General
Heritage Bank, Group Light up Lagos Community with Solar Power
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
A global open source movement known as Liter of Light Nigeria has partnered with Heritage Bank Plc to provide sustainable solar electricity for Itomaro community in Lagos State.
Passionate about making cheap and sustainable solar street lights accessible to the impoverished off-grid communities in Nigeria, the partnership, last Thursday, launched 35 units of solar energy-powered street lights it produced for the community.
The movement comprises a group of Nigerian students of the University of Nottingham, United Kingdom, who is passionate about making a positive difference to the world through the gift of light.
In his remarks to the beneficiary community during the launch, the MD/CEO of the bank, Mr Ifie Sekibo, who was represented by Ms Ozena Utulu, Head, Brand Management & Sustainability, Heritage Bank Plc, commended the people living in the community for giving access to the joint team of Heritage Bank and Liter of Light Nigeria to execute the project.
He noted that it takes two to tango; stressing that without their confidence in the project the achievement recorded would not have been possible. She therefore commended the youth of the community, who volunteered to participate in the training sessions organized during the two-week period of the production of the street lights.
Mr Sekibo was confident that with the knowledge acquired during the training sessions, the effective maintenance of the new street lights would not be difficult.
“These youth already have the knowledge required to ensure the street lights are effectively sustained and to produce more units,” the bank chief said.
He charged those youth to research more into what solar energy can be used for in the contemporary world.
“Read more about solar energy; you never can tell where the knowledge you have acquired under the programme can lead to in the future. My advice for you is try to discover yourself now concerning what you would love to become in the future and begin to work towards achieving the goal,” he added.
Mr Sekibo further said, “Use the knowledge acquired today to create wealth. The power rests with you now. In everything you do in life, challenges can come; but remain steadfast and confront whatever storm of life. With such determination, you will achieve your goal.”
Meanwhile, Mr Enemona Adaji, one of the Project Co-coordinators for Liter of Light, disclosed that the movement was founded with the aim of providing ecologically sustainable street lights.
According to him, the easily constructed device consists of a 1-2L bottle fashioned into a solar bulb delivering as much light as a 40 – 60-watt incandescent bulb.
He disclosed that the team had earlier provided100 sustainable and affordable solar-powered lightings to the Makoko slum, an area which previously struggled with lighting.
Also speaking at the event, Ms Emma Tayou, representative of the University of Nottingham; explained that the institution has culture of charging its students to think about any viable project that can help to positively impact the society.
According to her, a group of Nigerian students of the university decided that they would take on the challenge of lighting up the dark streets of impoverished communities in this country. She said the university bought into the idea and supported them with the take-off grant that set the initial pedestal for them.
She therefore commended the team for the sacrifices each member is making to ensure the mission is accomplished in every community selected.
Among the 25 volunteers, who participated in the project in Itomaro are: Emmanuel Mustapha and Abraham Samuel.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Lagos State Government has officially launched its annual Medium-Term Sector Strategy (MTSS) Roll-Over Exercise for the 2026–2028 planning cycle.
According to a statement, this reaffirms its commitment to sustainable development and effective governance.
Speaking at the opening session of the workshop yesterday at the LCCI building, Ikeja, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Economic Planning and Budget, Mrs Olayinka Ojo, welcomed stakeholders and emphasized the importance of the MTSS as a cornerstone in the State’s planning framework.
Mrs Ojo stated that the strategy is to ensure that all projects and programs initiated by Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) are not only well-prioritized and realistically costed but also aligned with the Lagos State Development Plan (LSDP) 2052.
Her words, “The vision of our dear State, under the dynamic leadership of Governor Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu, is to build Africa’s model megacity — a global economic and financial hub that is safe, secure, functional, and productive.”
“Achieving this vision requires deliberate planning, effective resource allocation, and a disciplined approach to project execution,” she said.
The roll-over session, which gathered representatives – economic planning officers and statisticians/statistical officers from various MDAs and development partners, aims to critically assess ongoing and proposed initiatives for their transformational impact, alignment with sectoral strategies, and responsiveness to current fiscal realities.
“We must ask ourselves: Are these projects truly transformational? Are they aligned with our long-term goals? Are they cost-effective and impactful?” the Permanent Secretary queried, urging participants to embrace openness and professionalism in their evaluations.
The event also underscored the need for flexibility and innovation in government planning amid global uncertainties. Officials called for future-proof and sustainable programs capable of delivering measurable benefits to Lagos residents.
The Economic Planning Department of the Ministry of Economic Planning and Budget was commended for its coordination of the exercise, with special appreciation extended to MDAs and development partners for their continued collaboration.
The roll-over exercise is expected to culminate in a refined set of priorities that will guide Lagos State’s development agenda for the years ahead.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The British Government has distanced itself from the actions of Mr Micah Polo, an alleged British army officer, who was recently apprehended in connection with arms procurement and an alleged plot to instigate unrest in Warri, Delta State.
The development has received widespread condemnation with many stakeholders demanding a thorough probe of the indicted soldier and alleging that the UK was fuelling instability in the country.
In a short statement shared with Business Post on Wednesday, the British High Commission acknowledged that the individual identified did serve as a junior rank in the UK Armed Forces Reserves but was later discharged. It didn’t provide further details.
According to a statement credited to an unnamed spokesperson, the British High Commission in the statement said, “The individual identified in recent Nigerian media reporting is not a serving member of the UK Armed Forces.”
The British High Commission added that whilst in the Reserves, Mr Polo was a junior rank not a commissioned officer. Many reports had ascribed him a Major.
This newspaper learnt that UK common law and Data Protection Act protects the personal details of current and former employees, hence why it was not able to release any additional information on the matter.
According to reports, Mr Polo, an Itsekiri by origin, was allegedly recruited by one Collins to procure weapons and ammunition intended to fuel tribal tensions in the oil-rich region.
However, operatives of the Department of State Security (DSS) from the Delta Command were said to have foiled the move on Friday night and arrested the arms supplier during a covert exchange near Asaba, Delta State.
During the operation, over 50 AK-47 rifles, six pump-action shotguns, and more than 3,000 rounds of ammunition were confiscated.
Mr Polo, on the other hand, was intercepted in Lagos as he attempted to board a flight to the United Kingdom, while his associates were apprehended in Asaba during the operation.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Minister of Interior, Mr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, has announced plans to establish a harmonised centre to combat immigration document fraud.
Speaking while receiving the UK Minister of State for Home Affairs, Mr David Hanson, in his office in Abuja, Mr Tunji-Ojo highlighted the need for a centralised system to verify documents in real time.
“One of the key issues we also realised with border control is what we call immigration and document fraud. It is very key and we realised that one of the reasons why this is quite on the rise is because there is no centralised pool of authentication and verification of documents in real time.
“So, today, if people submit 20 documents, you might need to go to 20 issuing agencies to verify 20 documents belonging to one person. So, if you have 1,000 people per day, you might need to look for 100,000 verification and authentication systems. That breeds inefficiency,” he said.
Mr Tunji-Ojo added that the centre would authenticate documents like passports, birth certificates, and bank statements, enhancing Nigeria’s image and investor confidence.
“As a government, we are trying to be more proactive than reactive, and we don’t want to judge our performance in terms of fraud by virtue of recoveries or convictions, but rather by the number of crimes or frauds that we prevented from happening,” he stated.
On his part, Mr Hanson emphasised the shared agenda between Nigeria and the UK to improve criminal justice outcomes.
“There is a great common agenda that we can share and I am particularly keen to look at how we are working together closely. My visit this week will also look at the new joint centre that you are undertaking,” he said.
He noted ongoing UK-Nigeria collaboration on migration policies, visa systems, and trade, following Mr Tunji-Ojo’s recent meeting with UK Home Secretary, Ms Yvette Cooper.
The UK delegation included officials from the Home Office, National Crime Agency, and UK High Commission in Nigeria.
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