Business
World Bank Approves Fresh $1.57bn Support Fund For Nigeria

The World Bank has approved three operations for a total of $1.57bn to support the Federal Government in strengthening human capital through better health for women, children and adolescents and building resilience to the effects of climate change, such as floods and droughts through improving dam safety and irrigation.
The new financing includes $500m for addressing governance issues that constrain the delivery of education and health (HOPE-GOV), $570m for the Primary Healthcare Provision Strengthening Program (HOPE-PHC) and $500m for the Sustainable Power and Irrigation for Nigeria Project (SPIN).
The HOPE-GOV and HOPE-PHC programs combined will support FG in improving service delivery in the basic education and primary healthcare sectors, which are critical to improving Nigeria’s human capital outcomes.
The SPIN project will support improving the safety of dams and the management of water resources for hydropower and irrigation in selected areas of Nigeria.
The HOPE-GOV Program will address underlying governance weaknesses in the systems and procedures of government in two key human development sectors.
It will particularly focus on critical cross-cutting challenges and enabling factors related to both financial and human resource management in basic education and primary healthcare sectors.
The Program will increase availability and effectiveness of financing for basic education and primary healthcare service delivery, enhance transparency and accountability of financing and improve recruitment, deployment and performance management of basic education teachers and primary healthcare workers by federal, state, and local governments.
In support of FG’s newly launched reforms in the health sector, the apex bank said under the Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative, the HOPE-PHC project will improve the quality and utilisation of core reproductive, maternal, newborn, child, and adolescent health and nutrition services to substantially reduce maternal and under-five mortality and to improve the resilience of the health system— benefiting 40 million people, especially vulnerable populations.
The project is financed by a concessional $500m International Development Association (IDA) credit and an additional $70m in grant financing from the Global Financing Facility for Women, Children and Adolescents (GFF).
The GFF support includes $11m from the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) and $12.5m from the Children’s Investment Foundation Fund (CIFF) through joint financing with the GFF to help close the financing gap for primary and community healthcare and maternal newborn care at hospital-level, while also supporting government efforts to ensure sustainable financing for family planning commodities.
The SPIN Program will help Nigeria protect citizens from floods and drought through enhanced dam safety and operations.
The project will further support the provision of new and improved irrigation and drainage services over an area of 40,000 hectares.
This will help up to 950,000 people including households, farmers, and livestock breeders to directly benefit from more reliable, climate-resilient, and efficient irrigation, water supply and increased agricultural productivity through improved irrigation water management.
Through the SPIN project, the government will develop a master plan for hydropower and a structured public-private partnership transaction for a hydropower project.
“Effective investment in the health and education of Nigerians today is central to increasing their future employment opportunities, productivity, and earnings, while reducing poverty of the most vulnerable.
This new financing for human capital and primary healthcare will help to address the complex difficulties faced by Nigerians especially women and girls around access and quality of services, but also the governance arrangements that also explain these difficulties” said Dr. Ndiamé Diop, the World Bank Country Director for Nigeria.
“The SPIN program is timely and will protect Nigerians from floods and droughts in the areas where it will be implemented, while enabling an increase in hydropower generation.
The direct positive impact of this project on people and livelihoods is enormous, The World Bank is pleased to work with the government and other stakeholders to deliver this program,” Diop added.
Business
Tax Reform: I rented secret apartment after death threats –Oyedele
These are not small boys and girls,” he said. “They are big people with deep connections and resources. So naturally, they would resist any effort to block those illegal streams.

Oyedele said that the threats began shortly after he announced a clampdown on more than 60 government agencies illegally collecting taxes and levies across the country.
Chairman of Nigeria’s Presidential Committee on Tax Policy and Fiscal Reforms, Taiwo Oyedele, has revealed that he was forced to flee his home and now lives in a secret location under armed police protection after receiving death threats linked to his tax reform efforts.
The Guardian reports that during a live radio interview on Nigeria Info FM, Oyedele said that the threats began shortly after he announced a clampdown on more than 60 government agencies illegally collecting taxes and levies across the country.
“I had to pack out of my house,” he said. “I rented a place in a secret location where I now live. I’m not the kind of person who wants anybody carrying a gun to follow me around, but I had to accept mobile police protection.”
”Oyedele, a former Africa Tax Lead at PwC, has led the drive to simplify and clean up Nigeria’s tax system.
He described the backlash as unexpected but driven by powerful individuals who had turned tax collection into a personal revenue stream.
“These are not small boys and girls,” he said. “They are big people with deep connections and resources. So naturally, they would resist any effort to block those illegal streams.”
Business
Dangote Refinery Planning 1.6m Barrels Fuel Storage Tanks in Namibia
The storage tanks would be used to supply petrol and diesel to Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Dangote petroleum refinery will construct storage tanks in Namibia to hold at least 1.6 million barrels of petrol and diesel to supply refined fuel to southern Africa.
Reuters reports that the storage tanks would be used to supply petrol and diesel to Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Dangote was also considering supplying fuel to southern Democratic Republic of Congo, the sources said.
It was not immediately clear how much the project would cost, but the second source said construction of the storage tanks would begin shortly in the port city of Walvis Bay.
The move underscores the refinery’s ambition to dominate fuel supply in Africa and beyond, potentially reshaping energy trade flows in the region and boosting access to refined products for southern African nations.
Business
UBA Announces Strategic Expansion into Key Markets Across Africa

UBA Group senior executives have concluded the Group’s Half Year Business Review, which was held at the global headquarters in Lagos Nigeria.
UBA Group Managing Director/CEO, Oliver Alawuba, brought together executives responsible for UBA’s twenty-four countries of operation.
He said “the gathering was an opportunity to restate the Group’s pan-African strategy, and commitment to further expanding the Group’s coverage across high potential markets across Africa, while also deepening its operations in its existing twenty African presence markets.
“With over 51.7% of Group revenues from ex Nigerian operations, UBA’s journey to being Africa’s most diversified financial services group was clearly in evidence.”
The international strategic intent reinforces with the Group’s intention to deliver innovative financial solutions to its fast-growing global customer base.
The strategy demonstrates UBA’s unique position as Africa’s global bank and ability to leverage growth opportunities in emerging and leading African markets.
The Group commenced its Pan African journey, with its entry into Ghana in 2004, followed by rapid expansion into 18 additional African markets.
Today, as a resilient and future-focused institution, UBA continues to push boundaries by connecting Africa to the world and the world to Africa.
Mr Alawuba highlighted the Group’s expansion plans, disclosing that the Group is excited about the vast opportunities that the new markets present, a testament to UBA Group’s confidence in the African economy, providing world-class banking services that meet the continent’s evolving needs.
He noted that: “UBA’s vision is clear – we are building a truly global institution anchored in Africa, but serving customers across continents”.
“Further strategic expansion positions us to unlock new opportunities, support intra-Africa trade, and deliver world-class banking experiences wherever our clients choose to do business,” Alawuba said.
“In Europe, UBA has operations in the United Kingdom and upgrading its license in France, expanding its capacity to serve cross-border trade, investment flows, and the African diaspora, complementing our over 40-year presence in NY.”
These moves signal a clear message of UBA’s intent to reshape the competitive landscape”, Alawuba further said.
As part of the Group’s plan to expand its global presence, UBA, in January, announced plans to open operations in Saudi Arabia.
Operating in twenty African countries and the United Kingdom, the United States of America, France and the United Arab Emirates, UBA provides retail, commercial and institutional banking services, leading financial inclusion and implementing cutting edge technology.
United Bank for Africa is one of the largest employers in the financial sector on the African continent, with 25,000 employees’ group wide and serving over 45 million customers globally.
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