General
Stakeholders to Discuss Agro-industrialisation of African Agriculture
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Some key stakeholders in the agricultural sector in Africa will gather at NAF Conference Centre and Guest House, Abuja, Nigeria from September 21 to 26, 2020 for the 2020 edition of an international conference organised by the Pan African Society for Agricultural Engineering (PASAE) and the Nigerian Institution of Agricultural Engineers (NIAE).
President Kagame of Rwanda is expected to chair the opening ceremony on September 22, of which the AfDB President, Mr Akinwumi Adesina, will give the conference keynote. Six high-level workshops and master classes to serve as continuous professional development opportunities for Engineers will take the-centre stage on Monday, September 21, 2020.
This week, specifically on Thursday, delegates and conference organising committee of the event led by Prof Micheal Faborode, former Vice-Chancellor of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, paid a visit to the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mr Muhammad Sabo Nanono in Abuja.
The purpose of the visit was to brief the Minister on the programme which focuses on Agro-industrialisation of African Agriculture. This is in line with the African Agenda 2063: The Africa We Want.
The delegates pledged their readiness to support the laudable initiatives of the Ministry to boost farmers’ productivity and bring the youths back into farming.
In his address, the Minister welcomed the idea of the conference as being very apt, timely and well planned, pledging his personal support and that of the entire Ministry.
He enumerated three imperatives on which the Ministry is focusing to lift Nigeria’s agro productivity, agro industrialisation and job creation.
He said the present administration hopes to use appropriate and private sector-led mechanisation for the provision of not less than 10,000 tractors to support farming input centres in 732 LGAs and 138 agro-processing centres.
He added that government plans to provide good viable seeds and cultivars, which requires research support and then put in place an effective extension service.
Mr Nanono admonished the Institution of Agricultural Engineers to collaborate with government to provide effective frameworks to make the new initiatives successful.
Prof. Faborode subsequently commended the Minister for his vision and forthrightness and assured that launching an NIAE Agricultural Engineering Transformation Roadmap will be one of the highlights of the conference opening in September.
He further promised that members of the NIAE will work together to achieve food security and agro-industrial Nigeria, pointing out that the upcoming conference will be a watershed for agriculture in Nigeria and Africa as a whole.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Mr Bosun Tijani, has announced that Nigeria will launch a new alphanumeric postcode system on October 1, 2026, with every home expected to have a unique postcode.
Mr Tijani disclosed the development in a video post on X, describing the new system as a more precise and digitally oriented approach to addressing locations across the country.
He said the initiative would mark a significant shift in Nigeria’s postal addressing system by assigning unique postcodes to individual homes.
The initiative marks a major step in Nigeria’s digital transformation agenda. By replacing the outdated numeric-only system, the alphanumeric codes provide a more flexible and scalable framework that can accommodate the country’s rapid urban growth and diverse settlement patterns.
For emphasis, an alphanumeric postcode system is a postal indexing system that uses a combination of both letters (alpha) and numbers (numeric), along with spaces or punctuation, to identify specific geographic locations, streets, or individual buildings for mail delivery.
Unlike purely numeric postcode systems (such as the 5-digit US ZIP Code or 5-digit codes used in some European countries), alphanumeric codes offer a much higher number of unique combinations using fewer total characters. This flexibility allows postal authorities to pinpoint locations with incredible precision, often down to a single side of a street or a specific large building.
“On October 1st 2026 Nigeria’s new Alphanumeric Postcode System goes live,” Mr Tijani said.
“For the first time, every home will be assigned a unique postcode that’s simple, precise and built for a digital future,” he added.
The minister urged Nigerians to prepare to generate their individual postcodes ahead of the launch.
The new system is expected to strengthen Nigeria’s digital addressing infrastructure and improve the identification and location of homes and properties for postal and other location-based services.
The initiative is being implemented in collaboration with the Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST) as part of broader efforts to modernise the country’s addressing and digital infrastructure.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr Taiwo Oyedele, has been directed to give an account to Nigerians on how the current government has fared since its inception on May 29, 2023.
This directive was given by President Bola Tinubu in a message posted on his verified social media handles on Wednesday.
This coincides with the commencement of campaigns for the 2027 presidential election scheduled for January 16.
According to the timetable of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), candidates seeking to become the country’s president are eligible to kick off their campaigns from today, Wednesday, August 19, 2026.
In his message today, Mr Tinubu said, “When we began this journey of reform in 2023, I promised that the difficult decisions we were making would serve the purpose of building an economy that works better for you and a country that is stronger for our children.
“Today, your government presents The Reforms Scorecard. It sets out what our reforms have achieved, what they have cost us, and the greater costs and harms we have prevented by acting when we did.
“I have therefore directed the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, to give an account to Nigerians, to explain the numbers, the choices we have made, the progress recorded, and the work that remains.
“You deserve to see the numbers. You deserve to know what has changed and what these reforms mean for you, your family, your business and our country.
“This is your government. This is your country. This is our account to you.”
Shortly after he took the oath of office over three years ago, President Tinubu declared that subsidies on petroleum products were gone. He later approved foreign exchange (FX) reforms, which devalued the Nigerian Naira, shooting from about N800 per Dollar to nearly N2,000 per Dollar. However, it is currently slightly above N1,340 per Dollar in the official market.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited and the Nigerian Agip Exploration (NAE) Limited are advancing discussions on the development of deepwater assets estimated to hold 500 million barrels of oil reserves.
The development followed a meeting between the chief executive of the state oil company, Mr Bayo Ojulari, and Agip’s Vice Chairman and Managing Director, Mr Maurizio Pinna, in Abuja.
The talks focused on ongoing work on deepwater acreage jointly held by NNPC, NAE and Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCo) as well as plans to bring the associated resources into production.
According to NNPC, the acreage comprises the Zabazaba and Etan deepwater fields, with estimated reserves of about 500 million barrels.
The fields are located in Nigeria’s deepwater terrain and are considered significant to the country’s efforts to expand its upstream oil production base, particularly as operators seek to advance projects capable of delivering additional barrels over the medium to long term.
While details of the expected production timeline were not disclosed, the meeting underscores renewed industry focus on unlocking Nigeria’s deepwater resources and growing crude oil production.
The acreage comprises licences converted from OPL 245 and is operated by NAE in partnership with NNPC Limited and SNEPCo.
Mr Ojulari and Mr Pinna also reviewed the work currently underway on the assets and the expected production outlook, with the discussions centred on advancing deepwater development.
The engagement comes amid renewed efforts to attract investment into Nigeria’s offshore petroleum resources and increase national oil production.
