General
Julius Berger Feeds Communities Along Abuja-Kaduna-Kano Road
By Adedapo Adesanya
Construction giant, Julius Berger Nigeria Plc, as part of its efforts to support the federal government’s efforts to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, has expanded its food donation initiative to vulnerable people in local communities along the Abuja-Kaduna-Kano Road.
This is part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) scheme tagged Food for our Communities Campaign which has been done in all its operational regions and sites across the country.
The latest to be touched are villages in Kagarko local government area of Kaduna State, and to Sabon-Wuse and Tafa in Niger State, all in Section 1 of the strategic Abuja-Kano Road (AKR) project.
The Julius Berger food donation CSR initiative in Section 1 of the AKR Project was led by a project coordinator at the AKR project, Mr Yusuf Ibrahim.
The Julius Berger team visited the palaces of the village head of Sabon-Wuse, Alhaji Danladi Bake, the village head of Tafa, Alhaji M. Yahaya (Marafan Dullu-Tafa), the village head of Chauma, Mallam Ibrahim,Village head of Isah community, Alhaji Adamu Shehu, ward head of Bakura, Mr Peter Daniel, village head of Gujeni, Mr Philemon Auta, village head of Gidan Abe, Mr David Yohana, Wazirin Jere, Alhaji Mustapha, Mai Angwa Gbabu, Mallam Bashir Gbabu, village head of Chakwama, Mr Danladi Yerima and the village head of Tanko, Alhaji H. Abdullahi.
From the chiefs and the people of all the communities, Julius Berger’s community-friendly and people-sensitive CSR initiative received robust appreciation, commendations and encomiums.
The community leaders at different locations all spoke with glowing gratitude to Julius Berger to whom they pledged their indebtedness for the company’s show of sensitivity to the crucial needs of the people, practical display of compassionate magnanimity driven by a voluntary willingness to partner with government and communities with a view to alleviating pain in the society at this trying time of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Through the Food for our Communities Campaign, Julius Berger has continued to directly intervene with food palliatives in communities where food items are consistently donated to the natives and residents at the Local Government Area Councils as well as at the Palaces of the local Chiefs for organized and well-structured onward distribution to the weak, vulnerable and needy members of the communities, in order to alleviate the critical nutritional requirements of the people during the global COVID-19 pandemic.
The company has done this through the donation of various palliatives, including an ambulance, hospital beds and hospital ward demarcations formworks, volumes of Personal Protection Equipment, PPEs, to hospitals, and bags of rice and cooking oil and condiments to different states and communities across the country.
Meanwhile, Julius Berger’s fumigation activities targeted at disinfecting communities across Nigeria have continued.
In a statement issued by the Group Head of the Media Relations Office of the company, Mr Moses Duku, in Abuja, the Managing Director of Julius Berger, Mr Lars Richter, was said to have pledged that the company will continue to utilize its widely resourceful scope.
This includes using its high value, experienced, versatile and reliable human capital, facilities and technical know-how to provide impactful support directly to the government, communities and those working the front lines to tackle the spread of the pandemic and minimize its effects on the country and its citizenry till COVID-19 is eradicated.
The Managing Director emphasized Julius Berger’s serious interest in the sustainable good health and safety of the people and communities in Nigeria.
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.”
