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World Bank Approves Fresh $1.57bn Support Fund For Nigeria

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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.

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FG Announces New Procurement Policy Shift Favouring Local Manufacturing

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The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved a “Nigeria First Policy” aimed at prioritising the use of locally made goods and services in all government procurements.

The Minister of Information, Mohammed Idris, made the disclosure saying that the policy seeks to domesticate all government processes.

The Nigerian government expects that with the new policy, local manufacturers will get priority in the provision of goods and services.

“No procurement of foreign goods or services already available locally shall proceed without justification, and where there is an exceptional need for these services to procure from outside, there must be a waiver to be obtained, written waiver to be obtained by the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP),” Mr Idris said.

“Where no viable local option exists, contracts must include provisions for technology transfer, local production or skills development.

For example, the provision of portal allocations under the sugar master plan should take into consideration participants’ backwards integration plans and investment in Nigeria and ensure compliance with the Master Plan.

“The MDAs have also been directed to immediately conduct an audit of all procurement plans and submit revised versions in line with these directives. Breaches will attract sanctions, including cancellation of procurement processes by such MDAS, and indeed disciplinary action against responsible officers,” the minister noted.

The federal cabinet approved these proposals on Monday and the office of the Attorney General of the Federation has been directed to prepare an Executive Order to be issued by President Bola Tinubu.

This is a major shift in government policy, Mr Idris added. “It puts Nigeria – not foreign companies, not imports – at the heart of our national development.”Once signed into law, Mr Idris said, the legislation will “foster a new business culture that will be bold, confident, but also very, very Nigerian, and it aims at making the government invest in our people and our industries by changing how the government spends money, how we procure and how we also build our economy.”“Going forward, Nigerian industry will take precedence in all procurement processes,” the minister said.

This is a major shift in government policy, Mr Idris added. “It puts Nigeria – not foreign companies, not imports – at the heart of our national development.

”Once signed into law, Mr Idris said, the legislation will “foster a new business culture that will be bold, confident, but also very, very Nigerian, and it aims at making the government invest in our people and our industries by changing how the government spends money, how we procure and how we also build our economy.”

Where local supply falls short, contracts will be structured to build capacity domestically, according to Mr Idris. “Contractors will no longer serve as intermediaries sourcing foreign goods where local factories die. I take the example of the sugar industry.”

“For example, we still have so much importation of sugar coming into this country, yet we have the Nigerian sugar council that was set up to look inward to see how sugar production can be produced, you know, for the benefit of Nigerians.

President Tinubu has proposed that we will no longer just sit there and allow importation to come into this country where there is the capacity for production of these commodities locally.

Now, as I said, the president has proposed the following directives, and all of them have been approved by the Federal Executive Council.”

President Tinubu has proposed that we will no longer just sit there and allow importation to come into this country where there is the capacity for production of these commodities locally. Now, as I said, the president has proposed the following directives, and all of them have been approved by the Federal Executive Council.”

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Dangote Group Sponsors Nasarawa Trade Fair

The fair is a collaboration between NASSI and the Nasarawa State Chamber of Commerce Agriculture and Industries.

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The Dangote Group is sponsoring the 2025 Nasarawa Trade Fair Exhibition, which officially opens this Wednesday in Lafia, the state capital.

The Theme for this year’s Fair is: Investing in Nasarawa’s Future: Fostering Economic Development Through Mineral and Agricultural Cottage Industrialisation

The trade fair, according to the Chairman of the Nigeria Association of Small-Scale Industrialists (NASSI), Nasarawa State Chapter, Nidan Sambo Manasseh, will be declared open by the state governor, Abdullahi Sule.

He said the fair is a collaboration between NASSI and the Nasarawa State Chamber of Commerce Agriculture and Industries.

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Rite Foods Drags Mamuda Beverages to Court Over Products Semblance

Justice Nwite has scheduled a hearing for May 28, where the court will deliberate on Mamuda Beverages’ objection to the case and determine whether Rite Foods’ lawsuit can proceed.

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Rite Foods Ltd, the manufacturer of Fearless Energy Drinks, has filed a N1.6 billion lawsuit against Mamuda Beverages Nig. Ltd, producer of Pop Power Energy Drinks, citing trademark infringement and unauthorized replication of its product design.

The lawsuit seeks both damages and an injunction to prevent Mamuda Beverages from continuing to manufacture energy drinks that bear a striking resemblance to Rite Foods’ registered products.

In the writ of summons filed on April 14 before Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja, Rite Foods claims that Mamuda Beverages has violated its intellectual property rights by introducing a nearly identical design for its Pop Power Energy Drinks.

The plaintiff alleges that the defendant has copied its distinctive bottle design, ornamental features, and brand identity, leading to consumer confusion.

Rite Foods Ltd, stated that its Fearless Energy Drinks feature a unique 500ml plastic bottle design incorporating a lion head logo, a specific shape, and color scheme, all of which were officially registered under the Patents and Designs Act on August 24, 2020.

The plaintiff argues that Mamuda Beverages’ 330ml Pop Power Energy Drinks replicate the shape, color, and overall aesthetic of the Fearless brand, with some consumers referring to it as “small Fearless” due to its resemblance.

The lawsuit demands an order of perpetual injunction restraining Mamuda Beverages, its distributors, and associates from further infringing on Rite Foods’ trademark, including manufacturing, distributing, or selling energy drinks that imitate its design.

The plaintiff also seeks N1 billion in damages for losses incurred due to the alleged unlawful use of its registered design, as well as N60 million in legal costs.

Previous injunction Rite Foods had previously secured an injunction against Mamuda Beverages in January 2025 before Justice Inyang Ekwo, restraining the defendant from continuing the production and distribution of Pop Power Energy Drinks.

The parties later reached a settlement agreement , which required Mamuda Beverages to alter elements of its product design to ensure differentiation from Fearless Energy Drinks.

However, Rite Foods claims that Mamuda Beverages has since violated the terms of the settlement, reintroducing a “remodeled” version of the Pop Power Energy Drinks that remains substantially identical to the original design.

This alleged breach prompted the fresh lawsuit, as Rite Foods insists that court intervention is necessary to protect its exclusive rights over its registered trademark and product design.

Mamuda Beverages has responded with a preliminary objection, urging the court to dismiss the case because the lawsuit constitutes an abuse of the court process.

The defendant argues that the matter was already litigated and resolved in an earlier consent judgment, rendering the court functus officio—a legal principle preventing the relitigation of settled disputes.

Justice Nwite has scheduled a hearing for May 28, where the court will deliberate on Mamuda Beverages’ objection to the case and determine whether Rite Foods’ lawsuit can proceed.

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