
"label": {
"eng": "Abuja"
},
"country": {
"type": "country",
"label": {
"eng": "Nigeria"
}
}
}
},
{
"uri": "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Primary_healthcare",
"type": "wiki",
"score": 2,
"label": {
"eng": "Primary healthcare"
}
},
{
"uri": "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Real_versus_nominal_value_(economics)",
"type": "wiki",
"score": 2,
"label": {
"eng": "Real versus nominal value (economics)"
}
},
{
"uri": "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autonomy",
"type": "wiki",
"score": 2,
"label": {
"eng": "Autonomy"
}
},
{
"uri": "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Administrative_division",
"type": "wiki",
"score": 2,
"label": {
"eng": "Administrative division"
}
},
{
"uri": "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erosion",
"type": "wiki",
"score": 2,
"label": {
"eng": "Erosion"
}
},
{
"uri": "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exchange_rate",
"type": "wiki",
"score": 2,
"label": {
"eng": "Exchange rate"
}
},
{
"uri": "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accountability",
"type": "wiki",
"score": 2,
"label": {
"eng": "Accountability"
}
},
{
"uri": "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_service",
"type": "org",
"score": 2,
"label": {
"eng": "Public service"
}
},
{
"uri": "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hong_Kong",
"type": "loc",
"score": 1,
"label": {
"eng": "Hong Kong"
},
"location": {
"type": "country",
"label": {
"eng": "Hong Kong"
}
}
}
],
"categories": [
{
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{
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{
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{
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{
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{
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{
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{
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{
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"label": "iptc/economy, business and finance/economy",
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}
],
"image": "https://punchng.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Tinunu_1786909319-1200x630.webp",
"eventUri": null,
"sentiment": -0.01960784313725494,
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},
{
"uri": "9434482531",
"lang": "eng",
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"date": "2026-08-17",
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"url": "https://punchng.com/turning-rhetoric-into-livestock-revolution/",
"title": "Turning rhetoric into livestock revolution",
"body": "NIGERIA'S ambition to more than double its livestock sector's estimated $32 billion annual contribution to the economy is welcome.\n\nPresident Bola Tinubu said at the 9th All Africa Conference on Animal Agriculture in Abuja that Nigeria would transform livestock from a largely subsistence and cultural activity into a modern, technology-driven and commercially competitive industry.\n\nBut ambition backed by rhetoric, by itself, can neither produce affordable beef nor turn the country into a livestock-exporting powerhouse.\n\nTo attain its target, Nigeria should end the conflict-inducing open grazing and commit to ranching at all levels.\n\nThe Tinubu administration has established a Federal Ministry of Livestock Development, launched the National Livestock Growth Acceleration Strategy and identified improved genetics, animal health, commercial feed production, modern ranching and stronger value chains as priorities.\n\nThese are sensible objectives. The problem is that Nigeria has heard variations of such lofty ideals for decades. What the country needs now is not another catalogue of intentions but a measurable livestock revolution.\n\nAccording to the President, Nigeria has more than 58 million cattle, 64 million sheep, 124 million goats and 660 million poultry birds.\n\nYet such enormous biological assets have not translated into an equally impressive supply of affordable animal protein. The paradox is that a country with one of Africa's largest livestock populations still struggles with expensive meat and imports milk, butter, cheese and even poultry and fish.\n\nThe fundamental problem is productivity. For generations, much of Nigeria's cattle production has been defined by extensive pastoralism, uncontrolled breeding, inadequate nutrition, poor animal health services and the movement of herds from one grazing area to another.\n\nThis system has cultural and historical roots and provides livelihoods for millions, but it is increasingly incompatible with a highly populated and rapidly urbanising country.\n\nScientific evidence points to the productivity gap. A study of dairy cattle in Kano found average daily yields of only about 2.37 litres for Bunaji cattle, compared with 21 litres for pure Friesian cattle under the systems examined. Crossbreeding, however, substantially improved performance.\n\nRecent research shows that indigenous Nigerian cattle breeds, including White Fulani, Sokoto Gudali and Red Bororo, typically record dressing percentages of about 43 to 53 per cent, with saleable meat accounting for roughly 33 to 37 per cent of live body weight.\n\nThis is below the performance of specialised European and American beef breeds, which can achieve dressing percentages of 55 to 60 per cent under intensive, well-managed production systems.\n\nTo capture real value, Nigeria must increase cattle weight gain, reproductive efficiency, survival rates and carcass yields. The same principle applies to sheep, goats and poultry.\n\nThis is why the Minister of Livestock Development, Idi Maiha's emphasis on better genetics, pasture development, commercial feed, veterinary services and ranching is important.\n\nThe minister says the government has identified 417 grazing reserves and plans to rehabilitate them, with pilot ranching in Plateau State and modern livestock settlements in Benue, Plateau, Nasarawa, Kaduna, Adamawa and the FCT.\n\nHe has also spoken of commercial pasture production, improved breeds, modern abattoirs, dairy processors, veterinary facilities, schools, healthcare, solar power, water infrastructure and livestock identification through radio-frequency tags.\n\nThese are potentially transformative measures. The Wase Grazing Reserve in Plateau, for example, has more than 100,000 hectares, with government planning to allocate about 30,000 hectares to large-scale livestock facilities involving Defence Headquarters Holdings.\n\nBut Nigeria should be clear about and committed to the objective. Ranching must not just become sedentary nomadism. A cattle settlement where animals are confined but still fed poorly and bred indiscriminately will solve little. The objective must be commercially viable, scientifically managed livestock production.\n\nBrazil applied agricultural science, improved genetics, tropical pasture development, disease control and integrated crop-livestock systems to transform its livestock industry. Embrapa reports that over 40 years, poultry-meat production increased 22-fold, milk and beef production each quadrupled, while the average productivity rate of its beef herd doubled from about 11 per cent to 22 per cent.\n\nBrazil now has more than 200 million cattle, is the world's largest beef exporter and exported about 3.50 million tonnes of beef in 2025. Its agricultural exports reached a record $169.2 billion in 2025, with beef alone generating about $17.9 billion. Brazil is also the world's largest chicken-meat exporter.\n\nThis shows that livestock transformation is fundamentally a science-and-business project, not simply a pastoral-policy project.\n\nSimilarly, Argentina exported a record 853,183 tonnes of beef, worth about $3.7 billion in 2025, highlighting the importance of breeding, pasture management, processing infrastructure, traceability, sanitary standards and access to international markets.\n\nThe Netherlands, a relatively small country, has built an astonishing dairy and livestock value chain around productivity, technology, processing, logistics and exports. In 2025, Dutch agricultural exports were worth €88.4 billion, with dairy products and eggs alone accounting for €13.3 billion and meat another €12.1 billion.\n\nEven Saudi Arabia, a desert country, in 2025 generated more than 12.8 billion Saudi riyals ($3.4 billion) in revenue from dairy products through Almarai, the world's largest vertically integrated dairy company. Its investments in technology, processing and distribution include a long-life milk line capable of producing 40 million litres annually.\n\nTherefore, Nigeria has no valid excuse for remaining a deficit market. It is comforting that Nigeria is already working with Brazil in this regard.\n\nThe transformation should be overwhelmingly private-sector-led, with government creating the conditions for investment. Federal and state governments should provide secure land tenure, roads, water, electricity, veterinary infrastructure, disease surveillance, research, extension services, credit guarantees and clear tax rules.\n\nThey should establish competitive pilot livestock-development hubs, measure their productivity and replicate successful models nationwide.\n\nAbove all, Nigeria needs an integrated value chain. The goal should not be merely to sell live cattle or goats. It should be to capture the value in breeding, feed, veterinary medicine, animal health, fattening, slaughter, cold storage, meat processing, leather, dairy, cheese, yoghurt, butter, animal feed, manure, biogas, logistics and retailing.\n\nThe same urgency must apply to poultry. Feed accounts for about 70 per cent of poultry production costs, making maize, soybeans and feed logistics central to the industry's survival. Chicken and eggs will remain expensive if the feed industry remains chronically exposed to high input costs.\n\nFish must also be a critical aspect of the animal-protein strategy.\n\nNigeria has about 853 kilometres of coastline and more than 14 million hectares of inland waters, according to FAO figures. The country consumes about 3.6 million tonnes of fish annually, while production is only around 1.2 to 1.4 million tonnes. Fish supplies about 40 per cent of household protein consumption and supports millions of livelihoods.\n\nThis is a massive opportunity recognised even by foreigners. Nigeria should be producing far more through modern aquaculture, improved hatcheries, quality broodstock, locally manufactured feed, cage culture, cold-chain infrastructure and sustainable management of marine and inland fisheries.\n\nThe FAO has documented Nigeria's chronic shortage of quality fish seed and feed, as well as the enormous potential of its inland waters. This must be reversed.\n\nNigeria is confronting a punishing cost-of-living crisis, which the availability of affordable animal protein can help contain. Food inflation cannot be sustainably defeated or food security achieved by importing more food or periodically announcing subsidies. It requires increasing domestic productivity.\n\nBeyond productivity is the security dimension. The World Bank has estimated that herders' violence against farmers costs Nigeria about $14 billion annually, through lost lives, livelihoods, food production and economic activity.\n\nThe disappearance of grazing routes, competition for land and water, desertification, population growth and climate pressures have made unrestricted livestock movement increasingly dangerous and unsustainable.\n\nTherefore, modern ranching doubles as an agricultural reform and a security intervention.\n\nThe ambition to double a $32 billion sector is certainly worth pursuing. But Nigeria should aim higher, seeking to become self-sufficient and eventually a net exporter of animal protein.\n\nPrivate capital must be mobilised to ensure that measurable targets are met through relentless execution in replacing roaming herds with productive enterprises invested in ranching, genetics, cultivated feed, modern abattoirs and integrated value chains.",
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"body": "Every entrepreneur seeks investment. Some look to banks. Others pursue venture capital, angel investors, government intervention funds, or support from family and friends. Yet long before any of these become relevant, every entrepreneur must first secure an investment that receives remarkably little attention.\n\nIt is not financial. It is psychological. Trust! That, in my view, is the first and most consequential investment any entrepreneur ever receives.\n\nEvery commercial transaction begins with an act of confidence. Before money changes hands, one party must become sufficiently convinced that the other is capable of delivering what has been promised. Contracts may later define obligations, invoices may record payment, and the law may ultimately enforce rights, but none of these creates the transaction. They merely formalise a relationship that trust has already made possible.\n\nCommerce, therefore, is not built on capital alone. It is built on confidence.\n\nThis is perhaps the most overlooked truth in our conversation about entrepreneurship. We have become accustomed to discussing businesses from the point at which they begin to attract investment, employ staff, occupy offices and generate impressive revenues. By then, however, the entrepreneur has already crossed the most difficult bridge.\n\nSomeone believed before there was evidence. Someone bought before there were reviews. Someone trusted before there was a reputation. And that is precisely where I believe Nigeria's entrepreneurship conversation begins.\n\nAccording to AFSIC - Investing in Africa 2026, Nigeria is witnessing a surge in entrepreneurial activity driven by its youthful population, vibrant culture, and a growing shift toward innovation and self-driven economic participation. By every indication, Nigeria has become a nation of entrepreneurs. We celebrate unicorns, applaud startups that raise millions of dollars, and organise conferences around innovation, venture capital and the future of African business. Governments roll out programmes for SMEs, financial institutions design products for small businesses, and policymakers routinely speak about entrepreneurship as the engine of economic growth. Nigeria's entrepreneurial rise is no longer speculative; it is visible and accelerating. These growing shifts and conversations are important. But they all begin at roughly the same point: when a business already exists.\n\nThere is an earlier stage where entrepreneurship development should pay greater attention to credibility formation at the earliest stage of the enterprise. This is particularly relevant in Nigeria, where many businesses grow through relationships, referrals, and personal recommendations. Indeed, due diligence leads investors and ordinary customers to ask questions before committing their money; they ask simple but revealing questions: Who is this person? Who is the founder? Can they be trusted?\n\nHas anyone dealt with them before? Would I feel comfortable recommending them to someone else? Who can vouch for this person? Who am I trusting?\n\nThese questions are not peripheral to commerce. They are commerce. The distance between a stranger and a customer is often bridged by these questions. The question is not a weakness in our commercial system. It is an indication of how deeply reputation influences economic decisions. This is why I believe one of the most misunderstood concepts in entrepreneurship is capital. Ask a room full of aspiring entrepreneurs what they need most, and the overwhelming answer will almost certainly be money. Money is important. But money is rarely the first investment a business receives. The first investment is trust, the ability of others to refer, lasting impressions, good customer service, seamless delivery, etc. Every entrepreneur, consciously or otherwise, appears before the market seeking two forms of investment. One is financial. The other is psychological. That is why trust is not merely a moral virtue in business; it is an economic asset.\n\nIn commercial practice, trust performs work that money cannot. It lowers the perceived risk of engagement. It shortens the distance between introduction and transaction. It transforms satisfied customers into voluntary advocates. It converts reputation into referrals and referrals into revenue. This is precisely why the entrepreneur cannot afford to separate personal credibility from commercial ambition in the early stages of enterprise. Before the business acquires a reputation of its own, it borrows the reputation of its founder. Before the company becomes the object of trust, the entrepreneur remains its principal evidence.\n\nLarge corporations eventually reach a point where institutional reputation eclipses individual identity. Millions of people purchase products without knowing the names of those who lead the companies behind them. That is the privilege of an established brand. The entrepreneur at ground zero has no such privilege. Until the business can speak for itself, the entrepreneur must. Not merely through advertising, but through visibility, consistency, competence, and character. This is reputational capital, and everything else is built upon it. Because at the beginning, the entrepreneur is not managing a brand. The entrepreneur is building the reason why people should believe in one.\n\nThe future, however, belongs to Entrepreneurs Who Understand Trust.\n\nThe future of Nigerian entrepreneurship will not only belong to those who have access to financial capital but also have built reputational character. It will belong to those who understand how trust is created, preserved, and converted into opportunity.\n\nTechnology will continue to change the way businesses operate. Digital platforms will continue to lower barriers to entry. More Nigerians will continue to create businesses from their skills, experiences, and ideas. But regardless of how sophisticated the tools become, one principle will remain constant: People do business with people. The entrepreneur of the future will therefore need more than a good product. They will need a credible identity. More than marketing skills, they will need reputational discipline. More than visibility, they will need substance.\n\nThis applies across industries. This principle cuts across every sector and applies to entrepreneurs at every stage of their journey. It is relevant to the lawyer seeking to build a clientele, the consultant pursuing professional engagements, the real estate practitioner trying to land their first high-value transactions, the online entrepreneur offering products to the public, and the artisan cultivating a loyal customer base. The underlying principle remains constant: before individuals place confidence in the value of a service or product, they must often first develop confidence in the person or institution offering it.\n\nUltimately, the entrepreneur's earliest and most difficult transaction is not the sale of a product, the signing of a contract, or the raising of capital. It is the transaction of confidence. It is the moment a stranger decides that an unknown name is worthy of an opportunity, that an untested promise deserves consideration, and that a person they may have never met is credible enough to receive their trust.\n\nThis is why trust remains the first currency of enterprise. Unlike financial capital, it cannot be borrowed, manufactured, or acquired overnight. It is accumulated through conduct, preserved through consistency, and strengthened through the countless small decisions that define how an entrepreneur shows up in the marketplace.\n\nFor the entrepreneur building from nothing, reputation is not a luxury reserved for established brands; it is the first asset created before the first transaction is completed. It is the invisible balance sheet upon which every future opportunity is measured. Before there is a company with history, there must be a person with credibility. Before there is a customer who returns, there must be a stranger willing to take the first chance. Before there is market confidence, there must be individual trust.\n\nThis is the reality many entrepreneurs overlook: the marketplace does not merely evaluate what you sell; it evaluates whether you can be believed. Every promise made, every commitment honoured, every interaction handled with integrity is a deposit into a reputational account that may determine the future of the enterprise.\n\nCapital may open doors, but trust is what persuades people to walk through them and return. It is the force that converts introductions into relationships, relationships into opportunities, and opportunities into enduring businesses. The entrepreneur who understands this does not merely build a product or a service; they build the confidence upon which people are willing to stake their resources.\n\nBecause at the beginning of every great enterprise, before the numbers, before the valuation, before the recognition, there is a far more fundamental investment: trust.\n\nBusayo Afolabi, a senior lawyer and a researcher, via [email protected]",
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"url": "https://punchng.com/strategic-pr-may-be-startups-most-undervalued-asset/",
"title": "Strategic PR may be startup's most undervalued asset",
"body": "Nosa Iyamu, the CEO of IVI PR, writes from Lagos\n\nNigeria has reclaimed its position as Africa's leading venture capital destination, demonstrating that its innovation ecosystem remains one of the continent's strongest despite years of global funding headwinds. Venture financing is becoming more sophisticated, with startups embracing venture debt, blended finance, mergers and acquisitions, and institutional capital beyond traditional fintech. At the same time, investment is expanding into clean energy, logistics, agritech, healthcare, and other sectors solving fundamental infrastructure challenges.\n\nThis evolution signals an important shift: investors are no longer funding bold ideas alone; they are backing businesses that demonstrate resilience, credibility, and long-term viability. In this environment, strategic public relations is no longer a communications function; it is a value creation tool.\n\nThe first half of 2026 reflected this growing maturity. Nigeria attracted approximately $254m in equity venture funding, reclaiming the top spot in Africa as investor confidence strengthened alongside foreign exchange reforms. Landmark transactions, including Flutterwave's Series E funding and its acquisition of open-banking platform Mono, underscored increasing liquidity within the ecosystem. Capital also flowed into sectors such as clean energy, logistics, mobility, and agricultural infrastructure, proving that investors are looking beyond consumer fintech toward businesses solving real economic problems.\n\nHowever, funding alone has never guaranteed success. Recent years have witnessed the collapse of several well-funded startups that raised millions of dollars but struggled with governance challenges, regulatory hurdles, operational inefficiencies, or shifting market conditions. These failures reinforce a critical lesson for founders: building a great product is only one part of building a great company. How a startup is perceived by investors, regulators, customers, employees, and the broader market increasingly influences its ability to raise capital and sustain growth.\n\nThis is where strategic PR becomes indispensable. Investors conduct far more than financial due diligence. They assess leadership credibility, corporate governance, regulatory maturity, market positioning, and brand reputation before committing capital.\n\nStrategic PR helps shape these perceptions by communicating the qualities that financial statements alone cannot capture.\n\nOne of PR's most valuable contributions is establishing founder credibility. Through thought leadership, media interviews, speaking engagements, and executive profiling, founders become recognised voices within their industries. Investors often discover opportunities through networks, conversations, and market visibility long before a formal fundraising process begins. A founder who consistently demonstrates expertise and vision is more likely to remain top-of-mind during investment discussions.\n\nPR also strengthens confidence in corporate governance. Startups frequently communicate product launches and funding announcements but overlook opportunities to showcase board appointments, compliance milestones, governance frameworks, cybersecurity investments, and risk management practices. Transparently communicating these developments signals operational maturity and reassures investors that the business is built for sustainable scale rather than rapid expansion at any cost.\n\nEqually important is narrative management. In today's digital economy, every startup has a story, whether it chooses to tell it or not. Without deliberate communication, competitors, speculation, or isolated incidents can shape public perception. Strategic PR enables startups to define their market category, communicate their impact, respond effectively during periods of uncertainty, and maintain stakeholder trust through both growth and adversity.\n\nPerhaps most importantly, PR translates business performance into investor value. Funding rounds, customer growth, technology innovation, job creation, and measurable social impact become far more powerful when communicated through compelling narratives supported by credible third-party validation. This visibility enhances brand authority, attracts strategic partnerships, strengthens customer confidence, and can positively influence enterprise valuation ahead of future fundraising.\n\nNigeria remains one of Africa's most compelling investment destinations because of its large market, youthful population, expanding digital economy, progressive policies such as the Nigerian Startup Act, and growing investor confidence. Yet as competition for venture capital intensifies, startups must differentiate themselves on more than innovation alone.\n\nThe startups that will define Nigeria's next generation of unicorns will not simply be those with the best technology. They will be the companies that build trust, communicate transparently, demonstrate strong leadership, and consistently tell a story that investors believe. In today's venture capital landscape, strategic PR is no longer an afterthought. It is a strategic asset that can strengthen reputation, reduce perceived investment risk, and ultimately drive valuation.",
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"date": "2026-08-17",
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"url": "https://www.thisdaylive.com/2026/08/17/eiti-assessors-leave-nigeria-laud-improved-extractive-sector-transparency/",
"title": "EITI Assessors Leave Nigeria, Laud Improved Extractive Sector Transparency",
"body": "Assessors from the global Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) have lauded Nigeria for improving systematic disclosures across the extractive sector, saying the reforms have enhanced real-time access to information and data.\n\nThe assessors also praised the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) for its coordinated stakeholder consultations during the 2026 EITI validation exercise, particularly its high-level engagements with the National Assembly and the public hearing on NEITI's industry reports.\n\nThe commendations came during a debriefing session with NEITI's senior management team at the end of a five-day in-country validation mission held from August 10 to 14, a statement from NEITI spokesperson, Obiageli Onuorah said.\n\nThe mission was led by Riley Zecca and included Jessica Sanchez and EITI Africa Country Director, Gilbert Makore.\n\nZecca commended the breadth and quality of stakeholder participation, urging Nigeria to sustain the momentum by institutionalising improved systematic disclosures and ensuring that information is published promptly and remains accessible.\n\nHe said stronger and more consistent disclosures would enhance transparency, accountability and public trust in Nigeria's extractive sector.\n\nZecca also commended NEITI for the effectiveness of the validation consultations, noting that the quality of the information provided would enable the assessors to assess Nigeria's progress with confidence.\n\nHe disclosed that the draft validation report would be submitted to the NEITI Board within three weeks, after which Nigeria would have one month to respond. The final validation report, he added, would be presented at the EITI Global Conference in Brussels in October.\n\nMakore urged Nigeria to view the validation process positively, describing it as a critical component of EITI implementation.\n\nHe particularly highlighted the participation of the National Assembly, describing the executive session with lawmakers and the public hearing on NEITI's industry reports as unique and innovative.\n\nAccording to him, the participation of companies and government agencies in the public hearing demonstrated Nigeria's commitment to open and inclusive dialogue on natural resource governance.\n\nFor his part, the Executive Secretary of NEITI, Musa Adar, described the conclusion of the mission as a significant milestone in Nigeria's validation process.\n\nAdar said the exercise went beyond assessing compliance, providing an opportunity for Nigeria to review its achievements, identify gaps and accelerate reforms in natural resource governance.\n\n\"Validation has provided a platform to showcase progress in implementing the EITI Standard and to engage constructively with stakeholders and the EITI International Secretariat,\" he said.\n\nHe reaffirmed NEITI's commitment to working with government institutions, companies, civil society and host communities to ensure that the validation findings translate into meaningful and sustained reforms.\n\nDuring the mission, the assessors met with the Secretary to the Government of the Federation and Chairman of the NEITI Board, George Akume; the Minister of State for Budget and Economic Planning, Doris Uzoka-Anite; and the Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPC Limited, Bayo Ojulari.\n\nThey also held consultations with relevant National Assembly committees led by the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Public Accounts, Ibrahim Dankwambo.\n\nOther engagements involved the Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and the Technical Unit on Governance and Anti-Corruption Reforms (TUGAR).\n\nDiscussions with NNPC focused on its role as an EITI supporting company, including anti-corruption policies, systematic disclosures, contract transparency and commodity trading transparency.\n\nThe civil society consultations brought together members of the NEITI Civil Society Steering Committee, Civil Society Strategic Think Tank, Civil Society Selection Committee and other civil society organisations, as well as representatives of host communities in Rivers and Zamfara States.\n\nNigeria's 2026 EITI validation exercise commenced on July 1 following the submission of its validation templates covering transparency, stakeholder engagement, outcomes and impact.",
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"url": "https://www.thisdaylive.com/2026/08/17/nigeria-risks-missing-chinas-18bn-export-window-experts-warn-2/",
"title": "Nigeria Risks Missing China's $18bn Export Window, Experts Warn",
"body": "Nigeria risks squandering a potentially transformative opening in the Chinese market unless it urgently fixes its production, processing and export capacity, stakeholders warned on Friday as China's new zero-tariff regime opened a fresh $18 billion trade window between both countries.\n\nThe warning came against the backdrop of China's decision to remove tariffs on imports from African countries with diplomatic relations with Beijing, a move that Nigerian officials and trade experts said could dramatically expand the country's access to one of the world's largest consumer markets.\n\nChinese Ambassador to Nigeria, Yu Dunhai, disclosed in Abuja that bilateral trade between Nigeria and China reached $18 billion in the first half of 2026, while Chinese imports from Nigeria jumped by 80 per cent to $2.3 billion following the implementation of the zero-tariff policy on May 1.\n\nBut rather than celebrate the figures, speakers at an international seminar on the policy challenged Nigeria to confront the structural weaknesses that could prevent the country from turning preferential access into sustained export earnings, industrial growth and jobs.\n\nThe seminar, organised by the Centre for China Studies, brought together senior government officials, lawmakers, diplomats, manufacturers, farmers, exporters and academics to examine the implications of the Chinese initiative for Nigeria and Africa.\n\nThe emerging consensus was stark: China has opened the door, but Nigeria must first produce what the Chinese market wants, in the required quantity and quality.\n\nYu said the policy had already produced tangible benefits, with Nigeria recording significant savings on export tariffs.\n\nHe cited Nigerian sesame exports, saying every 100 tonnes now saves about $11,000 in tariff costs, while the country's annual export of 7,000 tonnes of cattle bone granules could save nearly $450,000.\n\nA single 23,000-tonne shipment of Nigerian liquefied propane, he added, saved approximately $300,000 in tax on the first day of the new regime.\n\nYet, the ambassador made clear that tariff elimination alone would not guarantee Nigerian success in the Chinese market.\n\n\"Meeting Chinese market standards and ensuring reliable supply volumes are essential for long-term success,\" he said.\n\nHe urged Nigerian producers to improve quality, strengthen supply chains and move beyond the export of unprocessed commodities.\n\nChina, he said, was prepared to support Nigeria with technology, equipment and technical expertise, including partnerships for industrial parks and local processing.\n\nThe Director of the Centre for China Studies, Charles Onunaiju, delivered perhaps the strongest warning of the day, saying the preferential access could become another missed opportunity if Nigeria failed to reform its production and trade systems.\n\n\"Zero-tariff treatment for products coming from Africa is only the starting point, it's not the finish line,\" he said.\n\nFor Nigeria, the challenge is particularly significant because the country has repeatedly struggled to translate preferential access to foreign markets into large-scale export growth.\n\nOnunaiju said African countries must address structural constraints, harmonise standards, improve customs procedures and strengthen regional integration under the African Continental Free Trade Area.\n\nHe argued that the Chinese initiative could provide Africa with the opportunity to become a major global manufacturing base, but only if countries build productive capacity rather than remain suppliers of raw materials.\n\n\"The opportunity of becoming the next workshop of the world is in Africa,\" he said.\n\nThe federal government also used the forum to push its industrialisation agenda, insisting that Nigeria must stop treating the export of raw materials as the end point of economic activity.\n\nThe Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Dunoma Ahmed, said Nigeria's central question should not simply be how much it could sell to China but how much value it could retain domestically.\n\n\"Our natural resources must become the starting point, not the end point, of economic activity,\" he said.\n\nHe called for crude oil to feed petrochemical and downstream industries, agricultural commodities to support agro-processing and manufacturing, and solid minerals to drive mineral processing and industrial production.\n\n\"In other words, we must transition from exporting resources to exporting value,\" he said.\n\nAhmed said Nigeria was seeking Chinese and other international investments that would produce factories, processing plants, technology centres, logistics networks and skilled employment.\n\nFor Nigeria, agriculture could become the biggest test of whether the Chinese policy delivers a structural change in exports.\n\nThe Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Aliyu Abdullahi, said the country had enormous opportunities in processed cassava, rice, spices, shea products, hibiscus, cashew, soybean products, fruits and vegetables.\n\nBut he warned that Nigeria could not expect to dominate the Chinese market by simply shipping more raw commodities.\n\n\"The question before us, therefore, is not 'Can Nigeria export more?' The question should be 'Can Nigeria export better?'\" he said.\n\nHe listed productivity, processing capacity, logistics, quality assurance, traceability, financing, storage and compliance with international standards as critical areas requiring urgent attention.\n\nThe minister said the government was expanding agro-processing through the Special Agro-Processing Zones programme, with projects launched or under development in Kaduna, Cross River, Ogun and Gombe states.\n\nHe also disclosed that a mechanisation programme involving 2,000 Belarusian tractors and equipment was being rolled out to boost agricultural production.\n\nChairman of the occasion and former Director-General of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, Jonathan Juma, urged Nigeria to learn from its experience under the African Growth and Opportunity Act, warning against allowing another preferential trade arrangement to pass without building the capacity to exploit it.\n\nHe challenged policymakers to look beyond Nigeria's natural endowments and determine how they could be converted into competitive exports.\n\n\"Nigeria is a place where you can drop a seed, and without much care, harvest at the end of the day. What can we do with this? What can we offer the world? What can we offer to China?\" he asked.\n\nThe warning was echoed by the Director overseeing the Office of the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, Dr. Samson Ebimaro, who said Nigeria must strengthen infrastructure, logistics, financing, technology transfer and compliance with international standards.\n\nHe identified agriculture, agro-processing, solid minerals, manufacturing, leather and the creative industries as sectors capable of benefiting from the Chinese market.\n\nThe Chairman, House Committee on Nigeria-China Relations, Hon. Ja'afaru Yakubu, meanwhile, called for the removal of visa bottlenecks affecting Nigerian traders travelling to China.\n\nHe said easier movement of Nigerian businesspeople would enable more traders to establish direct relationships with Chinese buyers and expand the country's participation in the market.\n\nYakubu said the National Assembly would continue engaging the Chinese Embassy on the issue, describing business mobility as an important component of deeper trade relations.\n\nWith China-Africa trade reaching a record $207 billion in the first half of 2026, the scale of the opportunity is significant.\n\nBut the Abuja seminar exposed the central dilemma confronting Nigeria: tariff barriers may have been removed, but production barriers remain.\n\nFor Nigeria, therefore, the real race is no longer simply to secure access to China.\n\nIt is to build the factories, farms, processing plants, standards, logistics systems and export capacity needed to ensure that when Chinese buyers open their doors, Nigeria has something competitive to sell.",
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"title": "FG: Diaspora, Strategic Partnerships Critical to Nigeria's Security, Prosperity",
"body": "The federal government has declared that Nigeria's growing engagement with its diaspora and strategic international partners will be central to its efforts to strengthen national security, expand economic opportunities and drive sustainable development.\n\nMinister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Sola Enikanolaiye, stated this at the Dinner Night of the Nigerian Diaspora Economic Conference in Toronto, Canada, where he outlined the government's approach to security, diaspora engagement and Nigeria's emerging strategic partnerships.\n\nEnikanolaiye said security remained one of the country's major challenges but assured that the administration of President Bola Tinubu was deploying every available means to contain the security threats that had confronted Nigeria for more than a decade.\n\n\"Security remains a major challenge, but the current administration is doing everything humanly possible to ensure that we contain these that have been with us in multifaceted manner for the past 10 or so years,\" he said.\n\nThe minister disclosed that Nigeria was entering what he described as a \"new era of partnership of strategic autonomy\" with key international partners, including the United States.\n\nHe revealed that he had just returned from Washington, where he participated in high-level engagements with American officials.\n\n\"I came in from Washington only yesterday. I was privileged to have been part of the team meeting with the Americans,\" he said.\n\nAccording to him, the renewed engagement is designed to produce tangible benefits for Nigerians rather than merely symbolic diplomatic relationships.\n\nHe said the objective was to secure \"core, concrete, positive outcomes for Nigerians in terms of security, in terms of prosperity, in terms of defence and the welfare of the Nigerian people.\"\n\nThe minister's remarks come as Nigeria continues to deepen international cooperation on security, economic development and strategic interests, while seeking partnerships that reflect the country's national priorities.\n\nA major focus of the minister's address was the federal government's renewed emphasis on the Nigerian diaspora as a strategic resource.\n\nHe said the Tinubu administration no longer viewed Nigerians living abroad primarily through the lens of consular responsibilities and government assistance.\n\n\"For this government, Nigerians in the diaspora are critical assets of national development,\" Enikanolaiye said.\n\n\"We don't see you as a basket case of consular burden responsibilities always in need of government's intervention and assistance. No.\"\n\nInstead, he said, the government regarded Nigerians abroad as a pool of highly skilled human resources whose expertise, capital, networks and international experience could contribute significantly to Nigeria's development priorities.\n\n\"On the contrary, we see you as a vital human resource with huge capacities for Nigeria which government is trying to harness in terms of our national development priorities,\" he added.\n\nEnikanolaiye also challenged Nigerians at home and abroad to confront the divisions that continue to undermine national cohesion and economic cooperation.\n\nHe acknowledged the existence of a \"trust deficit\" among Nigerians, particularly within diaspora communities, but urged citizens to deliberately move beyond ethnic, religious and tribal considerations.\n\n\"We are aware of the trust deficit that exists among Nigerians especially those of us abroad. Let's try and break those barriers of ethnicity, barriers of religion, barriers of tribe,\" he said.\n\nHe urged Nigerians to focus instead on cooperation capable of generating production, development, growth and prosperity.\n\n\"Let's relate on the functional aspect of cooperation that promotes production, that promotes development, that promotes growth and prosperity unto Nigerian,\" the minister added.\n\nThe minister also acknowledged Canada's contribution to Nigeria's development and called for stronger partnerships based on mutual respect and cooperation.\n\nHe said Nigeria remained committed to working with Canada and other international partners to build relationships capable of delivering practical benefits to both sides.\n\nEnikanolaiye commended the organisers of the Nigerian Diaspora Economic Conference and members of the diaspora community for their contribution to Nigeria's development.\n\nHe described the conference as an important platform for celebrating the Nigerian diaspora as an asset to the country and reaffirmed the Federal Government's readiness to collaborate with Nigerians abroad and international partners in advancing Nigeria's national interests.\n\nThe minister's message was clear: Nigeria's security, prosperity and development will increasingly depend not only on domestic efforts but also on the strategic mobilisation of its global Nigerian community and partnerships built around mutual respect, shared interests and tangible outcomes.",
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"url": "https://www.thisdaylive.com/2026/08/17/saraki-says-suphis-ict-centre-will-unlock-bauchi-youths-global-opportunities/",
"title": "Saraki Says Suphi's ICT Centre Will Unlock Bauchi Youths' Global Opportunities",
"body": "- PDP chairman hails 500-seater facility as factory for skills, innovation\n\nSunday Aborisade in Abuja\n\nFormer Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, has commended the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in Bauchi State, Alhaji Usman Adamu Ahmed Suphi, for establishing a 500-seater Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and Computer-Based Test (CBT) Centre in Azare, saying the facility will equip youths with skills needed to compete in the global economy.\n\nSaraki, who spoke on Sunday at the commissioning of the centre in Azare, Katagum Local Government Area, said the initiative represented a major investment in education, digital literacy and youth empowerment, particularly at a time Nigeria must urgently convert its large youth population into an economic advantage.\n\nA statement made available to THISDAY in Abuja on Sunday explained that Saraki was represented by former PDP National Chairman, Abubakar Baraje\n\nThe former Senate President said the centre would provide young people in Bauchi and the North-east with access to digital skills, innovation and employment opportunities.\n\nHe said the facility would serve purposes beyond preparation for computer-based examinations, stressing that it could become a platform for digital literacy, entrepreneurship, innovation and access to the global marketplace.\n\nAccording to him, \"The internet has provided a platform where you can sell your skills and products to the global market. This centre will provide the young people with the opportunity to acquire those skills.\"\n\nSaraki urged beneficiaries to take ownership of the facility, protect the equipment and maximise the opportunities it offers, while calling on its management to ensure proper maintenance for sustained impact.\n\nHe also commended Suphi and the Assufiyya Humanitarian Foundation for demonstrating that development should not be left to government alone, noting that philanthropic organisations, the private sector and civil society had important roles to play in complementing government efforts.\n\nSaraki expressed confidence that the centre would positively transform the aspirations of youths in Azare, Bauchi State and the wider North-east.\n\nSpeaking at the event, Suphi described the facility as a \"symbol of hope, opportunity and a commitment to investing in people.\"\n\nHe disclosed that the centre could accommodate about 500 users, with each seat equipped with a brand-new laptop, Local Area Network (LAN) and other accessories required for computer-based testing.\n\nHe said the facility was designed to expose students and youths in Azare and neighbouring communities to digital technology and prepare them for computer-based examinations, professional certifications, emerging technology skills, employment and entrepreneurship.\n\nSuphi said the Assufiyya Humanitarian Foundation would sustain and expand its interventions in education, healthcare, humanitarian assistance and youth development.\n\nHe urged governments, educational institutions, corporate organisations and development partners to support initiatives that would enable young Nigerians to realise their potential.\n\nAlso speaking, PDP factional National Chairman, Abdulrahman Mohammed, described the project as evidence of visionary leadership and a practical commitment to human capital development.\n\nMohammed said leadership was not merely about occupying political office or making promises, but about implementing concrete initiatives capable of improving people's lives.\n\nHe said skills in software development, data analytics, cybersecurity, digital marketing and artificial intelligence could give young Nigerians access to global opportunities, remote employment and entrepreneurship.\n\nThe PDP chairman described the centre as a \"factory for skills, an incubator for innovation, and a gateway\" to opportunities for young people.\n\nHe added that increased digital literacy would help reduce youth unemployment and contribute to socio-economic development, while strengthening service delivery in sectors such as agriculture, education and healthcare.\n\nMohammed urged youths in Azare and Bauchi State to protect the facility and fully utilise the opportunities it provides.\n\nSaraki subsequently commissioned the centre and dedicated it to education, innovation, youth empowerment and service to humanity.\n\nThe event attracted political, traditional and religious leaders, government officials, business representatives, development partners and other dignitaries.",
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"url": "https://www.thisdaylive.com/2026/08/17/odua-investment-receives-aa-ng-credit-rating-from-gcr-moodys-recommits-to-value-creation-strategic-expansion/",
"title": "Odu'a Investment Receives AA-(NG) Credit Rating from GCR Moodys, Recommits to Value Creation, Strategic Expansion",
"body": "The GCR Ratings, an affiliate of Moodys, has assigned the Odu'a Investment Company Limited (OICL) a national scale long term issuer rating of AA-(NG) and short-term issuer rating of A1+(NG), with a stable outlook, in recognition of the company's strong portfolio and conservative financial profile.\n\nThis inaugural rating underscores the Group's robust financial profile, high-quality investment portfolio and disciplined capital management.\n\nCommenting on the rating, the new OICL Group Chairman, Dr Tola Kasali, said: \"The rating is a strong endorsement of the Group's five-decade legacy of prudent stewardship and value creation, affirming the resilience of its investment model, which combines strategic holdings in listed equities with growing contributions from its operating subsidiaries.\"\n\nKasali, who stated this in a statement issued and made available to THISDAY yesterday by the OICL Head of Branding and Communications, Victor Ayetoro, noted the AA-(NG) rating reflects the Group's conservative leverage, strong liquidity, and the quality of its underlying assets, even as it navigates the complexities of frontier markets.\n\nHe added the Group is particularly encouraged by GCR's recognition of its governance standards, which remain free from undue shareholders' influence despite its state governments' ownership structure.\n\nOn his part, the Group Managing Director of the company, Mr. Abdulrahman Yinusa, expressed delight at the outcome of the rigorous assessment, highlighting that: \"GCR's rating confirms the Group's strong liquidity coverage of approximately 2x over the next 24 months, supported by a liquid listed portfolio valued at over N80 billion and unencumbered cash of N4.8 billion.\"\n\nHe emphasized that the balance sheet remains largely ungeared, and the modest N3 billion bonds at the subsidiary, Wemabod Limited, is well within servicing capacity.\n\nFor what the future holds for the company, Yinusa disclosed that the Group is executing a deliberate strategy to deploy up to USD 200 million over the next three to five years into hospitality, real estate, logistics, and power sectors, \"which will broaden diversification and enhance long-term earnings.\"\n\nHe further expressed confidence that the stable outlook provides a solid platform to pursue these growth initiatives while maintaining conservative financial discipline.\n\nGCR's assessment highlighted that portfolio quality is a positive factor due to the liquidity of listed investments and stable cash flows from operating subsidiaries, with most equity investments publicly listed and benefiting from transparent valuations and active secondary markets.\n\nThe statement further noted that the stable outlook reflects GCR's expectation that the Group will maintain significant investments in such financially strong and liquid securities, complemented by growing earnings contributions from its operating subsidiaries.\n\nThe rating also noted that low leverage is a strength, supported by an ungeared balance sheet across most of the review period and robust debt servicing capacity, while liquidity sources exceed uses by approximately 2x over the 24-month horizon, even after applying a 25 percent stress-test to listed holdings to reflect frontier market risks.\n\nAyetoro stated that the Group's governance was assessed as neutral to the ratings, reflecting a well-defined corporate structure, appropriately constituted boards, transparent financial reporting, and a consistent history of clean audit opinions and dividend payments.",
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