General
Olam Agri, Asian Research College To Improve Sustainability In Agric
In a bid to strengthen Nigeria’s agriculture sector, Olam Agri, a leading agribusiness in food, feed and fibre, has partnered with Nanyang Technological University, a leading global research college in Singapore.
The agribusiness sponsored the recently-concluded Singapore Business Case Competition X African Challenge 2023, organised by the institution to craft innovative, sustainable strategies targeted at raising the resilience level of the local food value chain.
The Singapore Business Case Competition is an innovative competition that is centred on Africa. It featured 34 teams comprising 135 undergraduates from over 11 universities which made presentations on climate-smart strategies to Olam Agri with a focus on how to improve Nigeria’s agriculture sector, tackle climate threats, and address the topographic and systemic challenges impeding the achievement of food security. The contest was launched on February 25th, 2023, and concluded with team TPG Consulting emerging as the overall winner on March 11.
The team TPG Consulting presented solutions that seek to optimise fish farming, meet rising local demands for aquatic foods, mitigate challenges in the poultry segment, reduce cattle herd migration, utilize tech to raise efficiency in handling seed-to-harvest circles in key crop areas, reduce agriculture waste, raise the employment potential of agriculture amongst others. The team won a $1,500 prize in addition to an all-expense paid trip to Nigeria to implement their solutions.
Speaking on the contest, Ashish Pande, the Country Head for Olam Agri Nigeria, said, “We are glad to have allowed the smart, young minds to come up with idea case studies that are capable of improving the resilience of our food supply chain. Especially, the ideas represent a huge lever for unlocking the potential of the aqua and poultry segments and raising protein consumption on the continent.”
“The latest investment actions are parts of our signature value chain development drive through the Seeds for the Future project. The actions demonstrate our commitment to helping Nigeria achieve its agriculture development and economic growth agenda,” he added.
Saki Kobayashi, the Co-founder of EnerScale, who served as a judge at the contest, was captivated by the impressive performance of the contestants. In her words, “The participating teams demonstrated outstanding performance during the SBCC X AC 2023. I was especially impressed to see their use of technology and creativity to solve crucial challenges in Nigeria’s agricultural sector.”
In the same vein, Amit Jain, the Director of NTU-SBF Centre for African Studies, explained, “The participants at this year’s SBCC contest had the opportunity to test their knowledge, analytical thinking, and communication skills by solving real-life business problems. The teams presented climate-smart solutions targeted at solving agricultural challenges in Nigeria.”
He thanked Olam Agri for sponsoring the competition adding, “I believe this competition will provide the participants a foretaste of the economic transformation taking place in Africa today.”
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has explained why it initiated a move to freeze the bank account of the Osun State government.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Governor of Osun State, Mr Ademola Adeleke, claimed that the anti-money laundering agency asked one of its bankers, First Bank, not to release funds to the state government.
According to the Governor, this was part of the strategies to frustrate his administration ahead of the August 15, 2026, governorship election in the state.
Reacting to the issue on Wednesday night, the EFCC, in a statement, said it has been investigating the state government since March 2026 over an alleged “fraudulent handling of Ecology Funds, Intervention Funds and Federal Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) account to the tune of N11.0 billion.
The organisation noted that some officials of the state government, especially the Accountant General of the State, have had interview sessions with investigators of the EFCC.
“These ongoing investigations of the state government would not have warranted any placement of Post No Debit order on its account but for the precipitate and unwarranted movement of funds from the accounts to different suspicious accounts since August 2, 2026.
“The commission noticed huge transfers of funds into different corporate entities and had to swiftly halt the trend by freezing the accounts from which such heavy funds are being moved,” parts of the statement said.
In the disclosure, the agency noted that its preventive mandate is a public-inclined framework of safeguarding public funds, assets and resources, stressing that it cannot “watch idly while a state government’s account is being pillaged.”
“While the commission is fully aware of the impending governorship election in Osun State, it has a responsibility to act in defence of the sanctity of the funds of the state. It will be uncharitable for the commission to allow an excuse of an upcoming election to fold its arms to perform its legally-assigned functions,” it pointed out.
The EFCC disclosed that it is “keeping watch over the finances of other states like Osun State. Many of these states are on the investigative radar of the commission to ensure accountability and probity. The commission has always pointed out that it is non-partisan and non-sectarian but always working in the overall interests of Nigerians. The Osun State government account was frozen to save public funds from being looted.”
The organisation urged the public “to ignore false narratives and deliberate demonisation of the works of the EFCC. The interests of all Nigerians are greater and will always be protected by the commission.”
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has launched a mobile application designed to monitor fuel consumption patterns in real time across retail outlets nationwide.
The NMDPRA, established under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021, is responsible for the technical and commercial regulation of Nigeria’s midstream and downstream petroleum operations. The deployment of the mobile application aligns with the authority’s broader efforts to leverage technology to improve regulatory compliance and strengthen accountability.
The pilot phase of the project began on August 1 in Abuja and its six Area Councils, the authority said in a statement published on X.
As part of the rollout, the Executive Director for Distribution Systems, Storage and Retailing Infrastructure (DSSRI), Mr Ogbugo Ukoha, led a team alongside officials from the Abuja Regional Office to assess the readiness and operational performance of the digital platform at participating retail outlets.
According to the NMDPRA, the application captures inventory and compliance data in real time, enabling regulators to monitor fuel distribution more effectively while improving operational efficiency across the sector.
The authority said the platform would generate reliable, data-driven insights to support evidence-based decision-making, strengthen national energy security planning and enhance transparency in the downstream petroleum industry.
It added that the initiative is expected to provide significant value to government, investors, operators and other stakeholders by improving access to accurate fuel consumption and compliance data.
Nigeria’s downstream petroleum sector has undergone significant changes since the deregulation of the petrol market and the removal of fuel subsidies, with regulators placing greater emphasis on data-driven supervision to ensure product availability, prevent supply disruptions and discourage sharp regional disparities in distribution.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
No doubt, moving money among African markets remains a slow, fragmented process that relies on multiple intermediaries and prolonged settlement cycles.
To solve this issue and drive the development of stablecoin-enabled payment services for businesses across the continent, Onafriq has joined forces with a leading stablecoin infrastructure provider, Privy.
The collaboration will enable Onafriq to create and manage embedded digital asset solutions for its partners and, in time, institutional clients where regulation allows. The initial phase focuses on cross-chain stablecoin transfers and treasury and settlement workflows, creating the foundation for future cross-border payment and liquidity solutions.
Integrating Privy’s secure infrastructure enables Onafriq to build the capabilities required to support a new generation of efficient digital payment services for banks, fintechs, and mobile money operators.
This partnership is a key component of Onafriq’s broader strategy to modernise pan-African payment infrastructure, enabling secure multi-modal wallets and more efficient movement of value across the continent.
The outcome will support a range of future institutional use cases, including stablecoin-enabled settlement, treasury management and liquidity services, as it reflects Onafriq’s commitment to driving Africa’s digital transformation agenda by investing in technologies that make financial services more efficient, connected and accessible.
It was gathered that Onafriq selected Privy for its enterprise-grade infrastructure to enable the seamless integration of digital asset wallet capabilities into its products, subject to regulatory approval, and deliver a simple user experience while abstracting the complexity of blockchain technology.
“At Onafriq, we keep investing in technology that makes payments faster and more accessible. Privy gives us a building block for faster settlement and better liquidity management. As demand for digital asset services grows, our goal is to ensure Africa’s payment ecosystem benefits securely and in line with regulatory frameworks,” the Group Chief Product and Innovation Officer at Onafriq,” Mr Luke Kyohere, said.
The chief executive of Privy, Mr Henri Stern, said, “Stablecoins will play an increasingly important role in the future of global payments, but real-world adoption depends on infrastructure that is secure, scalable and simple to implement. Working with Onafriq allows us to help build that foundation across Africa and beyond.”
