General
Sustainability Central to Our Operations, Long-term Strategy—IHS Nigeria
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Leading operator of shared communications infrastructure, IHS Nigeria, has reiterated its commitment to advancing sustainability, environmental stewardship, and community empowerment through responsible telecommunication infrastructure.
The company, through its Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Mr Kazeem Oladepo, emphasised that sustainability remains central to its operations and long-term strategy.
“Sustainability is at the heart of who we are. It is embedded within our corporate values and reflected in every aspect of our operations, from powering sites sustainably to nurturing the communities we serve and promoting sound ethical practices throughout our business,” Mr Oladepo said in his keynote address at the Sustainability Table Discourse Series (STS), where he was represented by the Director for Government and External Relations at IHS Nigeria, Mr Gimba Mohammed.
He added that, “At IHS Nigeria, we are deliberate about scaling impact through sustainable infrastructure. Our mission is to ensure that our assets not only connect people digitally but also empower them environmentally, economically, and socially.”
The summit themed Sustainability in Action: Scaling the Impact of a Thriving Future to Achieve the SDGs, brought together industry leaders, policymakers, and private sector players to discuss the role of collaboration, innovation, and circular economy models in achieving Nigeria’s sustainability goals.
Speaking further, Mr Oladepo, in his speech titled Sustainability in Action: Scaling Impact for a Thriving Future Through Sustainable Telecommunications Infrastructure – A Provider’s Perspective, described the Project Green initiative of IHS Group as a key step in the company’s carbon reduction roadmap.
“Through Project Green, IHS Towers continues to prioritize alternative energy sources to reduce dependency on diesel. Across our markets, we have reduced diesel consumption by nearly 50 million litres, and in Nigeria fitted over 6,000 power sites with hybrid energy solutions, and connected almost 4,000 sites to the grid,” he disclosed.
In addition to its clean energy initiatives, IHS Nigeria has made significant strides in community and environmental development, including planting 4,000 trees across eight states, installing solar streetlights in underserved communities, and collaborating with Green Hope Africa to launch the Climate Action Superheroes (CASH) initiative, an educational programme aimed at empowering students to become climate ambassadors.
The company’s efforts in e-waste management were also highlighted, following its partnership with the Electronic Producers Responsibility Organisation of Nigeria (EPRON).
“We trained 214 participants, including collectors and regulators, and supported the establishment of 69 waste collection centers across six states and the FCT. Our goal is to drive sustainable waste management practices through advocacy and strategic collaboration,” Mr Oladepo stated.
During the panel session, the Director for Engineering and Design at IHS Nigeria, Mr Ghaith Al Hasan, elaborated on the success of Project Green and the importance of strong partnerships in achieving scale.
“Our experience has shown that the right partnerships, technologies, and maintenance structures are essential for sustainability. Today, IHS operates renewable energy systems across more than 10,000 sites in Nigeria, demonstrating what is possible when innovation meets commitment,” he stated.
Adding a regulatory perspective, the Principal Environmentalist Scientist and Regulatory Specialist at the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA), Ms Grace Majekodunmi, said, “Producers must now take responsibility for the entire lifecycle of their products, from production to disposal. The Extended Producer Responsibility framework ensures that manufacturers adopt cleaner technologies and minimize waste.”
Also commenting, the chief executive of Farmz2U, Ms Aisha Raheem-Bolarinwa, said, “We don’t have a production problem as much as we have a distribution problem. Technology can enable resilience, but without hard infrastructure and supportive policy, farmers cannot access the full benefits.”
An investment director at ARM-Harith Infrastructure Limited, Ms Adaobi Nnorukah,, noted that, “Successful climate projects require institutional investors at the table from the start. Early collaboration helps identify and manage risks, ensuring projects remain bankable and sustainable.”
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has confirmed the collapse of five transmission towers along the Ikot Abasi–Eket 132kV Double Circuit Transmission Line.
This was attributed to severe acts of vandalism, as TCN disclosed that the structure collapsed after vandals removed critical structural bracing members.
The affected towers were N9, J4, N10, N11 and N12, the organisation said in a statement on Friday.
It explained that the extensive damage was discovered during a routine joint line patrol conducted on August 9, 2026, by TCN linesmen.
Further inspection revealed that structural members from seven additional towers along the same transmission corridor had also been removed and stolen. The towers, J3, N8, N13, N14, N15, N18 and N19, are now structurally compromised and pose a risk of further collapse.
TCN condemned this act of sabotage and reiterated its commitment to working hard to maintain a robust and reliable national grid.
The statement said that to mitigate the impact on electricity supply, the network has been reconfigured to prioritise supply to Ekim transmission station, leaving Ibom Power as the only station without supply.
TCN said it is mobilising an urgent intervention to complete the reconstruction of the affected sections of the line, with security agencies also notified to aid investigations and prevent further acts of vandalism along the line route.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr Tajudeen Abbas, has urged all relevant government agencies to promptly initiate actions for the full implementation of the Nigerian Ports Economic Regulatory Agency Act, 2026, following its signing into law by President Bola Tinubu.
The bill, sponsored by Speaker Abbas, was aimed at repealing the Nigerian Shippers’ Council Act, Cap. N133, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, and establish the Nigerian Ports Economic Regulatory Agency to ensure effective economic regulation of Nigerian ports while safeguarding the interests of shippers, service providers, and users of regulated port services. With the President’s assent, it has now been enacted as an Act of Parliament.
The legislation represents one of the landmark achievements of the 10th National Assembly. It reflects the Speaker’s commitment to legislative excellence, institutional reform, and sustainable economic growth, according to a press statement by the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the Speaker, Mr Musa Krishi.
The bill underwent a rigorous and inclusive legislative process, including extensive stakeholder consultations and a public hearing. It was passed by both Chambers of the National Assembly and subsequently assented to by the President.
The Act provides a robust legal and institutional framework to ensure effective economic regulation of Nigerian ports by fostering transparency, competitiveness, and efficiency in port operations; protecting the rights and interests of shippers, service providers, and other port users; and aligning Nigeria’s port regulatory system with global best practices, thereby enhancing the ease and cost-effectiveness of doing business.
Despite receiving presidential assent, the Act has yet to be fully operationalised.
He warned that any further delay would undermine the legislative intent of the reform, prolong the exposure of port users to arbitrary charges and operational inefficiencies, and deny the nation the anticipated benefits of increased revenue, improved trade facilitation, and stronger investor confidence in the marine and blue economy sector.
The Speaker urged the Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy, in collaboration with all relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of the federal government, to take the necessary administrative, institutional, and financial measures for the prompt implementation of the Act.
He said this should include the formal transition to, as well as operational empowerment of, the Nigerian Ports Economic Regulatory Agency to discharge its statutory mandate effectively.
The full implementation of the Act is critical to unlocking the economic potential of Nigeria’s ports, reducing the cost of doing business, strengthening trade competitiveness, and positioning Nigeria as the leading maritime and logistics hub in West and Central Africa.
The statement noted that the Speaker reaffirmed the 10th House’s commitment to exercising the necessary legislative oversight to ensure this landmark legislation, along with others assented to by the President, is fully implemented and achieves its intended goals for the benefit of the Nigerian people.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Federal Ministry of Youth Development (FMYD), through the Nigerian Youth Academy (NiYA), has partnered with Cascador, a Nigeria-focused platform for growth-stage founders, to provide funding and support for the next generation of Nigerian youth entrepreneurs.
The announcement coincides with International Youth Day 2026, whose global theme this year — Different Contexts, Common Aspirations — calls on institutions to close the gap between young people’s circumstances and their opportunities. The pilot is an early step toward NiYA’s broader ambition to train and empower 7 million Nigerian youth within two years.
The NiYA and Cascador Founders Programme will begin with a pilot cohort of 20 early-stage Nigerian youth founders, including entrepreneurs without formal business registration or established financial records.
Over four weeks, participants will undergo intensive training focused on business fundamentals, investment readiness and pitch preparation. At the end of the programme, the eight top-performing founders will receive non-dilutive funding of up to N5 million each from Cascador, alongside an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solution to help them structure, manage and scale their businesses.
The funding and support will be presented at a Pitch Day organised by NiYA and the Federal Ministry of Youth Development.
The Minister for Youth Development, Mr s Ayodele Olawande, said the partnership would enable NiYA to move beyond training by helping young people transform ideas into investable businesses and achieve sustainable economic participation through business preparation and access to capital.
“The pilot is deliberately designed to test a model that can go beyond one cohort. If young founders can be identified early, prepared properly, connected to credible capital and supported to build stronger business systems, then access to opportunity becomes less dependent on background or existing networks. That is the larger objective: to build a youth entrepreneurship ecosystem in which readiness, ideas and execution can increasingly determine who gets the opportunity to grow.”
The pilot will run in-person in Abuja with virtual touchpoints and 1:1 mentorship. All 20 graduates retain NiYA alumni status, with priority consideration for future opportunities.
NiYA and FMYD have already shown what real commitment to Nigeria’s youth looks like — the platforms, the reach, the ambition to train millions. What we’re building together now is the missing piece, a practical bridge from the ideation stage to real capital-readiness. When a Ministry so dedicated to its young people asked Cascador to help build that bridge, it was an easy decision,” said Trish Thomas, CEO of Cascador.
Ms Oyin Solebo, COO of Cascador and former Managing Director of the ARM Labs Lagos Techstars Accelerator, highlighted the partnership’s impact, saying, “This is what innovative capital deployment looks like: a government building real investment readiness at scale, and a partner meeting that foundational work with non-dilutive funding at exactly the moment it’s needed. Partnerships like this open doors that neither of us could open alone.”
