Business

Entrepreneurship: Buhari Praises Dangote, Urges Nigerian Businessmen to Take Cue

Published

4 years ago

April 22, 2022

Eric

President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday in Abuja lauded the entrepreneurial spirit and doggedness of the President of Dangote Industries Limited (DIL), Aliko Dangote and urged Nigerians in business to emulate this iconic figure, to enable the country witness real economic growth and development.

While receiving the President of DIL and Board members of Dangote Group at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, President Buhari thanked the Management and Board of Dangote Group for the courage and foresight in embarking on mega investment projects “…which will have enduring benefits to generations of Nigerians. I have no doubt that such bold decisions can only be conceived by a mindset which transcends conventional commercial viability considerations.

“Entrepreneurs such as Alhaji Aliko Dangote are unique gifts to their societies and the institutions they build, and they often become the pillars of stable enduring prosperous economies,” Buhari added.

To this end, the President said: “I therefore urge other Nigerians in the business sector to emulate this iconic entrepreneur by investing in such enterprises that will in time become worthy legacies as national assets, which will continue to benefit their people for generation after generation, creating firm anchors of enduring prosperity for their citizens.”

While further commending Aliko Dangote and his team for investing in areas that bring the highest benefits to Nigerians, the President said: “I recall, with great pleasure, my visit to the Dangote Free Zone just about four weeks ago, to commission the Group’s new 3 million metric tonnes fertiliser plant. Let me, once again, congratulate you and your Board for a very successful commissioning ceremony.

“As I said at that event, the coming on stream of this plant was a huge opportunity to ramp up the productivity of our agricultural sector. It is, therefore, a most welcome booster to our government’s strategy for achieving food security and reducing poverty. Given recent developments globally, especially the effect of the ongoing war in Europe on world-wide food supply chain, I must commend your foresight for bringing the plant into operation at the time you did.

“I note that market realities will bring pressure to bear on Dangote Fertiliser Limited in seeking to meet the demands of your export customers. However, given your group’s well known patriotic vision, I am confident that your Board will continue to accord priority to meeting local demands of our farmers,” the President noted.

President Buhari also commended the Dangote Group for extending investments to other African countries, while highlighting the vision behind the refinery. “Mr. Chairman, I must specially commend you and your Board for the development of the Dangote Refinery and Petrochemical complex. I had a good view of this incredible city of steel and concrete when my helicopter circled over it during my visit for the commissioning of the Fertiliser plant”, he said.

In his remarks, the President of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote said the Board was at the State House to express profound appreciation to the President for the great honour to the Dangote Group when he commissioned the new 3m MTPD Fertiliser plant, which was the latest subsidiary company of the Dangote Industries Limited.

“We also seize the opportunity to reiterate our immense gratitude for the sustained effort of your administration through various policy initiatives aimed at progressively improving the business environment and investment climate, despite some unprecedented challenges our economy has been confronted with over the past decade.

“We are also deeply grateful for your direct interventions at various times when our operations were challenged by some unintended consequences of economic policy positions. Your interventions have not only helped to resolve business challenges, but have been a source of great encouragement in our determination to continue to invest in our economy for the benefit of our country and our people,” he noted.

Dangote said the Board looks forward to the return of President Buhari to commission the Oil Refineries and Petrochemicals project, which will transform the Nigerian economy. “Through the outputs of our various businesses, our Group is proud to be making significant contributions to the diversification and growth of our nation’s economy, which is second only to Federal Government in the size of our workforce,” he added.

The leader of the Dangote Group said with more investments in agriculture and Oil and Gas sectors, greater impact would be made on the economy. Dangote also submitted that the group of industries would always hold on to the President’s mantra on the economy to “produce what we consume and consume what we produce.”

Business

NNPCL Slashes Fuel Price by N80

Published

22 hours ago

December 19, 2025

Eric

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has effected another reduction in the pump price of petrol, marking the third cut this December.

A survey of filling stations in Abuja on Thursday showed that the state-owned oil company lowered the price to N835 per litre from N915, reflecting a N80 reduction.

The latest adjustment follows similar moves by independent marketers, including MRS, BOVAS and AA Rano, which recently reviewed their pump prices to between N739 and N865 per litre across the Federal Capital Territory.

Findings indicate that the downward review by NNPCL and other marketers was triggered by a drop in ex-depot prices, after Dangote Refinery and depot owners reduced rates to between N699 and N800 per litre.

NNPCL and several filling stations had earlier reduced fuel prices on December 4 and December 10, 2025, as competition and supply dynamics continued to influence pricing in the downstream sector.

Business

2025: UBA Group Dominates, Wins Banker Awards, Emerges Africa’s Bank of the Year, Third Time in Five Years

Published

2 weeks ago

December 8, 2025

Eric

Africa’s Global Bank, United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, has once again, reaffirmed its leadership as one of the continent’s most innovative and resilient financial institutions, as the bank has, for the third time in five years, been named the African Bank of the year 2025 by the Banker.com.

UBA also won the Best Bank of the Year awards in nine of its 20 African subsidiaries, bringing its total awards this year to ten as UBA Benin, UBA Chad, UBA Republic of Congo (Congo-Brazzaville), UBA Liberia, UBA Mali, UBA Mozambique, UBA Senegal, UBA Sierra Leone, and UBA Zambia, all came out tops as the best banks in their respective countries, underscoring the bank’s strength across West, Central and Southern Africa and highlighting the depth of its Pan-African franchise.

The Banker.com, a leading global finance news publication published by the Financial Times of London, organises the annual Bank of the Year Awards, and this year’s edition was held at a grand ceremony at the Peninsula, London, on Wednesday.

The Chief Executive Officer, UBA UK, Deji Adeyelure, received the awards on behalf of the bank, representing the Group Managing Director/CEO, Oliver Alawuba, and was accompanied by the bank’s Head Business Development, Mark Ifashe, and Head, Financial Institutions, Shilpam Jha.

The Banker’s awards are widely regarded as the most respected and rigorous in the global banking industry, celebrating institutions that demonstrate outstanding performance, innovation and strategic execution.

In its remarks on UBA’s winnings, the banker.com said, “For the third time in five years, UBA Group has won the coveted Bank of the Year award for Africa. UBA Group time after time punches above its weight against its larger African rivals. The bank this year also takes home nine separate country awards (one more than it gained for its last continental win in 2024), equivalent to around a quarter of the awards for the continent, and more than any of its continent-wide rivals.”

Continuing, it said, “Perhaps even more impressive is the fact that the awards were won across a broad geographic spread, going to lenders based in the Economic Community of West African States (Benin, Liberia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and former member Mali), the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (Chad, Republic of Congo) and the Southern African Development Community (Mozambique, Zambia). Its award wins were particularly notable in the highly competitive categories for Benin and Mozambique.”

The Banker also highlighted UBA’s strong financial performance and commitment to future growth. In 2024, the Group recorded a 46.8 per cent increase in assets and a 6.1 per cent rise in pre-tax profits in local currency terms, while continuing to invest significantly in talent and technology. West Africa remains UBA’s heartland, with operating revenue and profit increasing by 87 per cent and 89 per cent respectively in H1 2025.

The bank’s digital and innovation leadership was equally recognised. During the year under review, and launched its Advance Top-Up buy-now-pay-later feature on the *919# USSD platform, expanding financial access for customers, while the bank’s chatbot Leo continued its strong growth trajectory, with transaction volumes rising by 29 per cent year-on-year in H1 2025. Notably, in August, Leo became the first African banking chatbot to enable cross-border payments via the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS).

UBA’s Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Oliver Alawuba, while reacting to the achievement, said the recognition affirms the bank’s long-term strategy and customer-first philosophy.

“This honour reflects the strength of our Pan-African network, the trust of our customers, and the dedication of our people. Winning Africa’s Bank of the Year for the third time in five years is not by chance; it is a testament to disciplined execution, innovation, and a deep understanding of the markets we serve,” Alawuba said.

“Our nine country awards across diverse regions of Africa show that UBA is not just growing, but growing with impact. We remain committed to driving financial inclusion, supporting economic development, and deploying technology that makes banking simpler, faster, and more accessible to Africans everywhere,” he added.

United Bank for Africa is one of the largest employers in the financial sector on the African continent, with 25,000 employees group-wide and serving over 45 million customers globally. Operating in twenty African countries, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, France and the United Arab Emirates, UBA provides retail, commercial and institutional banking services, leading financial inclusion and implementing cutting-edge technology.

Business

ConOil, TotalEnergies Sign Massive Production Contract to Boost Nigeria’s Oil and Gas Output

Published

1 month ago

November 13, 2025

Eric

By Eric Elezuo

In a bid to boost Nigeria’s oil and gas output, Conoil Producing Limited has partnered Total Energies Limited to sign a massive production contract.

The contract-signing ceremony, which took place on Thursday, at LA DEFENSE, in Paris, France, saw the Chairman of Conoil Producing, and Commander of the French Légion d’Honneur (CdrLR), Dr. Mike Adenuga Jr., signing on behalf of Conoil while the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of TotalEnergies, Mr. Patrick Pouyanné, signed for TotalEnergies, in whose headquarters office served as the venue of the event.

Details soon…