The first world owes much of its progress to philanthropy. In those climes, those whose palm-kernels were cracked by the benevolent spirit, to borrow from the late Chinua Achebe, are constantly paying it forward through their philanthropic support for the arts, humanities, education, health, and other charitable endeavors. Even Africa isn’t left out of the enduring helping hands of J.D. Rockefeller, Henry Ford, John D. MacArthur, and many more. Nigeria still counts on the enduring support of Bill Gates through his Gates Foundation to tackle several public health challenges. I suppose the pioneering efforts of these philanthropists of yore and those of today continue to inspire public-spirited business elites. It is heartening to note that Africa is building an influential corps of philanthropists who are deploying their immense means to take on challenges that can unlock significant value for the greatest number of people on the continent. I am a beneficiary of the transforming impact of the largely unsung philanthropic interventions of a Nigerian Banker, especially in developing human capital for Africa’s public sector.

In January 2016, I dared to dream. After my performance evaluation with my then-boss the previous month, I resolved to pursue graduate studies at all costs. I knew I wanted a stint at an elite institution, so I put all my eggs in one basket and applied only to the University of Oxford’s Blavatnik School of Government.  After submitting my application and references, I waited.  The next month, a mentor asked if I was sure I’d get a place in the incoming cohort. I told her I was confident. I considered my profile stellar enough to earn a place in the competitive program. I followed an online forum for prospective graduate students for updates and waited with bated breath. On the evening of March 30, 2026, an email arrived announcing an offer for the Master of Policy Programme at the Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford. After congratulating me, my wife’s first question was: “Where will you get the money to fund the program?” It was a pertinent question. The fee was a whopping £40,000, not including living expenses.  We had welcomed our son a few months earlier, so all our life savings had gone into hospital bills.

I was sure I would get a scholarship. It was the only way I could afford to take my place in the programme. The alternative was to take on a student loan. For the next four months, my life was consumed by the quest to secure funding to pursue my dream course at the great citadel of learning. I wrote several essays in response to scholarship calls and sent unsolicited letters to philanthropists. While waiting for feedback on some of these essays, I came across news that Nigerian banker, Mr Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede had announced that his foundation would sponsor a select number of West African students to study Public Policy at the Blavatnik School of Government every year.

It was news to my ears and felt like an immediate answer to my prayers. But there was a snag: I already had an offer to study in September 2016; meanwhile, the AIG scholarship awards would not begin until September 2017. I was momentarily deflated. Not easily deterred, I did some research, found the Aig-Imoukhuede Foundation’s landing page, and sent a well-composed email. Although I received two initial partial scholarship offers from the University of Oxford, I still had a huge shortfall. I showed my strong interest in the program by accepting the offer and paying the non-refundable acceptance fee.

I wrote to some Nigerian philanthropists who, at one time or another, had helped indigent students achieve their academic dreams, but I did not hear back from any. Time was now running out. Distraught, I decided to follow up on my previous email to Aig-Imoukhuede’s foundation by sending a letter by courier to his Lagos office. This was my last-ditch effort, as the deadline was closing in and I needed the necessary documents from the school to begin the visa application. By some stroke of providence, in the second week of July, I got an email from the University awarding me a full tuition scholarship. Two days later, I received an email from the Aig-Imoukhuede Foundation acknowledging my email and letter. In the email, they asked me to respond to two essay questions, which I did immediately. In my reply, I added that I had been awarded a full scholarship and requested support to cover the shortfall in living expenses, since the school would refund my initial deposit. The director of the foundation, thereafter, asked me to send a breakdown of my living expenses. Days later, I received feedback that the foundation would cover the shortfall in full. In return, I was asked to do a Nigeria-focused internship. Nothing more. Thanks to Aig-Imoukhuede’s generosity, thirty-five other Nigerians and Ghanaians and I have attended the competitive Master of Public Policy programme at the University of Oxford. Recipients of the AIG MPP scholarships now work in the public and development sectors in both countries.

In September 2016, when I subsequently met Aig-Imoukhede, he told me that after reading my letter, he had resolved that the process for selecting scholars for the MPP programme would be rigorous and impersonal. Applicants for the AIG scholarship must go through a competitive selection process even before they apply to the University of Oxford. This reflects his conviction that, if Africa’s fortunes are to change, the public sector must be overhauled and staffed with the most competent individuals. This conviction is further evident in the development of the AIG Public Leaders Programme, a leadership capacity-building initiative designed to equip public sector leaders to drive, lead, and deliver effective change. Now, in its fifth cohort, the PLP programme has trained over three hundred public sector leaders since its launch in 2021.

Aig-Imoukhuede’s philanthropic intervention in Africa’s public service is remarkable and exemplary. By identifying a clear gap in the public sector and consistently and methodically deploying resources to address it, he is charting a new course for Africans to tackle African problems instead of relying on aid and foreign philanthropists whose well-intentioned efforts often erode our agency as a people. After decades of impressive strides in banking and Nigeria’s capital market, Aig-Imoukhuede’s relentless focus on supporting efforts to overhaul Africa’s public sector, starting with Nigeria, rests on the fundamental thesis that a country is as good as the quality of its bureaucrats. This thesis has been tested worldwide, including by Swedish political scientist Prof. Bo Rothstein, a global authority on the quality of government who incidentally taught me at the Blavatnik School of Government.

Nigeria needs more public-spirited philanthropists in the mold of Aig-Imoukhuede. To whom much is given, much is expected, and giving back should not be restricted to tokenistic dispensing of palliatives to people experiencing poverty. Philanthropy should be structured, intentional, and mission-driven and should dare to confront challenges that other forms of capital would not venture. This is the road less travelled. The courageous benevolence of Aig-Imoukhuede is thus worth celebrating. As Aig-Imoukhuede turns 60 this week, I wish him many more decades of impactful and inspiring work in the public sector, and I hope the seeds of his contributions to the development of Africa’s public sector brain trust will germinate and bear fruit in his lifetime.

Adedotun Eyinade writes from Abuja

Source: punchng.com

FOLLOW US ON:

FACEBOOK

TWITTER

PINTEREST

TIKTOK

YOUTUBE

LINKEDIN

INSTAGRAM

Nigeria’s food, beverage and tobacco industry attracted N375.03bn in fresh investment in 2025, making it the biggest recipient of manufacturing investment during the year.

Investment in the sector jumped by 63.5 per cent from N229.42bn recorded in 2024, according to data from the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria.

The increase reflects continued expansion by major manufacturers as they seek to meet demand in Nigeria’s large consumer market.

Companies including Flour Mills of Nigeria, BUA Foods, Nestlé Nigeria, Dangote Sugar, Dufil, Cadbury Nigeria, CHI Limited, Unilever Nigeria and Honeywell Flour Mills were among firms investing in the sector.

The non-metallic products industry ranked second with N280.12bn, driven largely by investments in cement and glass manufacturing.

Motor vehicle assembly attracted N170.8bn, while the chemical and pharmaceutical sector received N123.61bn billion.

Industrial plastics, rubber and foam manufacturers invested N123.44bn, while the textile and carpet industry attracted N112.53bn.

Total investment in 2025 stood at N1.33tn. While the food and beverage industry led by sector, Lagos and Ogun remained the main destinations for manufacturing capital.

In 2024 and 2025, the two states attracted N1.74tn in industrial investment, accounting for 87.32 per cent of total investment recorded across Nigeria during the period.

The remaining 34 states attracted only N252.23bn, representing 12.7 per cent.

The figures underline the dominance of the Lagos-Ogun corridor in Nigeria’s manufacturing industry.

Lagos’ large consumer market and access to major ports remain key reasons manufacturers prefer the state.

The Apapa, Tin Can Island and Lekki ports provide access to imported raw materials and export markets, while the state also has a large financial and commercial ecosystem.

Ogun has benefited from its location next to Lagos. Industrial areas such as Agbara, Igbesa, Ota and Sango-Ota have become important manufacturing centres.

The availability of land for factories and lower expansion costs compared with Lagos have also helped Ogun attract manufacturers.

Data from MAN showed that between 2014 and 2020, manufacturers invested N3.35tn in Nigeria.

Ogun received N1.68tn, representing 50.16 per cent of the total, while Lagos attracted only N928bn, or 27.7 per cent.

Manufacturers in other parts of the country face higher logistics costs because of weak road networks, limited port access and other infrastructure challenges.

Chief Executive Officer of the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise, Muda Yusuf, said the Lagos-Ogun axis benefits from both its large market and proximity to ports.

He noted that manufacturers must consider the cost of bringing in raw materials and moving finished products when deciding where to locate factories.

A consultant economist and former Central Bank of Nigeria analyst, Nonso Ihuoma, also linked Lagos’ advantage to its location and functioning seaports.

He said developing ports in other parts of the country could reduce the cost of moving goods and encourage manufacturers to invest outside Lagos and Ogun.

Security challenges in some states also remain a concern for businesses, increasing the cost and risk of operating outside the main industrial corridor.

Experts said better ports, roads, rail infrastructure and investment incentives would help attract more factories to other parts of Nigeria.

Source: punchng.com

FOLLOW US ON:

FACEBOOK

TWITTER

PINTEREST

TIKTOK

YOUTUBE

LINKEDIN

INSTAGRAM

A consortium led by Ardova Plc and including Diadem Energy has agreed to acquire Powergas Global Investments Nigeria Limited and Powergas Ebedei Limited, collectively known as Powergas, in a transaction expected to close by the end of 2026.

The deal, announced on Friday by A.P. Moller Capital, will see the Danish investor exit its stake in one of Africa’s largest compressed natural gas producers and virtual pipeline distributors.

Powergas, founded in 2013 by the Clean Energy Group, pioneered the “virtual pipeline” model—compressing natural gas and transporting it by road to industrial, commercial and power customers beyond the reach of Nigeria’s fixed pipeline grid.

Its flagship Ebedei flare gas monetisation project in Delta State, developed with A.P. Moller Capital’s backing since 2019, converts otherwise flared gas into usable energy and has helped cut emissions while supplying firms that would otherwise rely on diesel generators.

The company now operates four mother stations—in Ikorodu (Lagos), Ogbele (Rivers), Ebedei (Delta) and Ore (Ondo)—and a fleet of more than 250 tube skids, having delivered over 600 million standard cubic metres of CNG as at December 2025.

For Ardova, the acquisition adds a strategic gas platform to its existing downstream portfolio of petroleum products, LPG, aviation fuel, lubricants, shipping and logistics.

The Lagos-based integrated energy company, which traces its roots to BP Nigeria in 1964, plans to deploy CNG infrastructure across its nationwide retail network, targeting 100 CNG refuelling sites within 24 months.

The expansion aligns with the federal government’s Decade of Gas initiative, launched in 2021 to transform Nigeria into a gas-powered economy by 2030, and President Bola Tinubu’s Presidential Initiative on Compressed Natural Gas and Electric Vehicles, which seeks to lower transport costs and emissions by promoting auto-gas adoption.

“Nigeria’s next era of energy development will be built on gas, and it will be built at scale. “Powergas has built the compression backbone required to take natural gas beyond the conventional pipeline grid. Ardova brings a national distribution network, deep customer relationships, and the ability to invest for the long term.

“Together, we intend to connect Nigeria’s abundant gas resources to industry, power and transportation, supporting President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Presidential Initiative on Compressed Natural Gas and Electric Vehicles and the federal government’s Decade of Gas programme.

“Our ambition is to deliver more affordable, lower-emission energy and lower transportation costs for Nigerians, while building a gas platform with relevance far beyond Nigeria,” explained the Executive Chairman of Ardova Plc, Dr AbdulWasiu Sowami.

The Managing Director of Ardova Plc, Dr Abiola Babatunde-Ojo, noted that the deal would enable the firm to harness the opportunities in the gas industry.

“This combination gives us the infrastructure, reach and capabilities to turn the opportunity in gas into something tangible for customers across Nigeria. Our focus now is execution: expanding compression capacity, bringing CNG into our retail network and connecting more industries and fleets to a reliable domestic energy source. We are building a platform that will serve customers at scale today and grow with Nigeria’s energy needs for decades to come,” he asserted.

“Powergas began in 2013 with the Clean Energy Group’s vision of taking gas beyond the pipeline, and A.P. Moller Capital’s partnership helped us scale it. We are deeply grateful to both. Ardova’s national reach and our compression backbone are a natural fit – together, we can expand into new markets and geographies and play a leading role in delivering Nigeria’s Auto-Gas vision. We are very excited about the next chapter,” Vice-Chairman of Powergas, Pulak Sen, added.

According to a Partner at A.P. Moller Capital, Sam Senbanjo, since 2019, PEL has progressed from concept to a fully operational compressed-natural-gas business.

“Working alongside our partners, management and employees, we supported the business through development, construction, commissioning and scale-up, helping customers access domestic gas beyond the reach of the pipeline network. We are proud of what has been achieved and believe Ardova and Diadem are well placed to support Powergas in its next phase of growth,” he stated.

“Having worked closely with Powergas as its virtual-pipeline logistics partner, we have seen first-hand the transformative potential of taking natural gas beyond the conventional pipeline network. For Diadem Group, this is the continuation of a journey that began on the ground with Powergas, and a real opportunity to contribute to Nigeria’s energy future,” Chairman of Diadem Group, the parent company of Diadem Energy, George Eluwa, highlighted.

The enlarged platform is expected to position Ardova as a leading domestic gas infrastructure and monetisation partner for upstream producers, with plans to expand compression capacity across viable gas-producing corridors and extend the business into wider West African markets over time.

The deal’s completion is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory and third-party approvals.

Source: punchng.com

FOLLOW US ON:

FACEBOOK

TWITTER

PINTEREST

TIKTOK

YOUTUBE

LINKEDIN

INSTAGRAM