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  • APC Appoints Akpabio, Three Others As Preferred 10th NASS Presiding Officers

    APC Appoints Akpabio, Three Others As Preferred 10th NASS Presiding Officers

    The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) National Working Committee (NWC) has officially endorsed Senators Godswill Akpabio (South-South) and Jubril Barau (North-West) as Senate President and Deputy in the 10th National Assembly, respectively.

    The APC national leadership also supported the selections of Hon. Tajudeen Abbas (North-West) and Hon. Benjamin Kalu (South-East) as Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the incoming National Assembly, respectively.

    The resolutions were made public in a statement signed by the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, following a meeting of the NWC on Monday at the APC headquarters in Abuja to discuss the outcome of an earlier meeting with President-elect Bola Tinubu.

    Read Also: Tribunal: Atiku Takes Bold Step Regarding Media Coverage of Court Proceedings

    The NWC met to discuss the results of consultations and meetings with the President-elect, other Party leaders, and stakeholders on the zoning arrangement for 10th National Assembly leadership positions.

    “The NWC took note with respect to the outcome of the meetings held between the President-elect and the NWC leadership.” The NWC called for more and better consultation with relevant stakeholders in order to ensure the support of aspirants for National Assembly leadership positions and Party members across the country.

    “We urge our party leaders, members, and all Nigerians to continue to work for our country’s peace and progress during and beyond the current period of leadership transition,” Morka said.

  • Dangote Sugar Refinery Starts Year with Strong Earnings

    Dangote Sugar Refinery Starts Year with Strong Earnings

    The Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc began its fiscal year 2023 with a strong performance in its first quarter (Q1), demonstrating growth while maintaining its position as the industry’s undisputed leader.

    Following an increase in gross margin by 458 basis points year-on-year, the company’s quarterly unaudited financials for the first quarter of 2023, which were released on the Nigerian Exchange Limited, revealed a profit after tax growth of 44.3 percent year-on-year with earnings per share of N1.05 as compared to N0.73 in the first quarter of 2022.

    Increases in revenue across all of Dangote Sugar’s product lines contributed to the company’s 8.2% year-on-year revenue growth in the first quarter of 2023.

    The difference between the increase in revenue and the increase in the cost of sales resulted in an increase in the gross margin to 25.2%. Consequently, EBITDA margins increased by 407 basis points and EBIT margins increased by 437 basis points to reach 24.7 and 22.4 percent respectively in the quarter, despite an increase of 16.8 percentage points in operating expenses.

    Net finance costs increased by 103.2% year-on-year during the quarter as a result of a 129.9% year-on-year increase in finance costs in Q1, 2023, which rose to N8.06 billion from N3.51 billion in Q1, 2022. This increase occurred in conjunction with a 218.5% year-on-year growth in finance income.
    The overall profit before taxes in the first quarter of 2023 was N18.53 billion, representing an increase of 36.3% year-on-year. The cost of taxes in the first quarter of 2023 was N5.73 billion, which resulted in a profit after taxes of N12.80 billion, an increase of 44.3 percent.

    According to Cordros Securities Limited, Dangote Sugar’s performance in the first quarter of 2023 came in as expected, with significant growth in profitability during the period. According to the information provided in our full-year update for 2022, we are keeping our expectations that the favourable demographics for sugar consumption will continue to be positive for Dangote Sugar’s performance.

    Aliko Dangote, chairman of Dangote Sugar, made these remarks at the company’s Annual General Meeting: “The shareholders are very happy with the way we have been running their company and also in re-investing the profit into the Backward Integration Programme (BIP) for the sugar industry.”

    “We are going to do our part in ensuring that Nigeria becomes self-sufficient in sugar within a very short period of time by ensuring that we produce enough sugar for our own consumption. Although we are not the only players involved, you can count on us to play our part. We should be able to produce more than 170,000 tonnes, which would be the highest amount produced locally in Nigeria’s entire history by a significant margin.

    He made a commitment that the management would continue to implement strategic actions to maintain performance with the support of all stakeholders and in complete adherence to the tenets of the Sugar Master Plan that was developed by the federal government.
    Dangote stated that a portion of Dangote Sugar’s success could be attributed to the management’s continued implementation of the Dangote Sugar Development Master Plan. This included the rehabilitation and upgrade of the Dangote Sugar Refinery’s Numan operations, facilities, and land development. In addition, Dangote stated that the development of the Nasarawa Sugar Company Limited, the greenfield sugar project, and Tunga in Nasarawa State were all part of the plan.

    Dangote further stated that the first phase of the Sugar Master Plan implementation period came to an end during the year under review and that the federal government approved the second phase over the next 10 years, saying that this extension came on the back of the review of the first phase by the National Sugar Development Council and other government parastatals, taking cognizance of the challenges and several circumstances that were unforeseen which riddled the first phase of tumult. Dangote also stated that the federal government approved the second phase over the next

    Ravindra Singhvi, the Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Dangote Sugar Refinery stated that “implementation of the Sugar Projects initiatives continued at a high tempo despite the challenges.” However, we were able to maintain our victories by maintaining a peaceful environment with the communities and by maintaining a positive engagement with state and community stakeholders, as shown by the fact that they continued to support the DSR Backward Integrations Project.

    “The situation with the Lau/Tau project is still the same, and we are hopeful that the Taraba State Government will resolve the community issues, focus on the development, rehabilitation, and upgrade of our facilities at the Dangote Sugar Refinery, Numan Operations, and the Nasarawa Sugar Company Limited, Tunga,” said the company. “The Dangote Sugar Refinery is located in Tunga.”

    He said that “steady progress is now being made as the Company continues the rehabilitation and expansion project at Dangote Sugar, Numan, and development activities at the Nasarawa Sugar Company Limited, Tunga,” and he added that “the Board and Management remain resolute and committed to ensuring a sustainable future for the business with the Dangote Sugar Master Plan.” He said that “steady progress is now being made as the Company continues the rehabilitation and expansion project at Dangote Sugar, Numan,” and that ”

    When asked about the company’s outlook for the future, the CEO responded as follows: “we will continue to strategically position our brand, optimise our processes and cost efficiency, and implement our strategic initiatives, including the Sugar for Nigeria Backward Integration Project Master Plan.”

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    “This has been pursued with rigour, and the realization of the targets will ensure the growth of Dangote Sugar into an integrated sugar production business and a sustainable future for the business,” says the company.

    Also, the Group chief finance officer of Dangote Sugar Refinery, Oscar Mbeche, stated that “in 2022, the company recorded another impressive year of financial performance and achieved growth over 2021 financial performance.” Oscar Mbeche said this. The increase in revenue in 2022 was 46 percent higher than in 2021, going from N276.1 billion to N403.2 billion. This was due to the fact that sales volume increased by 10 percent while prices also increased.

    “The company continued to grow its supply chain footprint in Nigeria, which was complimented by excellent customer care that maintained customer loyalty, which in turn sustained the company’s revenue growth.” The provision of high-quality sugar to the company’s clients continues to be the primary concentration of the business.

    Mbeche explained that DSR has continued to support the development of the Nigerian Sugar Master Plan and that DSR’s backward integration (BIP) Numan operations saw the highest volumes of sugar processed since the inception of the company, increasing by 64 percent over 2021 volume. This was stated in reference to the performance of the Nigeria Sugar Master Plan and the BIP.

    He did note, however, that a number of significant obstacles must still be conquered. These include, among other things, the difficulties of securing funds to import capital assets to support BIP development plans and inadequate infrastructure. He noted that all of these factors have a negative impact on the rate at which DSR can achieve further financial and performance efficiencies in the BIP operations.

    With its production of Vitamin A Fortified and non-fortified refined granulated free flowing crystal white sugar, packaged and distributed in 1000kg, 50kg bags, 1kg, 500g, and 250g; sold under the brand name ‘Dangote Sugar’ sold to consumers and industrial markets nationwide, Dangote Sugar controls more than 60 percent of the local market share.

  • Peter Obi arrives in Abuja for Presidential Election Tribunal

    Peter Obi arrives in Abuja for Presidential Election Tribunal

    Peter Obi, who is running for president as a candidate for the Labour Party in the presidential election that will take place on February 25, has just arrived at the Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal in Abuja.

    On Monday, the Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal began the pre-hearing of all of the petitions filed before it by various opposition parties seeking to overturn the election of Bola Tinubu as president-elect. The opposition parties’ petitions argued that Tinubu should not have been elected.

    Read Also: Tribunal: Atiku Takes Bold Step Regarding Media Coverage of Court Proceedings

    Obi, who finished in third place in the race for president, petitioned the court to overturn the results of the election on the grounds that the president-elect and the vice president-elect, Kashim Shettima, did not meet the requirements necessary to be eligible to run for office.

  • Breaking: Action Alliance withdraws their petition against Tinubu

    Breaking: Action Alliance withdraws their petition against Tinubu

    The Action Alliance, or AA, has withdrawn its petition against the Independent National Electoral Commission, or INEC, and President-elect Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.

    The party filed an application to end further proceedings in the case on Monday, shortly after the Presidential Election Petition Court, PEPC, began its pre-hearing session, through a team of lawyers led by Mr. Oba Maduabuchi, SAN.

    According to Oba, SAN, the petitioners filed a withdrawal notice on May 3.

    Meanwhile, the five-member panel led by Justice Haruna Tsammani dismissed the petition after all respondents filed no objections.

    Specifically, AA claimed in its petition, CA/PEPC/01/2023, filed on March 16, that while its candidate, Solomon Okanigbuan, was validly nominated to run in the presidential election, he was unlawfully excluded by INEC.

    Read Also: Tribunal: Atiku Takes Bold Step Regarding Media Coverage of Court Proceedings

    According to the party, the presidential election was thus “invalid due to non-compliance with the provisions of the Electoral Act 2022, as amended.”

    It argued that Tinubu “was thus not validly elected as his election contravenes the Electoral Act, the 1999 Constitution, and INEC Guidelines for the 2023 general elections.”

    The petitioners informed the court that the 4th Respondent, Major Hamza Al-Mustapha, was not a member of the AA and was not sponsored by the party and that he did not vote in the party’s presidential primary election.

  • In Adamawa, man beats his wife to death

    In Adamawa, man beats his wife to death

    Aminu Abubakar, a man from Adamawa State, has been arrested by police for allegedly beating his wife to death.

    The suspect, a resident of Lelewaji, Shagari Phase 2, in the state’s Yola South Local Government Area, is accused of murdering Nana Fadimatu a day before her wedding to her new suitor.

    According to police findings, the suspect and the deceased had a long marital conflict.

    It was also revealed that the couple had agreed to split up.

    Read Also: Tribunal: Atiku Takes Bold Step Regarding Media Coverage of Court Proceedings

    Abubakar, on the other hand, was said to have become envious after learning that his estranged wife, whom he was still accommodating in the house, was getting married to one Mahmud Rufai.

    He was accused of hitting her with a pestle.

    According to SP Suleiman Nguroje, the state Police Public Relations Officer, “Angered by the information that Nana was going to marry a new husband, the suspect engaged her on May 5, 2023, around 10pm, applied force on her by hitting her with a hard object, as a result of which she fell unconscious and was later pronounced dead.”

    Nguroje stated that the suspect, who has been arrested, will be prosecuted after a thorough investigation.

  • Tribunal: Atiku Takes Bold Step Regarding Media Coverage of Court Proceedings

    Tribunal: Atiku Takes Bold Step Regarding Media Coverage of Court Proceedings

    In a move that will excite many Nigerians, particularly those who have criticized the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for declaring Bola Ahmed Tinubu as the president-elect, Atiku Abubakar, presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), wants the soon-to-be-launched court proceeding challenging the outcome of the 2023 presidential election to be televised.

    To accomplish this, Atiku filed a request for an order allowing live coverage of daily court proceedings.

    According to reports, his legal team, led by Chris Uche, SAN, specifically requested “an order directing the Court’s Registry and the parties on modalities for admission of Media Practitioners and their Equipment into the courtroom.”

    Read Also: “Senate Presidency is a Senator’s Business” — Yari Attacks Tinubu

    According to him, the case has piqued the interest of Nigerians from all 36 states of the federation, as well as the international community.

    In part, the motion stated:

    “With the enormous and tremendous technological advances and developments in Nigeria and beyond, including this court’s current trend towards embracing electronic procedures, virtual hearings, and electronic filing, a departure from the rules to allow regulated televising of the proceedings in this matter is consistent with the maxim that justice must not only be done but must be seen to be done.”

  • “Senate Presidency is a Senator’s Business” — Yari Attacks Tinubu

    “Senate Presidency is a Senator’s Business” — Yari Attacks Tinubu

    Senator Abdulaziz Yari, a Senate presidential candidate, recently spoke out against reported attempts by President-elect Bola Tinubu to influence Senate leadership selection.

    Yari, a former governor of Zamfara, is advocating for the constitutionally mandated process of selecting the presiding officers of the Assembly’s Upper Chamber to be followed.

    Yari stated during a meeting with executives of the Tinubu Shettima Network (TSN) chaired by Dr. Kailan that the responsibility for selecting Senate leaders lay with the senators themselves.

    The Senate Presidential election, according to Yari, is solely a matter for the senators, with the Constitution providing the necessary framework for determining leadership positions.

    “The Senate presidency is a senator’s business, and on the day when we are going to do it, everybody may think of the party body or anyone is advisory to what we are going to do that day, but the final decision is ours,” he said.

    Read Also: Tinubu’s cabinet: I’m not lobbying to become Chief of Staff — el-Rufai

    “We are not for anyone when we do that.” We are following the constitution’s directive to choose our own leader.

    “The sections of the constitution state this very clearly.” What happens that day will happen according to the instructions of the constitution, not for anyone.

    “So, we are going to exercise our constitutional rights there,” Yari explained.

    Earlier, this newspaper reported that Yari had refused to step down for former minister and Akwa Ibom State governor, Godswill Akpabio.

    It is believed that Yari’s decision to defy President-elect Bola Tinubu, who is reportedly pushing for Akpabio’s selection as Senate President, is causing a schism among the contenders.

  • Buhari applauds UNICAL for entrepreneurship education training

    Buhari applauds UNICAL for entrepreneurship education training

    President Muhammadu Buhari has urged Nigerian universities to continue to prioritize entrepreneurship education training.

    He stated that this would result in a class of graduates who would be trained as job creators in the country.

    Buhari made the announcement on Saturday in Calabar, through Mr Goodluck Opiah, Minister of State for Education, at the University of Calabar’s 35th convocation ceremony.

    He stated that his administration is committed to meeting legitimate expectations about shaping the future through education.

    He praised the University’s entrepreneurship program and the institution’s collaboration with both national and international development partners.

    He went on to say that the handshake between the town and the gown was admirable.

    “I’d also like to commend the University for its effective collaboration and linkages with other institutions around the world, which will provide students with opportunities for scholarship and research.”

    “The achievements in online result handling and management, as well as the daring attempts to create a smart campus, are also commendable.”

    “My administration is committed to meeting legitimate expectations about shaping the future through education.”

    “As a result, I challenge our universities to continue to emphasize entrepreneurship training so that our graduates can become job creators rather than perpetual job seekers,” he said.

    “I also challenge you to work with industries to increase the level of production going on in the country so that we can achieve a diversified economy,” he added.

    He stated that his administration’s commitment to the growth of the education sector was evident in various intervention agencies, and as a result, funding was provided in addition to budgetary allocation.

    “This is evident in projects such as the Tertiary Education Trust Fund and Needs Assessment in public universities to improve facilities for meaningful research, teaching, and learning.”

    “I commend UNICAL’s management for the sustained campaign against cultism, which has resulted in a tremendously peaceful and congenial environment for the healthy academic enterprise over the decades,” he added.

    Prof. Florence Obi, Vice Chancellor of the institution, stated that the university was in desperate need of funds to build a perimeter fence around the water front to prevent crime.

    Obi stated that she has made significant progress in repositioning the university since taking office in December 2020 by instituting reforms and providing facilities.

    Read also: Bwala: Tinubu Visited Rivers State To acknowledge The Capacity Of The PDP

    She stated that the lecture pavilions, office complexes, and two student hostels had all been completed successfully.

    “Within a short period of time, we have also completed massive hostel renovations and classroom furnishing, as well as installing solar street lights, resurfacing roads, and constructing flood control drainages.”

    “Through the use of Information and Communication Technology resources, we are gradually achieving our smart campus goal,” she said.

    Alhaji Aminu Ado Bayero, the institution’s Chancellor, promised to work tirelessly to ensure that the university remains competitive in the global academic community while also being the best university in Sub-Saharan Africa.

    The institution’s Pro-Chancellor, retired Gen. Martin Luther-Agwai, stated unequivocally that UNICAL was grossly underfunded.

    Luther-Agwai explained that the underfunding was caused in part by a decrease in government funding.

    The event’s high point was the awarding of the title of Professor Emeritus to Prof. Patrick Ebong, a University Professor of Endocrinology.

  • Bwala: Tinubu Visited Rivers State To acknowledge The Capacity Of The PDP

    Bwala: Tinubu Visited Rivers State To acknowledge The Capacity Of The PDP

    Daniel Bwala, a spokesperson for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) 2023 presidential campaign council, described President-elect Bola Tinubu’s visit to Rivers State as a tacit acknowledgement of the PDP’s capacity.

    Tinubu was in Rivers State on Wednesday to honour Governor Nyesom Wike’s invitation to commision some projects carried out by his administration.

    In response to Tinubu’s visit, Bwala took to Twitter to claim that by agreeing to commision projects in Rivers State, Tinubu has implicitly acknowledged the PDP’s capacity as a result-oriented party.

    The PDP chieftain stated that Tinubu’s first official assignment as President-elect must have been a priority for him.

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    “By agreeing to commision the projects in Rivers, Asiwaju has tacitly acknowledged the capacity of the PDP as a result-oriented party,” he wrote. It is his first official duty as President-elect. “Power to the people, PDP.”

    Tinubu Will Be Fair To All.
    The All Progressives Congress (APC) National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, has assured Nigerians that the administration of President-elect Bola Tinubu will not exclude anyone.

    He noted that Tinubu’s mission to unite the country would be more visible through the appointments he makes after taking office.

    This was stated by the APC chieftain during an interview with Arise Television on Wednesday.

    Morka stated that the President-elect would treat everyone fairly, including the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi.

    He stated that Tinubu was aware of the country’s divisions and that the former Lagos governor would be coming in with a sense of duty in that regard.

  • May 11: FG responds to ASUU’s arbitration request

    May 11: FG responds to ASUU’s arbitration request

    On Wednesday, the Federal Government informed the National Industrial Court of its decision to formally react to the request for arbitration made by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) by May 11.

    The African Students’ Union of Uganda (ASUU) has initiated legal action against the Minister of Labour and Employment as well as the Registrar of Trade Unions (RTU).

    The lawsuit challenges the purported threat made by the Federal Government to revoke ASUU’s certificate of registration due to the organization’s failure to provide annual financial returns and audited accounts for almost ten years.

    During the sitting on Tuesday, the attorney for ASUU, Mr. Marshal Abubakar, holding the brief of Mr. Femi Falana SAN, informed the court that he had filed a motion for the matter to be referred to the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Centre of the court. Mr. Marshal Abubakar was holding the brief of Mr. Femi Falana SAN.

    In response, Mr. J.U.K Igwe, SAN stated that he had not been served any application to that effect. He added that this was the case.

    In addition to the application, he stated that he would need to confer with his clients in order to determine what decision they would make regarding the referral to ADR.

    Because of this, the judge, Justice Benedict Kanyip, decided to postpone the proceeding until Wednesday.

    However, when the issue was brought up in court on Wednesday, Igwe told the judge that he had waited all day Tuesday, but he did not receive ASUU’s application until just a little while before the proceeding on Wednesday.

    As a result, he requested a postponement so that he could have more time to respond formally to the application submitted by ASUU asking for mediation at the ADR.

    The attorney continued by saying that he needed to also file other applications after seeing ASUU’s because agreeing to go to the ADR would involve delving into the specifics of the law in a more technical manner.

    Igwe stated that he was going to consult with his clients and would not be formally reacting to ASUU’s application at this time, so Justice Kanyip stated that the matter would be postponed until Wednesday.

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    The judge also stated that he had the authority to refer the parties to alternative dispute resolution (ADR) on his own, as the Centre does not have the authority to compel anyone to agree or accept issues that have been mediated upon.

    Because Abubakar did not raise any objections to Igwe’s request for a postponement so that she could respond to their demand, the judge ruled as follows:

    “Yesterday, the attorneys for the defendants asked for a delay in the proceedings so that they could confer with their respective clients.

    ” The purpose of requesting the adjournment was not to formally respond to the motion for mediation; rather, it was to consult.

    ” Although I am taken aback by this latest turn of events, I will not prevent you from continuing.

    The judge made the decision to postpone the case until May 11 in Abuja in order to hear the motion for arbitration. “In the circumstances,” the judge said.