Image: Lithium mineral

A Chinese firm, ER KANG Company Limited, has established a $20 million lithium processing factory in Kwara State.

ER KANG is also establishing a pharmaceutical manufacturing company in Kwara, valued at over $15 million, bringing the total Chinese investment in the state to approximately $35 million.

Team lead of the company, Sun Qing Rong, disclosed this in Ilorin during a meeting with Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq on Wednesday.

He said the lithium plant is already operational and the investment is intended to prevent the export of raw minerals without processing.

Sun explained that the facility converts lithium into ready-to-use industrial materials, ensuring the mineral is processed locally rather than exported in its raw form.

He noted that the initiative aligns with government policies promoting value addition in the state.

According to Sun, the company currently employs more than 300 workers, most of whom are indigenes of Kwara State.

Photo by Ochefa / Ohibaba.com; 28 January 2026

The leadership of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), on Wednesday accused the nafdac to have misled the Senate to approve the ban on sachet alcohol and PET bottles.

The leadership of the association made the accusations on the occasion of the 10th edition MAN Media Personality Awards/ Presidential Media Luncheon, held in Lagos.

Francis Meshioye, the president of the association, and Segun Ajayi-Kadir, Director -General of MAN, emphasised that NAFDAC didn’t provide the Senate with empirical data showing the negative impacts of alcohol on children.

“Business is based on data and logic. Not sentiment. Data is key. Bring your data. Alcohol is not produced for children.

It is clearly written on the sacrhet it is for people 18+;  the companies producing them have done the campaigns; they have NAFDAC numbers. So NAFDAC should do its job.

They misled the Senate they didn’t give enough information to the Senate,” said Ajayi – Kadir.

Meshioye urges the government to prevail on the regulator to suspend the ban, because, “When manufacturing thrives, Nigeria thrives..when manufacturing wins, government wins.”

• CBN Governor Olayemi Cardoso

THE Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has upgraded the licenses of major FinTech companies and Microfinance Banks, including Opay and Moniepoint, to national status, allowing them to operate across the country following compliance with regulatory requirements.

The upgrade applies to key players such as Moniepoint MFB, Opay, Kuda Bank, Palmpay, and Paga, which have grown rapidly through mobile technology and agent networks, effectively outgrowing their previous regional licenses.

The Director of the Other Financial Institutions Supervision Department, Yemi Solaja, confirmed this development in Lagos at the annual conference of the Committee of Heads of Banks’ Operations,

He said: “Institutions like Moniepoint MFB, Opay, Kuda Bank, and others have now been upgraded. In practice, their operations are already nationwide.”

Solaja emphasized the importance of physical presence for customer support, noting “Most of their customers operate in the informal sector.

They need a clear point of contact if any issues arise.

”With national licenses, these FinTechs are subject to higher capital requirements, for example, N5 billion for national MFBs, and must maintain offices for dispute resolution while continuing to drive financial inclusion.

The reform follows previous enforcement actions, including 2024 penalties of N1 billion each on Moniepoint and Opay for KYC non-compliance, underscoring the CBN’s ongoing efforts to strengthen standards in digital finance