By Ikenna Uwadileke

The African Development Bank (AfDB), put the financial outlay to finance Africas development needs at between 600 to 700 billion US dollars annually.

Of this amount, about 130-170 billion US dollars, was needed annually to address infrastructural deficit.

In order to get the needed funds to address the numerous development challenges in Africa, the AfDB launched the African Investment Forum (AIF).

The AIF is a platform to mobilise private equity funds, sovereign wealth funds and the private sector to facilitate infrastructure projects with the capacity to transform the continent.

The inaugural edition of the AIF was held in South Africa, while the second edition was also scheduled to hold in Johannesburg, South Africa, from Nov. 11 to NOV.13.

Ahead of the November meeting, AfDB President, Dr Akinwumi Adesina, has appealed to investors to attend the banks 2019 AIF.

He spoke at Africa 50 General Shareholders meeting, held recently in Kigali, Rwanda.

Adesina said that Africa was ready for massive investments and offered an attractive investment destination.

He said that AIF, will bring together members with vested interest in Africas growth and development

If you are an investor, do not miss Africa Investment Forum 2019, Africa is ready for massive investments and the environment is getting more attractive for investors.

One such investment is the construction of the bridge that will connect the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Republic of Congo, a 550 million dollar transaction being led by Africa 50 in partnership with AfDB,he said.

Adesinaemphasised that the recently launched African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) had opened possibilities for an integrated single market for Africa.

He, however, pointed out that the continent needed to be connected through roads, rail, ports, airports, ICT backbones and energy corridors in order to enjoy the full benefits of the agreement.

Africa 50 is an innovative fund for developing and financing infrastructure in Africa, funded by AfDB, African governments, private and institutional investors.

Africa 50 is on track to launch a private sector third party fund to leverage one billion dollar from private sector institutional investors.

I encourage countries that have not yet joined Africa50 to do so.

Join us as we move towards a future of great promise for Africa. Join us as we lay the foundation for a more prosperous Africa,Adesina said.

Nigeria Country Department of AfDB, in collaboration with Africa Finance Corporation, recently organised a road show in Abuja, to sensitise stakeholders on gains of the AIF.

Ekiti governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi, who spoke at the event, emphasised the role of private capital to deliver the infrastructure required to grow Nigerias economy.
While expressing hope that Nigeria and other African countries would record significant investments that will boost the economy, Fayemi said that private investments are critical in providing jobs for millions of young Nigerians.
According to him, with the support of AfDB, African Finance Corporation and the quality of investors that attended the inaugural edition, the second edition would be successful.

I am confident that if we put our best foot forward, we will receive significant funding commitment for investments across Nigeria and Africa, the governor said.
Mr Ebrima Faal, Senior Bank Director, Nigeria Country Office, of AfDB, highlighted Nigerias prominence during the 2018 forum.
He pointed out that Nigeria was very visible and urged industry players and policy makers to maximise opportunities that the 2019 forum would provide.
Faal urged them to connect, engage and close high-impact deals.
He further recounted that last years edition of AIF held in South Africa recorded attendance of 2000 participants, representing 87 countries, including eight heads of governments.
Deals worth 46.9 billion dollars were discussed with 49 deals valued at 38.7 billion dollars secured.
These figures are not just impressive for an attempt at something that has never been done on the continent, but phenomenal.
The AfDB and its partners are excited to present you with the only platform that allows you to instantly pitch and close monumental deals on the spot.
We encourage you to engage early and wholesomely to be part of re-writing Africas economic history, Faal said.
According to Africa Finance Corporation Senior Director, Mr Taiwo Adeniji, building on the success recorded in 2018, it is expected that Nigeria will be a major participant at the 2019 forum.
The Africa Finance Corporation is keen to support Nigerian businesses across sectors to ensure effective project implementation to boost economic development.
We are now seeing positive momentum in building transparent and durable institutions to anchor the political economy, promote and support development of the private sector.
This is in order to increase the pace, depth and spread of economic growth in Africa, Adeniji said.
On his part, a former Minister of Information and Communications, Mr Frank Nweke, identified early preparations as crucial in positioning Nigeria to meet international business and social impact investors eager to invest in Africa.
Early preparation is also key, not only to prepare for the deals but being able to present them to a wide range of global investors.
These investors are coming from different classes.
We are talking about pension funds, sovereign wealth funds globally and in the continent, asset managers, commercial investment bankers so it is a wide array of investors that we are looking at.
So we need to showcase very high transactions; we need to prepare projects and this is essential, Nweke said.

Similarly, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, former Minister of Finance, urged the Federal Government to support the preparation.

Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) must sit down to discuss what we expect.

This preparation has to be done every time we are going to a forum.

So when they go, they come into contact with investors and they will be interested in what is being presented.

The potential investor wants to see where you are coming from, from the beginning to the end they want to see their way through, she said.

Mr Odiogo Ezekiel, the Head, Private Sector Investment Operations, AIF/AfDB, stressed that getting the projects bankable is also critical.

With the awareness raised through the road show, stakeholders say Nigeria will record more investment opportunities after the 2019 AIF. (NANFeatures)

Source: NAN

By Julius Toba-Jegede

The President of the Senate Dr. Ahmad Lawan on Monday condemned the continuous killings of Nigerians in South Africa, warning that further attacks on Nigerians would no longer be condoned.

Lawan expressed concern that about 118 Nigerians had so far lost their lives in different attacks over the years, out of which 13 were by the South African Police.

A statement by his Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mohammed Isa said Lawan made this known when he hosted the South African High Commissioner to Nigeria, Mr. Bobby Moroe.

Moroe and his delegation paid the visit to brief the Senate leadership on his governments investigations to unravel the causes of the xenophobic attacks on Nigerians and steps being taken to stop such.

The meeting, according to Lawan became pertinent considering the incessant attacks on Nigerians residing across cities in South Africa.

He said We in the parliament must speak and prevent any further killings. These killings must stop.

This is the era of social media where corpse of a victim may spark violence that may go beyond the control of government.

The South African government must as a matter of urgency do whatever it takes to protect the lives and property of Nigerians living there, just as Nigerian government remain committed to the safety of South Africans residing here and their investments.

I believe we have faced enough, we will no longer take it anymore. We want to write the names of Nigerians killed, and the South African parliament must act fast to put a stop to this menace.

Over the years, 118 Nigerians have been killed, while 13 out of these were killed by South African Police.

He also recalled the enormous contributions of Nigeria to South Africa during the apartheid rule.

We must establish events leading into these killings, including the recent one of Mrs.Elizabeth Chukwu, who was killed in her hotel room, he said.

While commending the High Commissioner for the updates, Lawan noted that, the update on the cause of late Mrs. Chukwus death is heartwarming. It is a sign that something has been done in this regards.

Earlier, Mr Moroe expressed regret over the killings of Nigerians in his country.

He extended the countrys condolences to the families of the victims.

He said that an inquest had been instituted to investigate all cases of xenophobic attacks in the country.

The inquest, he said would reveal the cause of the menace and find solutions across board.

He reiterated the commitment of South African government and its law enforcement agencies to get to the root of the matter while bringing to book perpetrators of the attacks.

Our government will continue to be committed to the good relationship with Nigeria.

Your sentiment has gone deep into our heart, and you will be happy that the same sentiment has been our concern in South Africa.

On behalf of the government of South Africa, we express our sincere condolences to Nigerian government for this unfortunate incident, he said. (NAN)

Source: NAN

By Harrison Arubu

Source: NAN

N100,000 - N125,000

A medical research organization is in urgent need of 2 Intermediate Laravel Software Developers in it's Abuja Office @ Gwarinpa 1st Avenue, Abuja for immediate employment.

Interested applicants should send their CVs to [email protected] with the title of this topic as the subject of the mail.

Applicants should be

• Quick to pick up projects written in Laravel.

• Familiar with Git

• Fully motivated to work in an Agile environment

• Below the age of 30

• Fairly knowledgeable of another language, preferably Python

• Immediately available.

• No Telecommute

The Federal Operations Unit (FOU), Zone “A “of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), has intercepted 140 bundles of textile materials worth N11.2 million and other contraband in one month.

The Customs Area Controller, of the command, Comptroller Mohammed Aliyu, made the disclosure at a news briefing on Thursday in Lagos.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Smuggling of textile materials through the nation’s land borders had increased since the Federal Government placed ban on access to foreign exchange to importers of textile materials in the country.

Also, the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, had in March said that Nigeria currently spends over 4 billion dollars annually on importation of textiles and ready-made clothing.

Emefiele had said that the potential market size of the domestic textile industry is over 10 billion dollars.

Aliyu said that a total of 25,153 bags of foreign parboiled rice smuggled into the country were also intercepted.

According to him, the textile materials, which worth over N11.2 million, were intercepted after being smuggled from neighboring country.

He said that others intercepted goods were 49 cartons of reboiled paracetamol injection worth N39.2 million; 86 sacks of used shoes valued at N10.3 million and 820 sacks of donkey skins worth N78 million.

Aliyu further explained that 347 cartons of codeine syrup valued at N174 million; 1,000 sachets of tramadol also valued at N250,000, and Indian hemp worth N11 million were intercepted.

He also disclosed that the smuggled rice worth over N331 million intercepted would be given to the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs’) following the directive from the Customs headquarters in Abuja.

Aliyu said that the unit intercepted a truck loaded with Cement and smuggled rice thereby contaminating the rice.

“The rice was loaded in the middle of the cement and this is what they sell to the innocent public.”

The Controller explained that the rice sent to IDP’s were always taken to the National Agency for Food Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) to verify if they were fit for consumption before distributing to the IDPs.

“We take this rice to NAFDAC for testing before we give it to orphanage homes. If they say it is not good for human consumption, we won’t give out but destroy. So, we don’t give expired rice to IDPs.

“We sort out the most poisonous one while we give the good ones to the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).”

The NCS said that 16 vehicles worth over N470 million were also intercepted in the months under review.

NAN reports that the seized vehicles also include a Toyota Land Cruiser worth N189 million and 347 cartons of codeine syrup worth N174 million.

Other vehicles seized were Mitsubishi Pajero, Land Cruiser, Toyota Venza, Mercedes Benz, Volkswagen and Toyota Yaris, among others.

The 16 vehicles worth over N347 million, with one bullet proof vehicle, were abandoned after heavy chase by our operatives along Oyo and Ogun border.

Aliyu said that the Federal Government ban on importation of used vehicles and foreign parboiled rice at the land borders still remain.

He also advised importers of these smuggled items to use the nation’s seaports so as to avoid their business from being ruined and pay duties accruable to the Federal Government. (NAN)

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and Belema oil petroleum company in collaboration with Jack-Rich Tein Foundation has commissioned 400,000 litres capacity solar powered water treatment plants in Daura and Musawa local government areas of Katsina state.

Mr. Jack Rick-Tein, President and founder of Jack-Rich Foundation who stated this during the commissioning ceremony of the projects in Musawa and Daura, said the initiative was based on the fact that water is a fundamental human need.

He maintained that each citizen required no less than 20 to 50 litres of clean, safe water daily for drinking, cooking and other domestic activities, hence the decision to construct the water treatment plants in Musawa and Daura towns.

“We also constructed 100,000 litres water treatment plants at Daura airstrip, water treatment plant at Musawa and potable water facility with 100,000 litres capacity tanks at Central Mosque, Daura,’’ he said.

He said that the company was ready to collaborate with other relevant stakeholders to execute more developmental projects in Nigeria.

NAN reports that Mr. Rich-Tein used the occasion to preach oneness among Nigerians irrespective of tribal, religious and political affiliation.

In his remarks, Gov. Aminu Masari, urged stakeholders in the areas and people of the community to setup community-ownership committee to safeguard the facilities from beingm vandalised.

Masari warned that anyone found vandalising the facilities would face the wrath of the law, adding that protecting the facilities remained the core responsibility of the community members.

“Gone are the days when government property will be destroyed by citizens. Water is life, so you most do everything humanly possible to protect these facilities.

“I thanked Mr. Jack Rich-Tein and NNPC for bringing these important projects in Katsina state,’’ Masari said.

Earlier, the Group Managing Director of NNPC, Dr. Maikanti Baru, represented by Mrs. Tolu Adefuwa, admonished the benefiting communities to use the facilities judiciously.

She added, however, that the Corporation has embarked on numerable empowerment programmes aimed at ameliorating the plight of rural dwellers in the country.

As part of the highlight of the commissioning ceremony of the projects, the Emir of Daura, Dr. Umar Farouq Umar, bestowed a chieftaincy tittle of Sarkin Ruwan-Hausa on Mr. Jack Rich-Tein and urged him do more for the country. (NAN)

First Bank of Nigeria Limited says it will scale up its empowerment of widows to 500 before the end of the year

The bank, which provided funding to the widows to grow their micro-medium scale businesses, has empowered 125 widows as identified by the International Women Society (IWS).

Mrs Bashirat Odunewu, the Group Executive, International Banking Group (ITBG), said this at the 125 widows’ endowment empowerment programme in commemoration of FirstBank 125th Anniversary in Lagos,

She said the bank’s partnership with IWS was designed to further the empowerment of women, especially widows, as part of activities marking 2019 Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability Week (CR&S).

She stated that the CR&S week with the theme: ‘Ripples of Kindness; You First’ reflects the brand promise to always put its stakeholders first and is designed to offer employees and other stakeholder, opportunities to give their time and resources to defined causes.

Odunewu, who was represented at the event by the bank’s Business Development Manager (ITBG), Mr Kunle Olorunfemi, explained that as part of the bank’s employee giving and volunteering programme, the week focuses on wide range of activities under the SPARK (Start Performing Acts of Random Kindness) initiative.

According to her, it includes partnership with IWS for the empowerment of widows, as well as visit and donations to orphanage/less privileged homes, Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and deepening the values of SPARK amongst school children.

“A world without active collaboration amongst people, organisations, nations and regions is inconceivable.

“We are here because of our collective desire to pursue synergies that would generate progress for us and future generations. That is the focal piece of sustainability. I am, therefore, optimistic that this partnership will help drive sustainable development.

“At First Bank the partnership amongst people and stakeholders have sustained us for over 125 years. As you might be aware our impact traverses virtually every sector of the economy. This indeed resonates our 125 anniversary theme – ‘Woven into the Fabric of Society’

“Such partnerships have also provided the opportunity for us to help create an enabling platform for Small and Medium Enterprises to thrive and develop the national economy.

“The partnership with International Women Society is designed to advance social and economic impact by providing capital and capacity building for women running small businesses including widows.

“We believe that a committed, well-funded and well implemented partnership with International Women Society will enhance our goals as a responsible corporate citizen, which include focusing on empowering women and nation building.

“The partnership with IWS is also in line with the bank’s financial inclusion and women’s economic empowerment policy which promotes accessible and affordable financial products and services to disadvantaged groups with the goal of bringing these marginalised populations into the mainstream economy, improving their chances for resilient livelihoods and financial stability.

“In partnering with International Women Society, by providing opportunities for widows in areas of capacity building and access to start-up capital, the Bank advances social and economic impact,” he said. (NAN)

President Muhammadu Buhari has congratulated Gov. Gboyega Oyetola of Osun on the Friday Supreme Court ruling which affirmed his victory in the State Governorship election of Sept. 2018.

In a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publucity, Mr Femi Adesina, in Abuja on Friday, the president commended the government and people of Osun in allowing the rule of law to run its entire course.

President Buhari urged the people of the state as well as security agencies to sustain the peace in the state.

According to the President, the decision of the apex court lays to rest the tussle over the governorship of Osun State and removes all encumbrances on the path of the governor from fully delivering dividends of democracy to the good people of the State.

He called on the victorious governor and the ruling All Progressives Congress party to be magnanimous in victory and make concrete moves towards inclusive governance as may be necessary.

The president also expressed Federal Government’s continued willingness to partner with the state government for the betterment of the people.(NAN)

The Supreme Court on Friday validated the election of Adegboyega Oyetola as the governor of Osun.

In a judgment delivered by Justice Bode Rhodes-Vivour, the Apex Court declared the proceedings and judgment of trial tribunal a nullity on the grounds that Justice Peter Obiora, the judge who had read the majority judgement at the tribunal, was evidently absent on Feb. 6, following the documents before the court.

Five out of the Seven-man panel of Justices including the Acting Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Tanko Muhammad declared Oyetola as winner of the September 2018 election while two had a dissenting opinion.

Rhodes-Vivour held that the failure of Justice Obiora to be present on that day meant that the tribunal lacked the authority to have given any judgment on the matter.

He held that when the rightly constituted panel of a court does not seat, the activities carried out by that panel is a nullity.

Meanwhile, Justices Kumai Akaah and Paul Galinje with dissenting voices declared the PDP as the winner of the election.

They held that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) should be an unbiased umpire in an election.

They said INEC erred in law by relying on it’s manual to cancel some aspects of the election and declare it inconclusive.

They also held that the appellant still met the constitutional requirements of having the highest votes cast and the spread: but the election umpire went ahead to cancel the election and carried out a rerun showing that INEC had a plan up its sleeves.

NAN reports that the People’s Democratic Party and its candidate, Sen. Ademola Adeleke, had challenged the victory of the All Progressives Congress and its candidate, Governor Gboyega Oyetola at the 2018 Osun Governorship Election Tribunal.

NAN also reports that on May 9, the Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal has nullified the judgment of the Osun State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal which had declared the Adeleke, as the winner of the September 2018 poll.(NAN)