Author: damazah@gmail.com

By Godwin Oritse In a move to address limited shipping capacity and the rising cost of road transportation, which have hindered its regional expansion, Dangote Industries has concluded plans to acquire its own vessels to facilitate the movement of its products from Nigeria to markets across West and Central Africa. Speaking from the perspective of the logistical challenges confronting regional trade, Sada Ladan-Baki, Head of International Trade and Export at Dangote Cement, said the company’s decision to acquire its own vessels was driven by the difficulty of securing adequate shipping capacity. She disclosed on Tuesday at a seminar on non-oil…

As artificial intelligence makes it easier than ever to build websites and apps, Indian startup Runable is betting the next opportunity lies in what comes after: finding customers and helping businesses grow. The startup has raised $21 million to expand in that direction. The Series A was co-led by Susquehanna Venture Capital and Nexus Venture Partners, with existing investors Together Fund and Array VC also participating. The all-equity, primary funding valued Runable at $65 million after investment, co-founder and CEO Umesh Kumar (pictured above, right) said in an exclusive interview. Founded in 2025, Runable is targeting small businesses in an…

By Gabriel Ewepu, ABUJA Civil society organisations, lawyers and opposition politicians have dismissed the declaration by the Director-General of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Presidential Campaign Council, Senator Abdul’Aziz Yari, that the ruling party will remain in power beyond 2031, saying political power belongs to the electorate and not any political party. Read Also: Highways of horror: Motorists wail, spend 4 days on Benin-Asaba road The groups warned that while the APC was entitled to aspire to retain power, predicting electoral victories years ahead could create a dangerous impression of political entitlement, undermine confidence in elections and discourage citizens from…

Last week, yours sincerely was in Gusau, Zamfara State, as one of the panelists and resource persons at the North-West Security Summit, themed “Appraising the Security Challenges in the North-West,” at the instance of the Inspector General of Police, Olatunji Disu. It was a week of thorough deliberations and deep reflections. It also afforded one the opportunity to sneak out to frontline areas for an assessment and to visit the Theatre Command Headquarters of the Joint Task Force, Operation Fansan Yamma (OPFY), under the command of Major General WB Idris. Some of us arrived on Monday and Tuesday ahead of…

Manchester City have confirmed the signing of Ayyoub Bouaddi from Lille for €95m (£81.4m) plus €5m, with the 18-year-old midfielder agreeing a five-year contract.Bouaddi’s arrival comes after City struck deals to loan Omar Marmoush to Tottenham for the season, with an obligation to buy for an initial £50m, and sell Nico González to Newcastle for £52m.Bouaddi has experienced a rapid rise after becoming Lille’s youngest player when featuring against KÍ Klaksvík on 5 October 2023, three days after his 16th birthday. The Morocco international played 96 times for Lille and becomes the most expensive teenager signed by an English club.Quick…

The cast of Heroes joined forces to “celebrate the life” of Hayden Panettiere, who died suddenly earlier this month at 36 years old. Actor Jimmy Jean-Louis, who played the character known as “the Haitian,” shared photos of the gathering online. “A Heroes reunion to celebrate the life of Hayden was deeply emotional,” he wrote. “There was sadness in our hearts, but also so much love, gratitude, and warmth as we remembered the beautiful moments shared and the lasting impact of a life that touched so many. Au revoir Hayden.” The reunion included Masi Oka, Greg Grunberg, Sendhil Ramamurthy, and Jack…

Dolly Parton’s voluminous hair and rhinestone-festooned outfits were so essential to her fame that her quips about her appearance have become almost as well-known as her lyrics.“It costs a lot of money to look this cheap” is perhaps her most memorable quotation, and is typical of the self-depreciating wit she employed to talk about her appearance.She wrote about her style in her songs, too, from her 1967 hit Dumb Blonde to 2008’s Backwoods Barbie, though in reality there was nothing cheap, or dumb, about her image. With huge blond status wigs – Tennessee by way of the court of Versailles…

By Enitan Abdultawab Nigeria’s Kanyinsola Ajayi and Ezekiel Nathaniel have secured automatic qualification for the 2027 World Athletics Championships in Beijing, China. Ajayi achieved the qualifying mark in the men’s 100m after clocking 9.94 seconds at the Silesia Diamond League in Poland, comfortably meeting the required standard. The 21-year-old sprinter has enjoyed an impressive 2026 season, equalling Nigeria’s national record of 9.84 seconds, winning the NCAA title and recording notable victories over reigning world champion Oblique Seville. Nathaniel also booked his ticket to Beijing after posting 47.83 seconds in the men’s 400m hurdles, meeting the automatic qualification standard. The hurdler,…

Rockson A. Igelige, Esq Everyone who encountered Rockson knew how passionate he was about intellectual property rights and entertainment law. Long before these emergent areas of law became familiar, even to lawyers here in Nigeria, he had gone to the University of Westminster in the United Kingdom and obtained a Master’s in the field. His zeal was almost missionary and soon we were talking about how to popularise IPR beyond the courtroom. He had, in fact, gone as far as conceiving a non-governmental organisation for the purpose. He was the moving spirit behind Friends of the Creator (Artistic) Foundation, the…

SOStainabilityWeekly Edited by Oke Epia, E-mail: sostainability01@gmail.com  | WhatsApp: +234 8034000706 Flakes and Flaks The recent sack of the board of Kaduna Electricity Distribution (KAEDC) Plc by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has sent ripples through Nigeria’s chequered energy sector. But questions remain about deeper consequences and accountability. Earlier this month, the power regulator wielded the big stick on the company over a N456.5bn black hole and prolonged operational challenges.  This figure comprised N415.5bn owed to the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc and N41bn to the Nigerian Independent System Operator. Non-market statutory and third-party obligations amounted to N14.26bn. By…