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IEA ratifies Nigeria as an Association Country

In response, Nigeria’s Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas) Ekperikpe Ekpo, said : “I am elated with the decision of the IEA Members to officially welcome Nigeria to the IEA Family as an Association country;  

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Photo: Nigerian Minister of State for Petroleum Resources ( Gas) Ekperikpe Ekpo (left) and the IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol, at the event. Credit: IEA

The Governing Board of the International Energy Agency (IEA) has unanimously agreed for Nigeria to join the IEA Family as an Association country.

“I am thrilled that Nigeria is joining the IEA – it is Africa’s most populous country and a major international energy player. Nigeria becoming part of the world’s energy authority marks a milestone for global energy governance. I am very thankful to President Tinubu and Minister Ekpo for their trust in the IEA,” said IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol.

Emphasising that Nigeria is home to over 240 million people and one of Africa’s largest economies, Faith Birol  acknowledged that Nigeria is a major producer of oil and natural gas and is one of the continent’s most dynamic renewable energy markets.

“As Nigeria works to strengthen energy security, support economic growth and expand energy access, deeper cooperation with the IEA will bring important benefits for both sides. We look forward to building on our already strong partnership and welcoming Nigeria to the IEA, ” he said

In response, Nigeria’s Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas) Ekperikpe Ekpo, said : “I am elated with the decision of the IEA Members to officially welcome Nigeria to the IEA Family as an Association country;  

“It is an honour for Nigeria to join this leading energy agency and I will take this opportunity to encourage the African continent to embrace the IEA, as we all work together to achieve key development goals including universal energy access and industrialisation.”

The IEA Governing Board’s decision builds on a strong history of engagement and collaboration between Nigeria and the IEA since 2014.

In September 2025, the IEA, Nigeria’s Minister of Petroleum Resources and the African Energy Commission (AFREC) jointly convened a Regional Roundtable on “Turning Methane Pledges into Action”  in Abuja, bringing together energy stakeholders from across the region to advance efforts to reduce methane emissions from the energy sector.

As an Association country, Nigeria and the IEA will work more closely across a wide range of energy issues, including on the Agency’s engagement in sub-Saharan Africa.

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Nigeria Is Practically Comatose – ADC, Tasks NASS, Onanuga

If borrowing is truly for development, let President Tinubu show Nigerians one tangible project his administration has delivered with its trillions of naira in loans, beyond the solar farm in the Presidential Villa.

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The African Democratic Congress Presidential Campaign Council (ADC-PCC) said on Friday Nigeria is practically comatose in all aspects, declaring that history will not forgive the 10th National Assembly if it stands by while the country is plunged deeper into a cycle of unsustainable indebtedness.

Kola Ologbondiyan
Director, Media and Publicity
ADC PCC, was reacting to statement credited to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, through his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, declaring that “The Question Is What We Build, Not How Much We Borrow.”

The ADC-PCC challenged President Tinubu to identify what his administration has actually built with the mountain of loans it has accumulated since he assumed office in 2023 insisting that Nigerians have seen little or no tangible returns on the country’s growing debt burden.

Ologbondiyan said it was particularly disturbing that Mr Onanuga would attempt to dress the President in borrowed garments by speaking about infrastructure and development when, according to the ADC-PCC, the administration has failed to demonstrate commensurate achievements despite unprecedented borrowing.

He alleged that the only visible project associated with the administration’s concern for electricity is a solar farm installed to guarantee power supply within the comfort of the Presidential Villa, while millions of Nigerians continue to grapple with unreliable electricity.

Ologbondiyan pointed out that “For three and a half wasted years, Tinubu government has borrowed without restraint and built nothing. No value, no legacy, no impact.

“Except for projects inherited from the late President Muhammadu Buhari, many of the projects being advertised by the Tinubu administration are nothing but audio projects.

They exist only on paper, as conceptual designs or as announcements on newspaper pages and television screens.

“Under Tinubu, virtually every project exists in a press statement.
“Where is the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway? Where is the Sokoto-Badagry Superhighway?

Where is the Trans-Sahara Superhighway? Where are the promised electricity grid upgrades? All propaganda, no commensurate progress, just media hype from Bayo Onanuga and his team.

“Even the Abuja-Kaduna-Kano Highway, awarded more than eight years ago, remains a source of concern to motorists. Its prolonged construction and delays tell the story of APC governance.

“Mr President must wake up and confront the reality facing Nigerians, if there is still left between now and January 16.

Citizens are hungry and enduring excruciating hardship. People are dying from hunger, insecurity and deprivation, while the government remains preoccupied with propaganda and self-congratulatory statements.


“These are the real signposts of what the Tinubu administration has built in almost four years.

“Today, ministries are barely functioning, agencies are struggling, and critical directorates are failing to deliver. Nigeria is practically comatose.

“The Tinubu Presidency came into power without a convincing blueprint or workable ideas and, after almost four years, has offered Nigerians little beyond failure, hardship, poverty and insecurity.

“If borrowing is truly for development, let President Tinubu show Nigerians one tangible project his administration has delivered with its trillions of naira in loans, beyond the solar farm in the Presidential Villa.

“The only thing this administration has successfully built is hardship.
“We appeal to international donors, development partners and financial institutions to exercise greater scrutiny and insist on accountability, transparency and prudence before extending further loans to Nigeria.
“Borrowing is not inherently wrong when the benefits translate into improved living conditions for citizens. What is unacceptable is a situation in which the country continues to accumulate debts without corresponding benefits for the people.
“Nigerians must not be compelled to continue financing the luxury, proligacy and privileged lifestyle of those in power while ordinary citizens wallow in poverty.

“Future generations should not be burdened with debts incurred without demonstrable benefits to them.

“The National Assembly must rise to its constitutional responsibility and save the country from being mortgaged through indiscriminate borrowings. It must stop acting as a rubber stamp for every loan request and defend the economic future of Nigeria.

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Trustfund rebranding to PT Pensions

“While our name is set to change, our commitment to you remains steadfast,” said the statement.

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Trustfund Pensions Limited and Premium Pensions Limited have approached the final stages of their merger and integration, as Premium Trustfund Pensions Limited (PT Pensions).

This is disclosed in its latest Newsletter emailed to its customers across the country .

” While our name is set to change, our commitment to you remains steadfast,” said the statement.

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Business

Who Owns Temu? Inside PDD Holdings and Its Business

The “Shop Like a Billionaire” slogan promotes affordable abundance, but the practical distinction is simple: The platform owner and the seller of a particular product aren’t necessarily the same company.

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If you’re wondering who owns Temu, the answer is PDD Holdings Inc., the parent company behind both Temu and Pinduoduo.

But that doesn’t mean one person owns the shopping platform outright: PDD Holdings is a publicly traded company with many shareholders.

Howstuffworks reported that the corporate ownership becomes clearer when you separate three things: the shopping brand, the companies operating it and the holding company above them.

How PDD Holdings Owns Temu

Think of PDD Holdings as the corporate umbrella.

Temu and Pinduoduo are separate e-commerce platforms within that group, not two names for the same storefront. Pinduoduo serves the Chinese market, while Temu targets shoppers internationally.

The parent completed its initial public offering in July 2018 as Pinduoduo Inc. It changed its name to PDD Holdings Inc. in February 2023.

Today, PDD stock trades on Nasdaq under the ticker PDD; the U.S.-listed securities are American depositary shares, each representing four Class A ordinary shares.

Buying those securities gives investors an interest in the parent, not a separately listed Temu business.

To understand major shareholders, institutional investors and voting rights, consult the company’s SEC filings.

Share ownership and voting power aren’t necessarily identical.

Where Colin Huang Fits In

Colin Huang, also known as Huang Zheng, founded Pinduoduo in 2015.

The company founder stepped down as chief executive officer in July 2020, when Chen Lei succeeded him, and left the chairman’s role in March 2021. Both departures came before PDD Holdings introduced Temu in September 2022.

That timing matters: Huang founded the business from which the group developed, but describing him as Temu’s sole owner confuses company history with corporate ownership.

Why Temu Has Several Geographic Connections

The corporate structure spans several jurisdictions. PDD Holdings has Cayman Islands incorporation, while its 2024 annual report identifies its principal executive offices in Dublin, Ireland. A legal home and company headquarters can be different places.

Whaleco Inc., a Delaware-incorporated subsidiary within the group, operates Temu in the United States.

Temu has described Boston, Massachusetts, as its base. Whaleco Technology Limited, an Irish group company, operates Temu in certain other markets.

None of those addresses erases the group’s Chinese roots. They describe different pieces of an international business, rather than competing answers to who owns it.

What Temu’s Marketplace Actually Does

Temu’s 2022 U.S. launch began its global expansion. Its business model centers on an online marketplace connecting shoppers with third-party sellers, including Chinese manufacturers and merchants, rather than manufacturing everything itself. Cross-border e-commerce — selling goods across national borders — helped underpin that growth.

The “Shop Like a Billionaire” slogan promotes affordable abundance, but the practical distinction is simple: The platform owner and the seller of a particular product aren’t necessarily the same company.

Source: Howstuffworks

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