▪︎Photo from left: Brazil’s Ambassador to Nigeria, Carlos Garcete, and Nigeria’s Vice President Kashim Shettima.

The Nigerian government has invited Brazil to share its agricultural expertise as part of the $1.1 billion Green Imperative Project (GIP), aimed at boosting food security in Nigeria.

This initiative follows Brazil’s remarkable transformation of its savannah into a leading agricultural hub.

The collaboration was announced by Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Amb. Yusuf Tuggar, during the signing of the commercial phase of the GIP, which seeks to enhance agricultural productivity and foster private sector investment.

Nigeria’s Vice President Kashim Shettima emphasized the project’s importance in addressing the country’s food security challenges and integrating small-scale farmers into diverse agricultural value chains.

He expressed optimism that the GIP will drive economic growth and improve investor confidence, aligning with the broader goals of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration.

The GIP, which represents the largest agricultural initiative in Africa focusing on sustainable, low-carbon practices, aims to elevate Nigeria’s food production efficiency.

The Memorandum of Understanding for the project was initially signed in 2018, followed by subsequent agreements last year amounting to approximately $8 billion.

Brazil’s Ambassador to Nigeria, Carlos Garcete, highlighted the significance of the GIP, noting that it would facilitate the import of agricultural equipment and allow for local assembly in Nigeria.

This setup is intended to create jobs and ensure that repairs can be handled locally, making the agricultural sector more resilient and sustainable.

Dangote Petroleum Refinery has announced suspension of sale of petroleum products in naira.

This was announced in a notice sent to petroleum marketers, on Wednesday afternoon.

In the notice obtained by Ohibaba.com, the company said the decision is temporary, explaining why it took the decision.

“We wish to inform you that, Dangote Petroleum Refinery has temporarily halted the sale of petroleum products in Naira.

This decision is necessary to avoid a mismatch between our sales proceeds and our crude oil purchase obligations, which are currently denominated in U.S. dollars.”

“To date, our sales of petroleum products in Naira have exceeded the value of Naira-denominated crude we have received.

As a result, we must temporarily adjust our sales currency to align with our crude procurement currency.

Our attention has also been drawn to reports on the internet claiming that we are stopping loading due to an incident of ticketing fraud.

This is malicious falsehood. Our systems are robust and we have had no fraud issues.

“We remain committed to serving the Nigerian market efficiently and sustainably.

As soon as we receive an allocation of Naira-denominated crude cargoes from NNPC, we will promptly resume petroleum product sales in Naira.

We appreciate your understanding and cooperation during this period.”

A Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed the objection raised by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) against the competence of a suit filed by Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals FZE (Dangote Refinery).

Dangote is seeking to void the licences issued by the Nigeria Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) to some oil marketing companies to import refined petroleum products.

In its objection, the NNPCL challenged the jurisdiction of the court to hear the suit and urged the court to strike out its name from the suit on the grounds that it was not properly identified by the plaintiff.

It argued that the name, “Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited,” being its registered name with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), is not the one and the same entity the second defendant sued but the “Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation”.

Ruling yesterday, Justice Inyang Ekwo held that NNPCL’s objection was incompetent as it was filed in violation of Order 29 of the Federal High Court Civil Procedure Rules (FHCCPR), 2019.

Justice Ekwo also held that the NNPCL ought to have filed a defence in the form of a counter-affidavit to the plaintiff’s suit before raising an objection.

The judge averred that under the procedure in lieu of demurrer, any party is entitled to raise, by his pleading, any point of law, and that any point so raised may be disposed of by the trial court at trial or after the trial.

He explained that where a defendant seeks to challenge the jurisdiction of the court, it is the provision of Order 29 of the Federal High Court Civil Procedure Rules (FHCCPR), 2019, that would be applicable.Justice Ekwo added that the NNPCL failed to comply with the provision.

The judge held that the NNPCL, having not complied with the provisions of the FHCCPR 2019 could not be said to have filed a competent preliminary objection.