Photo: Inside a sugar factory

The National Sugar Development Council (NSDC) and the Bank of Industry (BOI) have provided a N10 billion Sugar Project Acceleration Fund (SPAF) to support the development of greenfield sugar projects across the country and strengthen Nigeria’s sugar industry.

The greenfield projects beneficiary are Illaj Sugar, Brent Foods, Crystal Sugar, Legacy Sugar, Saro Sugar, Awaa, Ganic and Confluence Sugar.

In a statement the Executive Secretary and Chief Executive Officer of NSDC, Kamar Bakrin, said that the fund is designed to provide financing and project development support to viable greenfield projects in a bid to accelerate the emergence of a sustainable and competitive sugar industry.

Bakrin point out that access to capital alone does not guarantee sugar production, noting that many development finance institutions and investors already have significant funds available for agro-industrial projects.

““SPAF is NSDC’s structured pre-investment facility established to provide qualifying project promoters with the technical, financial and advisory support required to develop their projects to bankable standard.

It is not a grant programme but a facility designed to build a credible pipeline of investor-ready Nigerian sugar projects,” he added.

The Executive Director of Public Sector and Intervention Programmes at BOI, Hadiza Shuaib, said that the bank will serve as the fund manager for SPAF while NSDC will provide sector leadership and technical guidance.

“As Fund Manager, BOI will ensure that projects are properly structured, risks are effectively managed, and funds are deployed responsibly. We are also strong advocates for skills development, because financing alone is not sufficient to deliver sustainable outcomes,” she said.

The Nigeria Police Force, in collaboration with Beverage manufacturers, stormed a number of illegal sites in Onitsha, Anambra State, and its environs, and apprehended some persons for destroying returnable packaging materials, including glass bottles and plastic crates belonging to various beverage manufacturing companies.

The Director -General of Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, Mr. Segun Ajayi-Kadir, explained that the police, working with member companies, acted on credible intelligence and stormed the factories to crack down on illegal disposal, theft, and unauthorised recycling of the returnable packaging materials of the affected companies, notably returnable glass bottles and plastic crates.

Mr. Ajayi-Kadir noted that the association was alerted by its members that owners of these untoward factories were involved in destroying returnable packaging materials for reuse, thereby causing the businesses to lose millions of naira in investments.

He stated that the group had engaged relevant security and regulatory authorities through formal petitions and intelligence-sharing, seeking lawful intervention to curb the illegal practices, recover company assets, and dismantle unauthorised recycling operations.

According to him, member companies identified multiple illegal locations in the South-East where they crush our bottles and crates for resale as raw materials.

He added that investigations by the police had revealed that significant quantities were being diverted from legitimate channels into informal recycling networks.

He also disclosed that, in several instances, reusable bottles were deliberately broken and crates were intentionally shredded for sale as raw materials, undermining the beverage companies’ circular packaging model.

“The recent raid is the outcome of sustained engagements and intelligence-led investigations and represents a decisive step by authorities to protect legitimate business operations, uphold environmental standards, and deter further illegal activity”, he said.

He described the act as criminal and a serious economic sabotage, noting that these assets remain the property of beverage companies that have invested heavily in these sustainable packaging materials to protect the environment.

He warned those involved in the act to desist, as the Association will continue to collaborate with law enforcement agencies to ensure that offenders are held liable and made to face the wrath of the law.

He stressed further that, beyond the asset loss, the activities of these individuals pose significant risks to businesses, including supply chain disruptions, increased operational costs, environmental risks arising from unsafe recycling practices, and threats to public safety.

“These Returnable Packaging Materials (RPMs) are company-owned assets designed for multiple reuse cycles and form a critical part of their sustainability, cost-efficiency, and product quality systems. It’s a criminal activity to destroy them”, he added.

He urged the relevant government agencies to move against the illegal destruction and diversion of returnable packaging material outside the value chain and encouraged the public to remain vigilant and report any suspicious activity of this nature to the police or call the consumer care lines of the beverage companies.

Over the years, beverage companies have been contending with a sustained challenge involving illegal disposal, theft, and unauthorised recycling of their returnable packaging materials.

Dangote Refinery on Thursday said that it has absorbed 20 percent of the cost escalation of global oil price, for now, to cushion the domestic market.

In a statement on its official X , the company reassures Nigerians of its unwavering commitment to serving as a stabilising force amid recent shocks in the international oil market.

The conflict in the Middle East has led to the shutdown of some refineries and cut in refinery production across the world. This is leading to a global scarcity of petroleum products.

China has banned export of gasoline and diesel.

The Dangote Refinery will ensure that Nigeria is insulated from these supply shocks by prioritising supply to the domestic market. This is one of the many benefits of domestic refining.

The conflict has driven global crude and freight prices sharply higher, with benchmark Brent prices rising by about 26% within a short period to above $84.0 per barrel.

In response, the refinery implemented a measured adjustment of N100 per litre in its ex-depot price of Premium Motor Spirit, representing an increase of about 12%.

The refinery has absorbed 20% of the cost escalation, for now, to cushion the domestic market.

This is despite continuing to source crude at prevailing international market prices, whether purchased locally or from foreign suppliers.

It is worth noting that Nigerian crude oil is more expensive than the Brent benchmark price by $3 to $6 per barrel. After adding freight of $3.50 per barrel, crude oil will be landing in our tanks between $88 and $91 per barrel.

For context, crude oil was landing our tanks at about $68 per barrel when our ex-depot price was N774/litre.

Furthermore, while we receive about five cargoes a month from NNPC which we pay for in Naira, these cargoes are priced at international market prices + Premium and fall short of the 13 cargoes which we require to support sales into Nigeria.

We therefore, end up procuring foreign exchange at open market rates to pay for crude cargoes purchased from local and international traders.

The high crude cost is compounded by the fact that Nigeria upstream producers have failed to supply crude oil to the refinery as required under the PIA, forcing us to source a substantial portion through international traders who charge an additional premium.

As a private enterprise operating in a deregulated environment, Dangote Petroleum Refinery has remained responsive and has made significant sacrifices by aligning pricing with market realities to ensure sustainability, particularly as it sources all its crude at prevailing international market prices, whether locally or from foreign suppliers.

Selling below cost would undermine its ability to procure crude, sustain production and guarantee uninterrupted supply to Nigerians.

Despite these pressures, local refining at this scale continues to reduce exposure to international supply disruptions, moderate foreign exchange demand and protect the country from severe shortages during periods of global instability.

The refinery is also accelerating deployment of Compressed Natural Gas-powered trucks to cushion the impact of global shocks, enhance nationwide distribution efficiency, reduce logistics costs and improve delivery timelines across the downstream sector.

The rollout is scheduled to commence this month.

We remain committed to transparency, operational excellence and the long-term objective of securing sustainable energy security and stability for Nigeria at an affordable cost.