By Aduragbemi Omiyale

No fewer than 40 residents of Iwaa, Oyo, Obajana and Apata communities in Kogi State have completed a training programme on fish farming and entrepreneurship.

This is an initiative of the Obajana plant of Dangote Cement Plc designed to empower inhabitants of its host communities.

This scheme builds on a series of previous community empowerment programmes, including training in poultry production, solar entrepreneurship, and fashion design, among others.

At the graduation ceremony witnessed by representatives of the federal government, the Kogi State Government, and the Industrial Training Fund (ITF), as well as traditional rulers and other key stakeholders, the Plant Director, Mr Azad Nawabuddin, described the skills acquisition programme as a strategic scheme aimed at promoting job creation and driving overall economic development within the host communities.

“In learning the art and business of fish farming, you have embraced a cycle of life that teaches responsibility. You nurture, you wait, you adapt, and in time, you harvest. This mirrors the journey of community development itself: it is not built in a day, but through consistent effort, shared knowledge, and collective commitment,” he stated.

According to him, fish farming does not stand alone. It creates ripples by providing food for families, income for households, and opportunities for others.

“One fishpond can support a network: feed suppliers, transporters, market women, and processors. In this way, what begins as an individual skill becomes a communal asset,” he added.

Also commenting, the General Manager and Head of the Social Performance Department at Dangote Cement in Obajana, Mr Ademola Adeyemi, said the event was part of the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) scheme of the company.

“We don’t Lord ourself on the communities. We jointly agree to carry out this CSR programme. We invest proactively in skills, in people, and in ideas that can uplift communities. Through partnerships like the one we have with the Industrial Training Fund, we ensure that our interventions are not just well-intentioned, but impactful and sustainable,” he disclosed.

A representative of the Technical Adviser on CSR to the Kogi State Governor, Mr Akinola Oluropo Babatunde, commended Aliko Dangote for his support for communities in Kogi State.

He urged beneficiaries to make proper use of the opportunity and have a positive impact on their communities.

By Adedapo Adesanya

A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has sentenced a former acting Accountant-General of the Federation, Mr Chukwunyere Anamekwe Nwabuoku, to 72 years imprisonment over N868.46 million fraud.

In a Monday statement posted on its X (formerly Twitter) account, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) confirmed the conviction and sentencing of Mr Nwabuoku for money laundering, after the court found him guilty of all charges.

“The former Acting Accountant-General of the Federation, Chukwunyere Anamekwe Nwabuoku, who was prosecuted by the EFCC at the Federal High Court, Abuja, for money laundering involving N868.46 million, has been convicted and sentenced to jail for 72 years,” the agency said.

The alleged offence, according to the EFCC, contravenes section 18 of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011 (as amended by Act No. 1 of 2012), and is punishable under section 15(3) of the Act.

The commission said Mr Nwabuoku committed the offences while serving as the director of finance and accounts in the Ministry of Defence between 2019 and 2021.

The former AGF had filed a no-case submission, which was dismissed by the court in November 2025.

Mr Nwabuoku was appointed acting accountant-general of the federation on May 20, 2022, by the late President Muhammadu Buhari, following the suspension of Mr Ahmed Idris over alleged N80 billion fraud.

However, he was removed from the position in July 2022, barely weeks after assuming office, following reports that he was under EFCC investigation.

He is the latest high-profile individual to be sentenced after the Federal High Court in Abuja last week sentenced the former Managing Director of the Nigeria Export-Import Bank (NEXIM), Mr Robert Orya, to 490 years’ imprisonment following his conviction in a N2.4 billion fraud case.

In a statement shared via its official X handle on Thursday, the anti-graft agency confirmed that Justice F.E. Messiri of the Abuja High Court has sentenced the former NEXIM boss, who served from 2011 to 2016, to 10 years’ imprisonment for each of the 49 counts brought against him in the N2.4 billion fraud case.

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, has called for the establishment of regional energy hubs as a strategic pathway to accelerate cross-border mining industrialisation and strengthen the supply chain of critical minerals essential for the global energy transition.

He called for the development of regional industrial corridors akin to the Lobito Corridor, noting that similar belts —such as the Lagos–Abidjan corridor, spanning Nigeria, Benin, Togo, Ghana, and Côte d’Ivoire, as well as the Walvis Bay Corridor linking Southern and Central Africa to global markets— could unlock vast mineral potential across the continent.

Speaking at a high-level panel themed: “Critical Minerals in Africa: Meeting Global Demand” at the ongoing Powering Africa Summit in Washington, D.C., United States, Mr Alake also said more investments had been attracted into Nigeria in the last two years.

The Minister emphasised that despite being open to investment, the country to prioritise strict compliance with local laws and regulations while outlining key investment incentives, including tax waivers on imported mining equipment and full repatriation of profits after due payment of royalties and taxes.

“We have successfully de-risked and sanitised the mining environment, making it conducive to Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). Within the last two and a half years, we have attracted over $2.6 billion in FDI into the sector,” he affirmed.

He stressed that sustainable partnerships with Africa remain the fastest route to meeting rising global demand for critical minerals.

According to the Minister, such corridors would serve as economic catalysts by driving infrastructure development, enhancing energy access, and promoting regional integration. “The development of nuclear power in one West African country, for instance, can service an entire corridor.

With that in place, local beneficiation, technology transfer, manufacturing, and cross-border industrialisation will naturally follow. If three to five such corridors are developed in Africa, we would significantly advance industrialisation across the continent, creating a win-win outcome for both Africa and the West,” he stated.

Mr Alake noted that under the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the ministry has carried out some reforms, including strengthened governance structures, improved regulatory frameworks, digitisation of licensing processes, and enhanced ease of doing business, which have repositioned Nigeria’s mining sector as a key driver of economic diversification.