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Economist: Dangote Urges African Countries To Dismantle Trade Barriers To Sustain Growth, Overall Development

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Africa’s foremost entrepreneur and President of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote has urged African countries to dismantle all economic barriers hindering free trade among the nations, in order to achieve sustainable growth and development across the continent.

The leading private sector player also expressed the irrevocable commitment of his Pan-African conglomerate, Dangote Industries Limited to solving some of the economic challenges faced by the African continent and her people. To realize this goal, the organization has committed over 20 billion dollars on investments in several key sectors of the African economy.

Dangote who made this disclosure said the massive investments were meant to turn around Africa’s economic fortunes in the quest for sustained economic growth of the continent through free trade and economic integration.

Speaking in Lagos at the launch of a Special publication “The World Ahead 2023” by the renowned media outfit, The Economist, Dangote, who was represented by the Group Executive Director/Group Chief Risk Officer, Dangote Industries Limited, Dr. Adenike Fajemirokun, noted that the crucial task of building a sustainable future that guarantees equitable growth and prosperity for all, should not be the exclusive role of the public sector alone, but should also involve the private sector.

“Our massive investments of over 20 billion dollars across key industries, including Energy, Agriculture, and Infrastructure. Our recently commissioned 3Million Metric Tonnes Fertiliser Plant, expansions in cement production, and our soon-to-be commissioned 650,000 barrels per day world’s largest single-train refinery are all set to empower farmers, foster backward integration, create thousands of jobs, eliminate our dependence on imported products, and improve our nation’s foreign exchange earnings significantly.

“We are also confronting environmental issues through our investment in alternative fuels, as well as unlocking enormous opportunities in the communities where we have our footprints, while ultimately ensuring that we keep delivering huge value to our shareholders.

“The multilayered issues that we face globally and across regions today, ranging from rising energy costs, food insecurity, supply-chain disruptions, access to quality healthcare, cybersecurity, inflation amongst others brought about by the pandemic or other human factors like the Russia-Ukraine war, call for an objective rethink of geopolitics and geo-economics, especially as they vastly affect policy execution and the ease of doing business in more vulnerable economies,” he stated.

Drawing the attention of the international audience to the need for all hands to be on deck towards lifting Africa above the various socio-economic challenges facing the member countries, Dangote pointed out that the African population has been growing exponentially.

“Nigeria, for instance, is projected to be the world’s third largest population by 2050 surpassing the United States, only behind India and China, so the question of sustained economic growth has become increasingly critical and isn’t one for a single sector to tackle alone. To secure the future of our country and our continent we must forge strong public-private partnerships and dismantle regional barriers with vehicles like the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA).”

Dangote advised that “going forward, the overarching conversations, whether at global or regional levels, in emerging markets or in OECD countries, must be refocused towards exploring the specifics of our fast-changing world, in order to align public-private perspectives and identify areas for collaboration for the collective good of people, planet, and profit.”

He commended ‘The Economist’ for putting together the publication that was being launched, describing it as a rich body of work that offers useful data for all sectors to draw insights from and synthesize the same towards arriving at cutting-edge action points.

In his remarks, Lagos State Deputy Governor, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat described the publication as a valuable document for policymakers and strategic planners and noted that its contents reaffirm part of the strategies the Lagos State government has executed to make Lagos assume its status as the preferred destination of choice for investors.

According to him, Lagos has just 0.4 percent of the land mass of Nigeria but has 11 percent of the country’s population, which explains why some of the challenges in Lagos are peculiar to the metropolis, disclosing that some of the strategies adopted by the state government are geared toward solving the challenges.

He said Lagos is Africa’s fastest-growing economy and added that a key policy of the state government is to improve its investment profile by providing an enabling environment. Hamzat also noted that the state has invested billions of Naira in infrastructure and technology, citing the Lekki Deep Seaport as one of the enablers which has made Lagos to attract 60 percent of the Foreign Direct Investment into Nigeria.

Also speaking, the Regional Executive and Managing Director of Ecobank Nigeria Limited, Mr. Mobolaji Lawal hailed the Economist’s special launch, as it provides an opportunity for knowledge sharing for the government and private sector to explore emerging opportunities in the digital space.

“If we get it right, it will stimulate growth and drive transformation and ensure economic growth”, the Ecobank boss stressed.

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UPDATE [AFCON]: Libya Jittery As CAF Demands Response To Nigeria’s Protest

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The Libyan Football Federation is reportedly panicking after being asked by CAF to “submit documents” concerning the cancellation of the AFCON qualifying Group D match against Nigeria.

Nigeria had refused to play the match after their “plane was diverted to Labraq Airport” where they were “held hostage for 18 hours without food and water.”

According to Libya Al-Ahrar Channel, “Nasser Al-Suwaie,” Secretary-General of the Libyan Football Federation, confirmed that “CAF has given the Libyan and Nigerian associations until the 20th of this month to submit” all relevant documents.

Al-Suwaie further revealed that the Libya FA has “assigned a specialised lawyer” to provide evidence, suggesting “there may be collusion from some parties within CAF,” though he assured that the position of the Libyan Federation remains strong.

He clarified that “the Libyan Federation did not change the course of the plane’s landing,” which was a decision by “the Libyan state,” and this “sovereignty of the Libyan state must be respected.”

The “Super Eagles returned” to Nigeria with reports of difficult conditions, including “sleeping on the bare floor” of the airport. Team manager “Patrick Pascal” described how the “toilet had been deliberately seriously messed up by the Libyan officials” in anticipation of their arrival.

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FG Officially Ends Fuel, FX Subsidies, Unveils Housing Finance Plan To Tackle Unemployment

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The Federal Government has officially ended “fuel and Foreign Exchange (FX) subsidies,” Finance Minister and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, “Wale Edun,” announced on Thursday during the presentation of the Nigeria Development Update by the World Bank in Abuja.

Edun disclosed that the subsidies had significantly strained the nation’s economy, costing Nigeria around “N10 trillion,” which is about five percent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

“Fuel and FX subsidy are extinguished,” the minister stated, marking a major shift in economic policy.

In response to growing unemployment, the government is launching a new plan focused on housing finance.

The initiative includes a mortgage scheme with near single-digit interest rates, intended to boost construction and generate considerable job opportunities.

At the same event, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, “Olayemi Cardoso,” discussed the recent half-percent interest rate hike by the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), attributing the increase to inflationary pressures.

He assured that future policies would be “data-driven and evidence-based.”

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Air Peace: U.S. Government Seeks Forfeiture Of Allen Onyema’s $14 Million Assets In Amended Fraud Case

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The United States government has requested the District Court, Northern District of Georgia, to approve the forfeiture of approximately “$14 million” in assets from Allen Ifechukwu Onyema, CEO of “Air Peace,” following a recent superseding indictment.

The indictment outlines allegations of fraud and money laundering against Onyema and his associate, Ejiroghene Eghagha, who serves as Chief of Administration and Finance at “Air Peace.”

The indictment includes multiple counts: Count One alleges “conspiracy to commit bank fraud,” while Counts Two through Four involve instances of “bank fraud.”

Count Five pertains to “conspiracy to commit credit application fraud,” and Counts Six through Eight are for “credit application fraud.” Counts Nine through Thirty-Five address “money laundering.”

If convicted of the charges in Counts One through Five, the defendants must forfeit property gained through these alleged crimes, including substantial sums in business-related bank accounts.

The U.S. government specifically seeks the forfeiture of “$4,017,852.51” from a JP Morgan Chase Bank account held by “Springfield Aviation Inc.,” “$4,393,842.05” from a Bank of Montreal account linked to “Springfield Aviation Inc.,” and “$5,634,842.04” from a Bank of Montreal account associated with “Blue Stream Aero Services, Inc.”

The indictment states that if these assets are unavailable, the U.S. will pursue other assets of the defendants of equivalent value.

The legal case is being led by U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan, with Garrett L. Bradford and Christopher J. Huber.

On October 13, it was reported that Onyema and Eghagha had been initially indicted in 2019 on charges of “conspiracy to commit bank fraud,” “bank fraud,” and “money laundering.”

The scheme allegedly involved using falsified documents to purchase aircraft and laundering over “$16 million” in proceeds.

In response to these charges, “Air Peace Limited” stated that its legal team is engaged in the matter and working to ensure justice.

Onyema now faces new charges for allegedly “obstructing justice” by submitting false documents to halt an investigation into earlier bank fraud and money laundering charges.

Eghagha is also implicated in the obstruction scheme and faces additional charges tied to the original bank fraud counts.

This information was disclosed in a statement by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Georgia.

“After allegedly using his airline company as a cover to commit fraud on the United States’ banking system, Onyema, along with his co-defendant, allegedly committed additional crimes of fraud in a failed attempt to derail the government’s investigation of his conduct,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan.

“The diligence of our federal investigative partners revealed the defendants’ alleged obstruction scheme, making it possible for the defendants to be held accountable for their aggravated conduct of attempting to impede a federal investigation.”

US Attorney Buchanan further revealed that Onyema is linked to a complex financial scheme.

According to the superseding indictment and court records, Onyema, founder of “Air Peace” (established in 2013), frequently visited Atlanta between 2010 and 2018.

He is accused of opening multiple personal and business bank accounts in Atlanta, through which over “$44.9 million” was allegedly transferred from international sources.

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