By Modupe Gbadeyanka

The presidency has informed that Nigerians that the absence of President Bola Tinubu remains temporary and was not missing in action.

In a statement on Thursday by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Mr Bayo Onanuga, it was disclosed Mr Tinubu should return to the country next week.

Some days ago, President Tinubu left the shores of the country for a “working visit” to France but later left the European nation for the United Kingdom at the weekend.

In the statement today, Mr Onanuga said his boss “remains fully engaged in Nigeria’s governance even though he is away in Europe.”

According to him, “His absence remains temporary and in line with the communicated timeframe of approximately two weeks.”

The spokesman said Mr Tinubu “has maintained constant communication with key government officials, overseeing critical national matters, including directives to security chiefs to address emerging threats in some parts of the country.”

“His return to Abuja and the resumption of duties at Aso Villa will follow the conclusion of the Easter holiday,” he declared.

“The President’s commitment to his duties remains unwavering, and his administration continues to function effectively under his leadership.

“We appreciate the public’s concern and assure all Nigerians that governance proceeds without interruption,” the statement noted.

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

Residents of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja and Kogi State could not hide their joy recently over the distribution of some food items to them by the Aliko Dangote Foundation (ADF).

The N16 billion Annual National Food Intervention programme was launched last month by the organisation to support the poor and the vulnerable persons across Nigeria.

At the flag off on Tuesday in Abuja, the Senior Special Adviser to the President of Dangote Group, Ms Fatima Wali Abdurrahman, said 10,000 bags of 10kg rice were donated to the FCT for distribution to the beneficiaries.

According to her, the initiative is to support governments at all levels to cushion the effects of economic challenges in the country, noting that it started in 2024 when the company donated food worth N15 billion to all the 774 Local Government Areas in the country.

She described her boss, Mr Aliko Dangote, as someone who is passionate about giving back to society, especially the needy.

Also speaking at the event, the Minister of the FCT, Mr Nyesom Wike, who was represented by Ango Abdullahi Suleiman, said the government appreciates Mr Dangote’s gesture, saying the businessman has contributed enormously to the economic development of Nigeria, while promising to ensure that the food items reach the poor.

In Kogi State, the Commissioner for Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Mrs Rabietu Okute, said 40,000 bags of 10kg rice have been received from the ADF and distributed to the poor and vulnerable persons in the state.

On the distribution process, she explained that it followed Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo’s directive, with a committee set up to ensure the food items reach vulnerable residents across the state.

Mrs Okute stated that the distribution was flagged off in the state on March 26, 2025.

“We shared the 40,000 bags of rice through the 21 Local Government Areas. The LGAs also shared the product to the 239 wards.

“Before this, a committee of 12 persons per Local Government was set up, and the state government moblized the committees. The products were distributed to vulnerable groups like the union of disabilities and the 23 orphanages in the state,” she said.

In his remarks, the General Manager for Community Affairs and Special Duties at Dangote Cement Plc, Mr Ademola Adeyemi, who supervised the distribution on behalf of ADF, said the food donation to Kogi would further boost the relationship between the company and the state.

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Africa Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) disbursed $50 billion for the execution of various projects in Nigeria in the last 19 years, the President of the Cairo-based lender, Mr Benedict Oramah, disclosed at the commissioning of the Afreximbank Africa Trade Centre (AATC) in Abuja.

At the event, he also reaffirmed the bank’s vision to dismantle trade barriers and promote African market integration.

“Over the last decade alone, total disbursements into Nigeria amounted to about 50 billion US dollars, spreading across vital sectors of energy, infrastructure, manufacturing, healthcare, transport and financial services.

“Our support to the Nigerian financial services industry, amounting to 19 billion US dollars in the last decade, has helped to deepen and expand the sector and elevated their impact on the local economy,” he stated.

The Afreximbank president, who hinted at the establishment of other AATCs in Harare, Kampala, Cairo, and Yaoundé, described the relationship between the bank and Nigeria as mutually beneficial.

“Over the last three decades, successive governments have accorded unflinching support to Afreximbank, responding most positively to capital calls, creating a congenial environment for its smooth operations while providing the Bank significant domestic policy support that helped to execute many of the development programmes in Nigeria.”

Mr Oramah pledged to expand the influence of the Africa Export-Import Bank across the Atlantic, with AATCs in the Caribbean, adding: “We must reshape our future.”

“We mark the standing up of an edifice that defiantly roars: that we must reshape our future; that we can no longer be hostages to a colonial legacy deeply rooted on ‘divide-and-conquer’ — a legacy that makes Africans regard their colonisers as masters and brothers and sisters, as enemies, and even aliens,” he said of the commissioning of the Abuja AATC.