In a press statement issued yesterday, Afenifere commended the Nigerian House of Representatives for its intervention regarding the introduction of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in the country. The commendation follows a bill introduced by Representative Shagaya (Kwara), which calls for a suspension of all GMO introductions pending a comprehensive investigation by the House Committee on Agricultural Production and Services.

Afenifere expressed grave concerns about the potential consequences of GMOs, highlighting issues such as the copyrighting of seeds, pesticide toxicity, and the integrity of regulatory bodies. The organization urged both legislative and executive branches to prioritize Nigeria’s long-term interests.

Farmers' Rights and Food Security

Afenifere emphasized the importance of protecting farmers' rights and preserving collective self-sufficiency. The group warned that GMO seeds are patented, creating a dependency that strips farmers of the freedom to revert to organic seeds. This dependency, they argued, poses a significant threat to Nigeria's long-term food security. The statement highlighted the risk of a few international biotech companies or even Nigerian producers gaining disproportionate control over seed production, which could lead to food colonization and undermine popular sovereignty.

Health Concerns over Pesticides

The group called for comprehensive studies on the long-term effects of pesticides associated with GMOs. They pointed to the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), which in 2015 identified glyphosate, the world's most commonly used herbicide, as a probable carcinogen. Afenifere noted that Bayer-Monsanto, the main producer of glyphosate and GMOs resistant to it, plans to introduce 40 varieties into Nigeria, raising significant health concerns.

Institutional Conflicts and Regulatory Integrity

Afenifere questioned the integrity of the National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA), established to ensure biosafety and biosecurity. They raised concerns about the inclusion of the National Biotechnology Development Agency, a promoter of GMOs, on the NBMA board. The group also highlighted the alleged undue influence of major GMO producers, which has led to rapid approvals of genetically modified crops without fully publicized tests.

Global Economic Influence on Science

The statement drew attention to the global economic influence of biotech companies on scientific evaluations and regulatory decisions. It cited the controversy following WHO's assessment of glyphosate and the extensive lobbying efforts by Monsanto. The group referenced Bayer's $9.6 billion settlement in 2020 over claims that glyphosate-based Roundup caused cancer, underscoring the need for vigilance against similar influences in Nigeria.

Cultural and Historical Implications

Afenifere stressed the cultural and historical significance of traditional farming practices in Nigeria, particularly yam cultivation, which has deep roots in Nigerian and African heritage. They argued that adopting GMOs could undermine this heritage and equated it to a form of civilizational suicide.

Conclusion and Demands

Afenifere called for the removal of all copyrights from foreign GMO seed sellers in Nigeria and mandated the labeling of all GMO foods. The group demanded that if GMO seeds are to be used, the government must establish a robust, incorruptible regulatory framework to ensure long-term sustainability. They insisted on comprehensive, transparent studies accessible to all stakeholders and researchers.

Signed:

Justice Faloye, Afenifere National Publicity Secretary

A group of women from Ipo community yesterday barricaded the entrance to the Port Harcourt international airport in Rivers.

The women were protesting the lack of basic amenities in their community.

The protest disrupted flight operations at the airport and left passengers stranded. The demonstration also led to snarled-up traffic on adjoining routes.

Ipo is the host community of the international airport in Ikwerre LGA of Rivers.

The women said the community lacks electricity, roads, pipe-borne water, and schools, despite hosting a critical federal government facility.

The women locked the gate to the airport roundabout, wielded placards with sundry inscriptions, while chanting solidarity songs and anti-government slogans.

In March, the women staged a similar protest. They were eventually pacified by Sergeant Awuse, former chairman of the Rivers traditional rulers council.

The demonstration comes on the heels of the police’s directive to the Nigerian Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE).

The Rivers police command had asked NULGE to shelve its protest on the LG crisis which kicked off on Monday.

Rivers has become a potpourri of protests and angst since Siminalayi Fubara, the state governor, parted ways with Nyesom Wike, minister of the federal capital territory (FCT).

The Cable

Israelis' lawsuit says UN agency helps Hamas by paying Gaza staff in dollars

Israelis who were taken hostage or lost loved ones during Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack are suing the United Nations agency that aids Palestinians, claiming it has helped finance the militants by paying agency staffers in U.S. dollars and thereby funneling them to money-changers in Gaza who allegedly give a cut to Hamas.

But the agency, known as UNWRA, told The Associated Press on Tuesday that the staffers were paid in dollars by their own choice. Gaza and the Israeli-occupied West Bank don’t have their own national currency, and primarily use Israeli shekels.

The lawsuit, filed Monday in a U.S. federal court in New York, marks the latest challenge to the beleaguered U.N. agency, which has been the main supplier of food, water and shelter to civilians during the Israel-Hamas war. The Israeli government has long assailed the over 70-year-old agency, and scrutiny has intensified during the eight-month-long war, prompting UNRWA to defend itself while grappling with a spiraling humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

“UNRWA’s staff, facilities and ability to truck cash U.S. dollars into Gaza formed a potent pillar of Hamas’ plan to undertake the Oct. 7 attack,” the lawsuit says, asserting that the U.N. agency “systematically and deliberately aided and abetted Hamas and its goals.”

UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said Tuesday that he learned of the case only through the media.

“I don’t know what the status of this lawsuit is all about, but for the time being, I see this as an additional way to put pressure on the agency,” he said at a press briefing in Geneva.

UNRWA has denied that it knowingly aids Hamas or any other militant group.

Israel invaded Gaza after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, in which militants killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted about 250. The war has killed more than 37,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which doesn’t say how many were civilians or fighters.

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of scores of Israelis including Oct. 7 attack survivors, victims’ relatives, and rescued captives. It echoes some complaints their government has raised, ranging from claims that UNRWA employs Hamas operatives to complaints about the content of textbooks in UNRWA-run schools.

But the suit also focuses on the agency’s practice of paying its 13,000 Gaza staffers in U.S. dollars. The money is wired from a bank in New York and trucked into Gaza, according to the legal complaint, which says the payroll totaled at least $20 million a month from 2018 until last September.

UNRWA employees use local money-changers to convert their dollars to Israeli shekels, the complaint says.

Some Palestinians also use dollars or Jordanian dinars, viewing them as stable and trusted currencies.

The suit claims that Hamas, which has controlled Gaza since 2007, “runs the majority” of the currency exchangers and extracts a 10% to 25% fee from the rest, “ensuring that a predictable percentage of UNRWA’s payroll went to Hamas” in dollars useful for black-market weapons deals.

“Hamas’ ability to carry out the Oct. 7 attack would have been significantly and possibly fatally weakened without that UNRWA-provided cash,” the complaint says.

The complaint points to an UNRWA-commissioned 2018 report about delivering aid in cash that noted risks of misappropriation, fraud or other diversion away from the intended purpose.

UNRWA spokesperson Juliette Touma said in a message to the AP that Gaza staffers asked that “they are paid in US$ because Gaza does not have an official national currency.”

Touma said the U.N., including UNRWA, and their officials are immune from lawsuits. She declined to comment further on the suit in question, saying the agency hadn’t officially been served with it.

One of the plaintiffs’ lead lawyers, Gavi Mairone, said in a statement Tuesday that they didn’t believe the U.N. and officials named in the suit had immunity, “and certainly not from these claims.”

Formally called the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East, UNRWA was established to help the estimated 700,000 Palestinians who fled or were driven out of what is now Israel during the 1948 war surrounding the country’s creation. Their descendants now number nearly 6 million.

The agency operates schools, health clinics, infrastructure projects and aid programs in refugee camps in Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon, Syria and Jordan.

Since the war began in Gaza, over 1.7 million people have taken shelter in UNRWA facilities. At least 500 displaced people have been killed when such facilities came under attack, according to UNWRA statistics released Friday. The agency has lost nearly 200 staffers.

Two U.N. officials said Tuesday that the world body warned Israel that Gaza aid operations would be suspended unless protections for humanitarian workers improve.

Israel has accused UNRWA of letting Hamas exploit its aid and facilities, and Israel claimed this winter that a dozen UNRWA employees participated in the Oct. 7 attacks.

The allegations prompted the U.S. and more than a dozen other countries to suspend hundreds of millions of dollars in contributions to the agency, though all but the U.S. and Britain have resumed their funding. Lazzarini said Tuesday that new donors also have come on board, but the agency still faces a year-end shortfall of up to $140 million.

AP

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

Russian proposal can end Ukraine conflict – Putin

Russia’s offer for a peaceful settlement of the Ukraine conflict is a realistic way to end the hostilities, but the West is simply ignoring it, President Vladimir Putin has said.

In a keynote foreign policy speech earlier this month, the Russian leader promised to order a ceasefire if Ukraine vows not to seek membership in NATO and withdraws its troops from all territories claimed by Russia. Kiev immediately rejected the proposal.

In an address to an international forum hosted by Russia this week, Putin said his offer should be carefully considered by interested parties.

”Unlike many Western politicians who didn’t even bother to get to the core of the initiative we proposed, participants of this forum, I expect, will study it thoughtfully and rationally and will see that it gives a real opportunity to stop the conflict and move to its political-diplomatic resolution,” a written welcome message from Putin said, as read on Tuesday by his foreign policy aide, Yury Ushakov.

Ushakov went on to say that Moscow is offering a “chance to at once stop the settlement of our differences on the battlefield and the loss of life,” adding, however, that the West wants to keep fighting Russia “to the last Ukrainian.”

“For now, the West-spurred military frenzy” is not subsiding, he lamented, citing Ukraine’s missile attack last Sunday which injured over 150 civilians and claimed at least four lives at a beach in Sevastopol, Crimea.

Moscow claims that Washington shares responsibility for the strike, since Ukraine used US-supplied ATACMS missiles with cluster munition warheads. Some Russian officials have argued that American military specialists must have been directly involved in the use of the sophisticated weapon. Mikhail Podoliak, an aide to Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky, claimed that the beachgoers were “civilian occupiers.”

Ushakov stated that Russia has the overarching goal of creating an indivisible pan-Eurasian security system to replace the “Euroatlantic and Eurocentric models that are passing into oblivion.”

He added that it is time to seriously devise a way to ensure peace in the space “that covers Western and Eastern states and Russia in between them.” The participants of the forum – the Primakov Readings, named after the late Russian diplomat Evgeny Primakov – are among the experts who can accomplish this, Ushakov noted.

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Russia, Ukraine each return 90 prisoners of war

Russia and Ukraine each handed back 90 prisoners of war on Tuesday in the latest of several periodic swaps in their 28-month-old conflict, with the United Arab Emirates overseeing the exchange as an intermediary.

The last exchange took place on May 31, when each side handed over 75 prisoners of war, also with the UAE acting as a go-between. That was the first exchange in nearly four months.

Russia said prisoners brought home on Tuesday had faced mortal danger in captivity.

Ukraine said returnees had included soldiers who had defended the Azovstal steel mill in a three-month siege in 2022 and others taken prisoner when Russian forces briefly seized the defunct Chornobyl nuclear power station.

The UAE said its action as a go-between had been made possible by maintaining good contacts with both sides.

The Russian Defence Ministry, in a posting on the Telegram messaging app, said: "As a result of negotiations, 90 Russian prisoners of war who risked death in captivity are being returned from areas under Kyiv's control."

It said the Russian prisoners were able to return home

"with the United Arab Emirates participating as an intermediary in a humanitarian capacity".

The freed Russian prisoners were being flown to Moscow, where they would undergo medical checks, the ministry said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said most of the freed servicemen were privates and sergeants, and the swap was another step in the process of bringing all detainees home.

"We will return all others in the same way," he said in his nightly video address. "We are seeking the truth about everyone -- where a person is, in what condition, what is needed for their return."

He thanked the UAE for facilitating the exchange and pledged to press on with efforts to bring home those still being held.

Ukraine's parliamentary Commissioner for Human Rights, Dmytro Lubinets, said those returning from captivity would undergo medical checks and receive help in resuming their lives.

Video posted on the president's Telegram channel showed men stepping off a bus to be greeted and handed blue and yellow national flags to drape over their shoulders.

The UAE Foreign Ministry, in a statement quoted by the state news agency WAM, said mediation had proved successful because it had leveraged "its distinct ties and partnership with both sides, including as a reliable mediator among both parties".

Since the start of Russia's war in Ukraine, the UAE has maintained neutral rhetoric on the conflict and continued mediating between the two sides to exchange prisoners.

RT/Reuters

Nigeria was last week swept up in a wave of emotions as a video emerged in South Africa of President Bola Tinubu appearing to be on the receiving end of an embarrassing snub by the South Africa leader at his inauguration.

But Nigerians who are looking at that video are at the wrong political campaign venue. They should be studying videos of how Tinubu views them.

According to Sahara Reporters, Tinubu arrived in Pretoria on a private jet belonging to Gilbert Chagoury, his business partner and a man whose Hitech Construction Company he has trusted with the controversial N15 trillion, 700km Lagos-Calabar coastal highway. The Nigeria leader’s son, Seyi Tinubu, sits on the board of Hitech.

Clearly, the concept of conflict of interest, or crossed wires, means nothing to the Tinubus. In the past 10 years, the party to which they belong, the APC, has sworn to eliminate the expensive presidential fleet of about 10 jets.

But populism is different, and Muhammadu Buhari, the champion of the political boast, could not find the character to implement his claims. He settled into the presidential fleet for eight years, and was known to give some of the jets to members of the family who had private errands to run.

All the jets were available and running smoothly when Buhari was in power. Since Tinubu assumed office, however, various reports have suggested that some of the favourite jets were developing maintenance “issues.”

And then, just days before he was due to jet off to Pretoria in a Chagoury jet, the National Assembly set in motion a process to purchase new jets for him and for and Vice-President Kashim Shettima. On June 13, the House of Representatives Committee on National Security and Intelligence authorized the government to “immediately” buy new aircraft for the two officials.

Only two days later, the House’s counterpart committee on the Senate, speaking through a man who was away in Saudi Arabia performing the Hajj, threw its support behind the fait accompli, which had clearly come from the executive itself.

The matter was reminiscent of the vexed issue of the national anthem last month, with the legislature taking just a matter of days to grant approval to the old anthem becoming the new.  It emerged that two years ago, Tinubu had disclosed that he if got the chance, he would bring back the old anthem.

He got his wish. And now it seems he will get his new jets as well: only one week after the House gave its approval, the government reportedly put three jets in the presidential fleet up for sale.

The mass media is often quick to fall for such news bulletins when the government distributes them. They disburse them lavishly on the front pages and the top of the broadcasts, only to fail to follow up the story.  In this case, we’ll almost certainly never find out who buys these three “ageing” jets, let alone for how much.

But the media will help to receive and gloat over the new jets that are being acquired not simply despite Nigeria’s mounting economic crisis, but indeed to escalate it.

My view is that Nigerians should pay less attention to Tinubu’s South African tour and far more to his invasion of Nigeria because this is the real nightmare. If they are buying those jets without publishing an investigation of the maintenance profile of the presidential fleet, somebody is playing a game.

What we have is a government which preaches sacrifice but taunts the people by squandering resources.  It is a government which came to spend, not to serve, and the evidence is significant that lacks the commitment to uplift the Nigerian people.

It is widely known, for instance, that Tinubu loves large, exuberant convoys.  They feature glittering, top-of-the-line SUVs at a time when petrol costs are extremely high.  He appears determined to make Nigerians feel the pain of his tenure: to watch him enjoy his best life at a time he is calling on them to sacrifice for the greater good. There is no deeper hypocrisy.

The first question is why he needs new vehicles, given the barely-used pool he inherited from his predecessor. The second is why he is insensitive to the cost of maintaining and fueling the fleets.

According to available data of the federal government, on the 22nd of June 2023, three weeks after assuming office and in a continuing pattern for State House, Abuja, the government paid:

₦212,712,766.59 for the “purchase of vehicles;”

₦161,250,000.00 for the “supply of five Nissan urvan bus high roof mt;”

₦61,275,000.00 for the “purchase of vehicles.”

At the end of May 2024, it paid:

₦1,200,000,000.00 for the supply of new vehicles to State House, Abuja, and

₦200,000,000.00 to buy SUVs. (Notice just how round those numbers strangely are), and

On June 7, 2024, ₦191,497,674.41 for three Toyota Prado 4-cylinder SUVs.

Nigerians would recall that in the 2023 Supplementary Appropriation, Mr. Tinubu wanted N3bn to renovate into “State House complexes,” two luxury properties that had been forfeited to the EFCC in the Guzape and Mabushi areas of the FCT. Nigerians widely criticized the proposal.

The new data reveals, however, that as of May 31, he had got his wish:

₦1,354,258,408.58 has been paid for the “acquisition, renovation and rehabilitation” of the property at Guzape;

₦773,423,288.50 for the “acquisition, renovation and rehabilitation of 2 nos EFCC forfeited quarters;” (presumably Mabushi), and

₦1,877,305,494.92 for the “renovation of residential quarters for mr president.”

Similarly:

₦752,236,350.10 was spent on the “renovation of Dodan Barracks-official residence of mr president;” and

₦3,500,000,000.00 was paid to construct an office complex within State House, Abuja.

Anyone who is interested may further examine this database for various curiosities, such as parallel supplies, or new constructions of aspects of the State House Medical Center, a N21bn ($45m) “world class” facility that the preceding government completed, equipped and inaugurated with great fanfare just days before its departure in May 2023.

I find fascinating, the repeated investments in motor vehicle tires, for instance, along with relentless and separate supplies of diesel not just to State House, but separately, to the Medical Centre.

Finally, the presidential jets.  According to the government’s data cited in this story, the existing fleet shows over N18bn in maintenance costs in the one year between July 2023 and June 2024, even as a clear pattern emerged of the determination of leaders of the administration to focus on themselves. Buhari was incompetent, shallow and weak, but even he hesitated at conspicuous consumption of the market square kind.

Because of the track record Tinubu has established in the past year, I fully expect Tinubu to get his jets—and more—no matter the optics or what it means for the Nigerian economy.

No, it is not what the South African president, or any other world leader, thinks of our Tinubu. It is what Tinubu thinks of his people and where he hopes to leave them after eight years in control that is his dream.

Think of the Tinubu Bus Stop on the global poverty highway.

Harvard Business School professor Joseph Fuller has spent the better part of a decade studying — and working with — some of the world’s most successful people, from Fortune 500 executives to Nobel Prize laureates. 

What sets high achievers apart from everyone else, Fuller has discovered, isn’t their confidence or business acumen — it’s their adaptability.

“They’re not wedded to some predetermined career path that they set when they were a student or starting their first job,” he tells CNBC Make It. “They’re open to unexpected opportunities and embrace change instead of fearing it.”

It’s great to set career goals and create timelines for achieving them. The danger, Fuller says, is leaning so hard into your preferences that you become closed off to a sudden detour or nonlinear path.

For example: You might turn down a job at a small startup that excites you and pays well because you always planned to work for a large, well-known company. 

Or, you might be tempted to look for a new job — even if you’re content in your current role — because you’re not getting promoted as quickly as you thought you would. 

In both cases, “you’re ignoring what motivates or interests you, and instead letting rigid expectations guide your career,” says Fuller. “That type of stubborn mentality won’t take you far.”

If you fixate on a specific career path, you risk overlooking other fulfilling options for your professional life, Fuller adds. 

A skill that’s in high demand but ‘rare to find’

Adaptability is a soft skill that’s “increasingly in demand” across a wide range of industries, according to recent research from LinkedIn. 

The need for flexible, resilient employees in the workplace, LinkedIn found, is the direct result of changes to the post-pandemic workforce: the rise of AI, the widespread adoption of remote and hybrid work as well as five generations, each with different communication styles and workplace jargon, now working together.

Employers want to hire people who can quickly adjust to these ongoing changes, says LinkedIn vice president Aneesh Raman. “Adaptability is the best way to have agency right now,” he notes in the report. “At the core of managing change is building that muscle of adaptability.”

And yet, “it’s a skill that can be rare to find,” says Fuller. “People are afraid to try new things and fail. But you can’t grow without moving beyond your comfort zone.”

CNBC

Two Nigerian properties located in the United Kingdom are on the verge of being taken over by a Chinese investor following an order granting the investor the right to enforce a $70 million investment treaty award against Nigeria.

The investor, Zhongshan Fucheng Industrial Investment, was granted final charging orders over two UK residential properties owned by the Nigerian government after the company also attached a £20 million debt relating to the high-profile P&ID case.

The Chinese firm secured this order on June 14 when Master Sullivan in the Commercial Court in London granted the orders in respect of two Liverpool properties estimated to be worth a combined £1.7 million.
According to the judge, the order was premised on the fact that the properties have been converted to commercial use outside Nigeria’s diplomatic or consular activities in the UK, stressing that enforcement of the order should prevail.

The high profile case was a gritty legal battle between Zhongshan represented before the court by Withers and barristers at 3VB, while Nigeria was represented by Squire Patton Boggs and a barrister at Atkin Chambers.

Sources said the underlying arbitration was in relation to a joint venture with Nigeria’s Ogun State to establish a free trade zone near Lagos in 2013. A Zhongshan subsidiary held a 60% stake in the project but Ogun terminated its participation three years later.

In 2021, a London-seated UNCITRAL tribunal chaired by Lord Neuberger including Matthew Gearing KC and Rotimi Oguneso SAN said Nigeria was guilty of expropriation and other breaches of the China-Nigeria bilateral investment treaty and ordered the country to to pay US$55.6 million plus interest and costs.

Nigeria in the same year put a challenge against the award in the Commercial Court on jurisdictional grounds. Nigeria’s position was that the arbitration clause in the BIT was invalid. But in later development, Nigeria withdrew the challenge before a hearing on Zhongshan’s application for security and security for costs was about to take place.

Mrs Justice Cockerill in the same court granted Zhongshan an ex parte enforcement order in December 2021, but Nigeria did not file againt this order within the 74-day deadline allowed by the law.
In July 2023, the Court of Appeal in London stopped Nigeria from bringing a late challenge to the enforcement order, stressing Cockerill’s provisional determination that state immunity did not apply had become final.

The investor reportedly got interim charging orders in June and August last year over the two properties in Liverpool, which are owned by the Nigerian government.
Nigeria’s efforts to dismiss these charging orders failed as Master Sullivan in her judgement, held that the properties are leased to residential tenants and that no “consular activities are actually taking place on the premises”.

She also dismissed Nigeria’s arguments that it had not been properly served with the interim charging order applications under the State Immunity Act and that Zhongshan had failed to give full and frank disclosure when seeking them.

Master Sullivan also dismissed Nigeria’s objection about parties bringing multiple enforcement action, saying that parties are “entitled to bring as many types of enforcement action as they see fit to recover their debt.” She noted that Nigeria had yet to pay any of the award and that the value of the properties represented a “small proportion of it”.

Timi Balogun of Squire Patton Boggs, counsel to Nigeria, said: “We respectfully disagree with the Master’s decision, which we believe somewhat brushes over complex public international law issues, including with respect to state immunity and the right of a foreign state’s High Commission to own and manage portfolios of fixed assets in England and Wales. We believe that such issues need to be weighed very carefully, and we intend to appeal this decision so that these complex and important issues can be considered by the higher courts.”

Zhongshan applied to enforce the award in Washington, DC in 2022. Last year, the DC district court rejected Nigeria’s motion to dismiss the action on sovereign immunity grounds. The state argued the China-Nigeria BIT was “quintessentially sovereign” and therefore the award did not arise from a commercial relationship between the parties. The DC district proceeding is stayed pending Nigeria’s appeal of the sovereign immunity decision.

Zhongshan has also taken enforcement measures in various other jurisdictions, including in Quebec, where it seeks conservatory seizure of a private jet; and in Belgium, where Nigeria is challenging attachments of properties.

In the British Virgin Islands, Zhongshan has obtained an interim attachment over a £20 million liability owed Nigeria by BVI-registered company Process & Industrial Development (P&ID) under an English Commercial Court ruling. The Chinese company withdrew an earlier application to attach the same liability in England.

The Commercial Court ordered P&ID to pay Nigeria £20 million in costs in December last year after upholding the state’s challenge to an US$11 billion award in favour of the company. Robin Knowles found the award was procured through false evidence, corrupt payments and improper retention of leaked documents.

At the time of filing this report yesterday, Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs was yet to react to a message sent to it on this development.

Leadership

Retail Supermarkets Nigeria Limited, the operators of Shoprite Mall, have announced that they will cease operations at their Wuse, Abuja branch on June 30, 2024.

The announcement was made in a circular signed by Chief Executive Officer Folakemi Fadahunsi. The company attributed the closure to the current business climate in the country, noting that the decision followed a thorough evaluation of the store’s financial performance.

Vendors have been informed that their services will no longer be required at the location. Shoprite also stated that it will review its financial records over the next 60 days to address any outstanding balances and set up a payment schedule.

“We regret to inform you that as of June 30, 2024, Retail Supermarkets Nigeria Limited will be closing its Wuse Store located in Novare Wuse Central Mall, Abuja. This decision has been made after a thorough evaluation of the store’s financial situation and the current business climate. We believe this is the best course of action for our organization’s long-term growth,” the statement read.

“Effective June 30, 2024, our company will no longer operate in Wuse, Abuja, and we will no longer require your services for the Novare Wuse Central Mall Store. Please note that all existing service contracts will also terminate for the store.”

“If your services are specifically tied to the Novare Wuse Central Mall Store and if there is an outstanding balance between our companies, we will carefully review our accounting records over the next 60 days. We will then promptly contact you to confirm the amount owed and discuss a suitable payment schedule.”

Recent Business Closures in Nigeria

The closure of Shoprite's Abuja Mall is part of a growing trend of business closures across Nigeria due to challenging economic conditions. In recent years, several notable companies, including multinationals like GSK, Procter & Gamble, Sanofi, and more recently Kimberly-Clark, have exited the country. These exits are often attributed to issues such as weak foreign exchange, high power costs, and reduced consumer purchasing power due to rising inflation.

In the past 18 months, inflation has surged from around 22% to the current 33.95%, a 28-year high driven mainly by food and transport costs. Additionally, the naira has depreciated by over 100% in the last year, falling from around N462/$ to approximately N1470/$, following efforts by the Central Bank of Nigeria to unify the forex market and narrow the gap between official and parallel market rates.

Nearly 2,000 petrol outlets were shut in Nigeria's northeast to protest against an anti-smuggling operation that targeted some operators, the local head of the petroleum marketers association said on Monday, forcing motorists to buy from the black market.

Dahiru Buba, the chairman of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) for Adamawa and Taraba states, said petrol stations stopped operations after the Nigeria Customs Service impounded tanker trucks and shut some fuel outlets on suspicion they were smuggling petrol to neighbouring Cameroon.

Black market fuel vendors in Cameroon, Benin and Togo have for years relied on cheap gasoline smuggled from Nigeria.

When Nigeria scrapped a petrol subsidy last year, that black market trade collapsed, but the product has become cheaper again after Nigeria capped the price since June 2023 despite its currency sharply weakening.

Under "Operation Whirlwind", Customs initially impounded some tanker trucks belonging to IPMAN members and released them after the association protested. But more trucks were seized and several fuel stations were shut, forcing fuel station operators to close outlets en-masse in protest, said Buba.

"We wrote to them (Nigeria Customs) again but there were no responses that is why we decided to go on strike," he said, adding that over 1,800 outlets had ceased to operate.

"This is our business and we cannot be quiet when our members are treated this way."

Mangsi Lazarus, Customs spokesperson for Adamawa and Taraba said tanker trucks were seized because they were being used to smuggle petrol.

In Adamawa capital Yola, black market traders quickly took advantage of the shortages to sell petrol for 1,400 naira ($0.9459) a litre, compared to between 650 and 750 naira at the pump.

($1 = 1,480.0000 naira)

Reuters

The recent allegations made by Dangote Refinery against International Oil Companies (IOCs) and the Nigerian government demand serious attention. As Nigeria's first private refinery of its magnitude and a potential game-changer for the country's petroleum sector, Dangote's concerns should not be taken lightly.

For decades, Nigeria has grappled with a paradoxical situation: being a major oil producer yet heavily dependent on imported refined products. This has drained the nation's foreign exchange reserves and stunted economic growth. The successful operation of Dangote Refinery could mark a turning point, potentially ending this cycle of dependence and creating substantial economic benefits.

The accusations leveled by Devakumar Edwin, vice-president of oil and gas at Dangote Industries Limited, are troubling. Claims that IOCs are deliberately inflating crude oil prices for the refinery and that regulatory bodies are issuing import licenses for substandard products merit thorough investigation. If true, these practices not only threaten the viability of the Dangote Refinery but also undermine Nigeria's broader economic interests.

The government must act swiftly to address these issues. Ensuring fair access to local crude oil for domestic refineries should be a priority. Similarly, regulatory bodies like the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) must be held accountable for their licensing practices, particularly concerning the importation of potentially harmful petroleum products.

However, while supporting Dangote Refinery is crucial, it's equally important to maintain a balanced perspective. Aliko Dangote, the driving force behind this project, has faced criticism in the past for leveraging government concessions and support to dominate markets, sometimes at the expense of fair competition. As we rally behind this vital infrastructure project, we must also call for ethical business practices that foster a competitive and diverse economic landscape.

The government should strive to create an environment where the Dangote Refinery can thrive without resorting to monopolistic practices or undue advantages. This means implementing transparent policies, ensuring fair access to resources for all players in the sector, and maintaining rigorous oversight to prevent market manipulation.

In conclusion, the success of Dangote Refinery is undoubtedly in Nigeria's national interest. The government must take decisive action to address the concerns raised and provide the necessary support for its operation. Simultaneously, all stakeholders, including Dangote Group, must commit to fair competition and ethical business practices. Only through this balanced approach can Nigeria truly harness the full potential of its oil sector, create a thriving domestic refining industry, and pave the way for sustainable economic growth.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​