Business

Governor Abiodun Welcomes Qatar’s Baladna multi-million dollar dairy factory in Ogun

“If you could meet 35% of Qatar’s milk demand in one month and achieve self-sufficiency in six, I have no doubt you can do the same in Nigeria. Your operations here will be a walk in the park—no deserts,”

Published

1 year ago

June 25, 2025

OCHEFA

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Qatari dairy giant Baladna is set to establish a multi-million-dollar food production facility in Ogun State, Nigeria

The investment is expected to boost local dairy production and food security significantly.

Baladna, which supplies over 95% of Qatar’s fresh dairy products, disclosed its plans during a courtesy visit to Governor Dapo Abiodun in Abeokuta.

The delegation was led by Baladna’s Head of Products and Solutions Architecture, Mr. Aidan Thomas Iynan, and accompanied by the Executive Secretary of the Nigeria Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC), Aisha Rimi.

Mr. Iynan revealed that Baladna’s integrated dairy model, backed by Qatari government investment, now operates the world’s largest single-site dairy farm.

He expressed confidence that Nigeria—and Ogun State in particular—could replicate similar success, citing a partnership with Algeria that is expected to deliver 1.7 billion litres of milk annually, meeting 50% of Algerian dairy demand.

He highlighted the impact of climate change on global agriculture, stressing the urgency for Nigeria to attain dairy self-sufficiency.

“We can build farms that are highly efficient with world-class yields—not just in dairy and meat, but crop production too,” Iynan said.

Governor Abiodun welcomed the investment, describing Baladna as the type of partner needed to realise the Renewed Hope Agenda in agriculture.

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Business

Cardoso Urges Banks To Lend Out Idle Funds With CBN * Retains MPR at 26.5%

Cardoso made the call on Tuesday after the 306th Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting held in Abuja from July 20 to July 21.

Published

7 hours ago

July 21, 2026

OCHEFA

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The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Olayemi Cardoso , urged banks from keeping idle funds with the apex bank and encouraging increased lending into the economy.

Cardoso made the call on Tuesday after the 306th Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting held in Abuja from July 20 to July 21.

The apex bank retained the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR), also known as benchmark interest rate, at 26. 5 percent.

This decision marks the second consecutive retention of the MPR at 26.5 per cent, following a 50-basis-point reduction in February from 27 per cent.

“The committee’s decision to maintain the current policy stand follows a thorough assessment of the balance of risk,” said Cardoso.

He emphasised that although headline inflation moderated marginally in June 2026, global uncertainties have heightened due mainly to the renewed hostilities in the Middle East.

The MPC also adjusted the asymmetric facilities corridor around the MPR to +50/-450 basis points—a move aimed at discouraging banks from keeping idle fund with CBN.

Furthermore, the committee maintained the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) for commercial banks at 45 per cent, retained the rate for merchant banks at 16 per cent, and kept the CRR on non-TSA public-sector deposits at 75 per cent for liquidity management considerations.

Cardoso said despite the global uncertainties, the Nigerian economy has “remained largely resilient to the external shocks”.

Business

CBN admits it opened domiciliary accounts for PFIPC agency

Represented by the Director of its Banking Services Department, Hamisu Ibrahim, the CBN said that the accounts are one in US dollars, the other in British pounds sterling, were opened following a mandate received from the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation.

Published

16 hours ago

July 21, 2026

OCHEFA

20 Views

File photo : PFIPC agency DG, Adeniyi Adeyemi

The Central Bank of Nigeria had admitted that it opened two foreign-currency domiciliary accounts for the controversial Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC).

The apex bank made the confirmation, yesterday, during the public hearing convened at the National Assembly Complex by the House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee investigating the existence and operations of the PFIPC, chaired by Yusuf Gagdi and inaugurated by Speaker Tajudeen Abbas.

He explained that on July 30, 2025, CBN received a mandate dated July 29, 2025 from the Office of the Accountant-General.

“We received the mandate to authorise two accounts, one a US dollar domiciliary account, the other a pound domiciliary account, for the Presidential Economic Advisory Council/Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council,” Ibrahim told the committee.

He explained the CBN’s verification process, “The process of opening an account requires a mandate from the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation.

“Once we receive that mandate, we perform all the necessary verifications to confirm that this mandate is actually coming from that office.

The department that handles the mandate is different from the department that actually does the account opening,” he said.

Nevertheless, he noted that no one came to activate the accounts after they were opened.“We did not receive any correspondence, mandate, signature or mandate cards. We were not introduced to the authorising or approving officers.“Based on that, those accounts remain inactive, with zero balance. There have been no foreign exchange allocations.