Business
Nigeria’s First Lady empowers 1,000 women petty traders in Kogi

▪︎Mrs. Tinubu, was represented by the wife of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hajiya Fatima Tajudeen Abbas.
Nigeria’s First Lady, Mrs. Oluremi Tinubu has flagged-off the Renewed Hope Initiative (RHI) Economic Empowerment programme for 1,000 women petty traders in Kogi State.
The programme is part of the continued commitment of the President’s wife to driving economic growth towards a better life for families, especially women across the country.
During the Flagg-off the disbursement of the grants in Lokoja on Thursday, the First Lady revealed that a total of N1,850,000,000.00 would be disbursed to the selected 1,000 Kogi women and 36,000 other female petty traders in other states and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
Mrs. Tinubu, who was represented by the wife of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hajiya Fatima Tajudeen Abbas, noted that RHI was aware of the challenges faced by Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), especially the petty traders who form the backbone of the local economies.
She added that the N50,000 business recapitalization grant would go a long way in strengthening the beneficiaries’ businesses for better profits.
She, however, stressed that these challenges had not deterred the strength of the women in their avowed commitment to contribute to the economy at the grassroots.
Mrs. Tinubu said, “Through the Renewed Hope Initiative Economic Empowerment Programme, we are providing 1,000 pre-selected women petty traders per state with a grant of N50,000 each to recapitalize and grow their businesses.
“The grants provided today are to assist our women petty traders in overcoming some of their business challenges, expand their businesses, create more jobs, and contribute more robustly to our economy.”
The First Lady affirmed that economic empowerment remained a core objective of the Renewed Hope Initiative and that the programme had continued to support the economic reforms of the President Bola Tinubu-led administration.
In his remarks, the Governor of Kogi State, Alhaji Ahmed Usman Ododo, said the Renewed Hope Initiative was built on a strong administrative and economic platform “that is sustainable even after eight years”, describing it as a visionary masterplan to address poverty amongst women.
He commended the First Lady of Nigeria for showing that she was capable of matching words with action by providing a strong platform to address poverty amongst women.
She added that the N50,000 business recapitalization grant would go a long way in strengthening the beneficiaries’ businesses for better profits.
Governor Ododo described the event as significant, noting that the rural women who invested their trust in President Bola Ahmed Tinubu by voting for him in the 2023 general election were on ground to reap the benefit of their trust.
He commended the President for honouring his promise to petty traders, and building an enduring microeconomic foundation to address the concerns of the indigents in the society.
The governor who expressed excitement that Sen. Oluremi Tinubu was helping his administration to fulfill his campaign promises to the people of the state, further pledged his administration’s total support for the Renewed Hope Initiative Economic Empowerment Programme.
He assured that the government would continue to partner with the First Lady of Nigeria through her coordinator and First Lady of Kogi State in her determination to empower women.
He said his administration was unbending in its commitment to women empowerment and inclusion, stressing that it had floated many policies with particular interest in women empowerment in agriculture and politics.
Ododo said, “Politically, we have given more women spaces. In the cabinet, the Secretary to the State Government is a woman. The Commissioner for Innovation, Science and Technology is a woman; the Commissioner for Culture and Tourism is a woman. The Commissioner for Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation is a woman as well as the Commissioner for Women Affairs.
The Accountant- General of the State is a woman as well as the Special Adviser to the Governor on Drug Abuse as well as the Director- General of the Social Investment Agency and many too numerous to mention, including the first female Director General of the Kogi State Broadcasting Corporation.
“At the grassroots level, we have encouraged our party to produce the first ever female Chairmanship candidate of a ruling party. We have also encouraged our Chairmen to pick females as their Vice Chairmanship candidates, except in one Local Government in order to strike a balance.
Our party has also ensured that 40% of our Councilorship candidates are also women. That means that if all our candidates are able to win in the free and fair election, we will have the first ever elected Local Government Chairman in our dear state as well as 20 Local Government Council Vice Chairmen as women as well as 96 Councilors as women. This is unprecedented in the political history of Nigeria.”
Earlier in her welcome address, the First Lady of Kogi State, Hajiya Sefinat Usman Ododo, described the programme as a significant stride towards empowering women entrepreneurs and enhancing their economic resilience.
She expressed the hope that the grants would undoubtedly provide the much-needed support in helping women petty traders expand their businesses and improve their livelihoods.
Mrs. Ododo said that by investing in women’s growth, the government was creating opportunities for a brighter future, just as she commended the efforts of the First Lady and her dedicated team in making the initiative a reality.
After receiving the grants, the beneficiaries in Kogi State commended the First Lady of Nigeria and President Tinubu’s Administration for the disbursement. ▪︎

The Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals has appointed David Bird, the former head of Oman’s Duqm Refinery, as its new Chief Executive Officer.
A report by S&P global on Friday said, Bird heads the refinery’s petroleum and petrochemicals division in a strategic move to overcome production challenges and advance its next wave of expansion.
Effective from July 2025, the former Shell head of operations at its Balau Pokom refinery stepped in as CEO of the Dangote Group’s fuels and petrochemicals business, which commissioned the world’s largest single-train refinery last year.
The CEO participated at the just concluded Dangote Leadership Development Program Graduation Ceremony.
Business
Trump Imposes 15% tariff on Nigerian Imports
Under the revised tariff schedule:15% tariffs now apply to Nigeria, Angola, Ghana, South Korea, Turkey, Japan, Israel, Norway, and several others.10% tariffs target countries such as the Falkland Islands, the United Kingdom, and others not explicitly listed.

US President Donald Trump has approved a 15 percent import tariff on Nigeria and dozens of other countries.
The White House announced the implementation of the new reciprocal tariff rates on Thursday.
In April, Trump imposed a 14% tariff on Nigerian imports, citing the need for fairer trade terms.
That move was followed by a 90 – day grace period to allow time for bilateral trade negotiations, pushing the final decision deadline to August 1.
However, the majority of talks failed to result in new trade agreements.
As a result, the new tariff rates are now being implemented, with Nigeria among dozens of countries facing increased duties under the revised plan.
African countries, including Nigeria, were unable to secure individual trade deals with the United States despite urgent efforts from both sides.
During the negotiation window, Trump also reintroduced travel restrictions targeting several African nations. Though Nigeria was initially exempt, it was later added to the list as the policy evolved.
Under the revised tariff schedule:15% tariffs now apply to Nigeria, Angola, Ghana, South Korea, Turkey, Japan, Israel, Norway, and several others.10% tariffs target countries such as the Falkland Islands, the United Kingdom, and others not explicitly listed.
Tariffs climb to 18% for Nicaragua, 19% for countries like Indonesia and Pakistan, and 20% for countries like Indonesia and Pakistan, and 20% for Bangladesh, Vietnam, and others.
10% tariffs target countries such as the Falkland Islands, the United Kingdom, and others not explicitly listed.Tariffs climb to 18% for Nicaragua, 19% for countries like Indonesia and Pakistan, and 20% for Bangladesh, Vietnam, and others.
More severe penalties include 25–41% tariffs for countries like India, South Africa, Iraq, and Syria.
Switzerland faces a steep 39% duty, while Laos and Myanmar are hit with 40%.Syria tops the list at 41%.
Meanwhile, negotiations are still ongoing with China, Washington’s main trade rival.
Canada is facing a 35% tariff, while Mexico was hit with a trio of levies, including a 50% duty on metals. Brazil, previously under a 10% tariff, was slapped with an additional 40% charge on Thursday, bringing its total to 50%.
Business
EU accuses online giant Temu of selling ‘illegal’ products
EU regulators believe Temu is not doing enough to protect European consumers from dangerous products and that it may not be acting sufficiently to mitigate risks to users.

The European Union accused Chinese-founded online shopping giant Temu on Monday of breaking the bloc’s digital rules by not “properly” assessing the risks of illegal products.
AFP reports that TEMU, wildly popular in the European Union despite only having entered the continent’s market in 2023, Temu has 93.7 million average monthly active users in the 27- country bloc.
EU regulators believe Temu is not doing enough to protect European consumers from dangerous products and that it may not be acting sufficiently to mitigate risks to users.
Evidence showed that there is a high risk for consumers in the EU to encounter illegal products on the platform,” the European Commission said in its preliminary finding.
It pointed to a mystery shopping exercise that found consumers were “very likely to find non-compliant products among the offer, such as baby toys and small electronics.”
-
Politics3 days ago
JUST IN: Dino Melaye dumps PDP
-
Entertainment3 days ago
NFVCB June Films top by ROK Studios, Silverbird Distribution, and OSSYKing Movies
-
Entertainment3 days ago
Gen Z Slang: Bet, Simp, Glow Up and More
-
News16 hours ago
NGE Condemns Arbitrary Closure of Badeggi Radio Station by Gov Bago for allegedly promoting violence
-
News3 days ago
JUST IN: President Tinubu Extends Customs Boss Adeniyi’s Tenure by One Year
-
Health15 hours ago
Nurses Back to Work After Four-Day Nationwide Strike
-
News20 hours ago
Olumuyiwa Adejobi Becomes Deputy Commissioner of Police
-
News19 hours ago
NLC rejects FG’s new policy stopping frequent industrial strikes