•Aliko Dangote

President of Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote has announced a significant increase in the Group’s investment in Ethiopia, rising from $2.5 billion to over $4 billion.

“This makes Ethiopia the second-largest recipient of our investments in Africa, accounting for nearly nine percent of our continental outlay between now and 2030,” said Dangote, describing Ethiopia as a key strategic destination for Dangote Group’s long-term investments.

The expanded scope includes critical infrastructure such as a 110-kilometre pipeline, a 120MW power plant, a polypropylene packaging facility, and a two-million-tonne NPK blending plant, among other new components.

Dangote stated this while addressing journalists in Gode, Ethiopia’s Somali region, during a high-profile visit hosted by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, a statement by Dangote Group said.

According to the statement, the prime minister personally received Dangote and accompanied him to inspect the site of the proposed fertiliser plant, where construction activities are already underway.

Speaking on the strategic importance of fertiliser in agricultural productivity, Dangote noted that Africa’s food insecurity challenges were largely due to limited access to key inputs.

“Africa holds immense agricultural potential, yet continues to grapple with food insecurity due to limited access to fertiliser.

Through our investments, we are committed to reversing this trend by boosting productivity, empowering farmers, and advancing a sustainable path to food self-sufficiency”, he said.

The Central Bank of Nigeria says 63.3 percent of Nigerians want interest rates reduced ahead of the Monetary Policy Committee meeting scheduled for May 19 and 20, 2026.

The apex bank disclosed this in its April 2026 Inflation Expectations Survey Report, released by its Statistics Department under the Economic Policy Directorate on its website.

The report found that most respondents preferred lower borrowing costs despite persistent inflationary pressures across the economy.

The survey revealed high public engagement with CBN communications (92.1 percent), a general perception of transparency (93.3 percent), and a strong desire for a reduction in interest rates (63.3 per cent).

In the report, 26.0 percent of respondents wanted interest rates retained at current levels, while 10.7 per cent supported a further rate hike.

The development comes as the MPC prepares to take another decision on the Monetary Policy Rate amid concerns over inflation, exchange rate pressures, insecurity, and rising energy costs.

The survey showed that inflation perception worsened in April 2026, with 67.2 percent of respondents describing inflation as high, up from 56.4 percent recorded in March 2026.

The founder and Chairman of BUA Group, Abdul Samad Rabiu, has recounted how he was denied entry into South Africa after his visa expired a day before his trip, while European travellers were reportedly allowed into the country without visas.

Rabiu shared the experience on Thursday while speaking on “Africa at Scale: Capital, Policy and the Architecture of Growth” at the ongoing Africa CEO Forum in Kigali, Rwanda.

He said that the incident occurred in February 2025 when he travelled from Lagos to Cape Town for the Mining Indaba conference.

He said that immigration officials stopped him on arrival after discovering that his visa had expired the previous day.

Rabiu explained that he and his team spent about four hours at the airport before he was eventually returned to Lagos.

“I take full responsibility because my visa had expired and my crew failed to notice it before the trip,” he said.

However, the businessman said that he became concerned after noticing that passengers arriving on multiple flights from Europe were allowed into South Africa without visas while he, as an African, was denied entry.

“While we were waiting at the immigration desk, there were about three international flights from Europe. Most of the passengers were Europeans, and they all entered Cape Town without visas,” he said.

Rabiu said the experience highlighted the difficulties Africans still face when travelling within the continent despite ongoing talks about African integration and economic cooperation.

“I did not have a problem with being returned because I had no valid visa. My issue was being an African in Africa and being denied entry, while foreigners from other continents were allowed in freely without visas,” he said.

He called for reforms in visa and immigration policies across the continent, stressing that Africa cannot achieve meaningful economic integration while Africans continue to face barriers moving within African countries.