Maintaining its position as Africa’s leading conglomerate, Dangote Industries Limited has embraced cutting-edge technology to optimize efficiency across its subsidiaries. Speaking at the just-concluded 46th Kaduna International Trade Fair, Senior Advisor to the President of the Dangote Group, Fatima Wali Abdurrahman, highlighted the company’s ongoing digitization efforts, emphasizing their role in accelerating manufacturing and sales processes. “As some of you may be aware, we have digitized our manufacturing and sales operations by deploying automated and smart systems, particularly in our cement plants,” she stated during the Dangote Special Day, aligning with the Trade Fair’s theme: Promoting Efficiency in Manufacturing, Trade,…
Author: Abdoulaye Kay
The world’s love for chocolate is being threatened, and the people who grow its key ingredient—cacao or cocoa —are bearing the brunt of climate change. In West Africa, where 70% of the world’s cacao is produced, rising temperatures and erratic rainfall are making it harder for farmers to cultivate the crop that fuels a multi-billion-dollar industry. A new study by Climate Central has found that human-caused climate change has made extreme heat 10 times more likely in the region, intensifying the crisis for farmers and pushing cocoa prices up by 400% in recent years. Over the past decade, West Africa’s…
The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has rejected attempts by former military Head of State, General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (rtd), to absolve himself of responsibility for the annulment of the June 12, 1993, election. In a statement issued on Sunday, February 23, 2025, MURIC’s Executive Director, Professor Ishaq Akintola, criticized Babangida’s claims in his newly released memoir, A Journey in Service, which was unveiled at the Transcorp Hilton, Abuja, on February 20, 2025. “We, at the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), categorically reject IBB’s attempt to shift blame for the annulment of the June 12, 1993, election. He cannot rewrite history. The…
Former President Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida’s (IBB) attempt to remove the ethnic label from Nigeria’s first military coup may not have succeeded, as a counter-explanation argues that it could only be described as an Igbo-led coup. This perspective was presented in reaction to Babangida’s book, A Journey in Service, by a former member of the Provisional Ruling Council (PRC) and Minister of Communications under General Sani Abacha’s regime, Major General Tajudeen Olanrewaju (Rtd). In Chapter 3, page 39, under the topic “A Young Officer and a Gentleman,” Babangida attempts to exonerate the first coup plotters from ethnic motivations. While Olanrewaju somewhat…
General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (IBB), in his recently launched book, narrated why his childhood friend and long-time colleague, General Mamman Jiya Vatsa was killed and how later’s coup attempt made IBB feel a deep personal sense of betrayal. He wrote: “What has come to be known as the Vatsa Coup occurred within the first few months of the administration. It began life first as a series of rumours. I heard through multiple sources that my childhood friend and long-time colleague, General Mamman Jiya Vatsa, was planning to topple our young administration in a coup. At first, I dismissed it as…
The President and Chief Executive of Dangote Industries Limited, Aliko Dangote, has credited former Head of State, Gen. Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (IBB), with pioneering policies that liberated Nigeria’s private sector. Dangote made the remarks on Thursday during the unveiling of A Journey in Service, Babangida’s autobiography, which also served as a fundraiser for the IBB Presidential Library. At the event, Africa’s richest man pledged N8 billion towards the library’s construction, committing to an annual donation of N2 billion over the next four years. He further assured that if the project extended beyond the timeline, he would continue contributing N2 billion…
I spent the last few days trying hard to understand the ongoing rebasing of the Nigerian economy starting with the rebasing of the consumer price index. I watched the statistician general of the country explain on television that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) which measures the rate of change in prices of goods and commodities declined to 24.48 per cent year on year in January. Nonetheless, the Director-General of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) added that this does not mean prices have declined from the previous rate of 34.80 per cent which was the case up till the end…
The Kebbe local government council, on Wednesday, February 19, 2026, presented its 2025 budget proposal of ₦3,675,485,190.00 to the Sokoto State House of Assembly, with the environment, agriculture and health sectors receiving ₦132,749,000, ₦434,782,300, and ₦48,547,280, respectively. The budget presentation, led by the Council Chairman, Abdullahi Yarima Kebbe, was by Section 162(8) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) and relevant state laws. Key council officials, including Council Secretary Shamsudeen Umar Maiakwai, the Director of Finance, and the Planning Officer accompanied Yarima. Of the ₦3,675,485,190.00 budget proposal, They appeared before the Joint House Committee on…
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), also known as Doctors Without Borders, in collaboration with the Sokoto State Ministry of Health, is urging community members to participate in a vaccination campaign aimed at reducing the incidence of life-threatening diseases such as measles and diphtheria. These diseases can cause severe complications if left untreated. In 2024, MSF treated over 17,000 cases of measles in Nigeria. Without timely intervention, measles can lead to pneumonia, brain damage, and, in severe cases, death. To address this public health challenge, MSF and the Ministry of Health are immunising children under five years old with the measles vaccine…
Senator Mohammed Sani Musa (Niger East), and the Chairman, Senate Committee on Finance, has clarified his stance on the allocation of road projects in the 2025 budget, rejecting claims that his comments in the Senate were aimed at sidelining any part of Niger state. Addressing the controversy, the Senator, in a statement obtained by ASHENEWS, reaffirmed his commitment to equitable infrastructure development, emphasizing that his concern was about prioritizing road projects based on economic viability, haulage, and vehicular traffic. He noted that despite a budgetary allocation of N4.3 trillion for road infrastructure, Niger State was allocated only the Agaie-Katcha-Baro Road,…