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Biodiversity: Dangote Cement partners Agencies, Stakeholders on environmental sustainability
Biodiversity: Dangote Cement partners Agencies, Stakeholders on environmental sustainability
-plants 7,205 trees to commemorate the 2022 Environmental Day
By Olorunfemi Adejuyigbe
Nigeria’s bid to reduce carbon emissions has received a boost as Pan-African cement manufacturer, Dangote Cement Plc entered into partnership with partnered with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and National Environmental Standards and the Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA) to promote environmental sustainability.
In the same vein, Dangote Cement also collaborated with the Lagos Business School Sustainability Centre, and Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF) as part of the Company’s initiatives to mark the 2022 World Environment Day in all its 14 production plants in Nigeria and Pan Africa.
Dangote Cement’s Environment Week programme supports African countries and the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) joint venture (JV) agreement to invest in carbon avoidance and offsetting projects.
In carrying out the initiatives, Dangote Cement engaged experts to build the capacity of employees, local communities and other stakeholders on biodiversity conservation and progressive reclamation of mining sites. Other topics addressed were soil rehabilitation and carbon mitigation. The company also set up a biodiversity garden at one of its mines in Nigeria to serve as model.
The Group Managing Director of Dangote Cement Plc, Mr Michel Puchercos noted that the company demonstrated support for governments’ efforts by contributing climate solutions that would reduce Nigeria’s carbon emissions.
The World Environment Day featured a web forum entitled ‘Only one Earth: Conserving the Values of Biodiversity’. It centered on the need for humans to make deliberate efforts to save the earth by conserving biodiversity. The forum brought together about 560 participants from the manufacturing and extractive industries, academia, government agencies, international agencies, civil society (NGOs), media, and environment enthusiasts across Africa.
The Head of Sustainability, Dangote Cement Plc, Dr Igazeuma Okoroba gave insights into the activities of Dangote Cement during the forum stating that the organisation is complementing government efforts through collaboration with stakeholders in civil society and industry. She noted that as Africa’s leading business, the “World Environment Day commemoration avails us the opportunity to create awareness on sustainability initiatives to conserve the earth and maintain the values of biodiversity.” According to Dr Okoroba, the initiatives were “aimed at entrenching sustainability consciousness across the business’ value chain. One of the ways Dangote Cement seeks to achieve this is by complying with rehabilitation plans and exploring ways to protect the ecosystem in the communities where we operate.”
Speaking on World Environment Day, the Head of Environment and Social Performance, Dangote Cement Plc, Engr Tukur Lawal said the objective of the initiative was to make mining sites safe for current and future land use. Specific goals include creating awareness amongst mining personnel, enabling mining stakeholders to understand the processes of identifying and evaluating species, flora and fauna for climate risk management.
Adducing reasons on why Dangote Cement is taking the challenge, Engr. Lawal asserted that “The company is ready to engage with stakeholders to conserve biodiversity, mitigate carbon emission and make the environment safer”.
In line with this year’s theme ‘Only One Earth’, not less than 1,708 Dangote employees volunteered with 1,186 third-party volunteers whom contributed 12,658 hours in 46 different initiatives across 10 pan-African countries.
The World Environment Day also featured a web forum on “Only One Earth: Conserving the Values of Biodiversity”, which was hosted by Dangote Cement in collaboration with the Lagos Business School Sustainability Centre.
The forum brought together participants from private sector, government agencies, international agencies and nonprofits across Africa. Topics discussed centered on the need to remedy the changing ecosystem as humans must make deliberate efforts to protect the planet. Speakers submitted that sustainable land management should be a priority for industry. Businesses whose activities affect soil and biodiversity should restore the soil by funding recycling, ensuring green development, and supporting the natural habitat and developers’ who integrate biodiversity in pre and post-development.
In other contributions at the webinar, Dr Igazeuma urged the participants to draw lessons from Dangote Cement in the alignment of UN SDGs to Corporate Social Responsibility programming. “An example in this regard is the planting of 510,636 trees which support carbon sequestration and the company’s investment in recycling waste for alternative fuels which supports SDG 13. Dr Okoroba also announced the release of the Dangote Cement’s 2021 Sustainability Report, which was published in accordance with GRI Sustainability Reporting Standard and assured by an independent consultant.”
An impact report released at the end of the forum indicated that participants advocated that biodiversity loss should be mitigated through collaboration with government environment agencies, local communities, NGOs and educational institutions. Greater awareness is also needed for the public to understand the species of plants and animals that need not be consumed to extinction.
More than ₦3 billion was targeted, but about ₦677 million reached the culprits, with recovery and prosecutions underway, reflecting how banks are responding to more sophisticated fraud risks.
Nigeria’s expanding digital banking sector is facing increasingly sophisticated fraud attempts, as financial institutions adapt to faster transactions and broader online services.
A recent case involving First City Monument Bank (FCMB), linked to fraudulent activity detected in December 2025, has drawn attention to how banks are responding to such incidents, with a focus on limiting exposure, recovering funds and working with law enforcement.
According to findings referenced in proceedings before the Lagos State Special Offences Court, the incident involved unauthorised transactions tied to a digital product. Early reports erroneously suggested more than ₦3 billion was lost. Subsequent clarification shows that over ₦3 billion was targeted, ₦2.4 billion was blocked and recovered, while ₦677 million got into the possession of the culprits. This outcome reflects the bank’s cyber security and monitoring capabilities, as well as improved collaboration among regulated financial institutions and with law enforcement agencies. Several suspects and beneficiaries have been apprehended, while recovery and prosecution efforts are ongoing, led by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Proceedings at the Lagos State Special Offences Court have resulted in convictions, including that of a repeat offender, with restitution orders issued. Related matters are also being handled at the Federal High Court in Lagos, where additional suspects are being tried in connection with the scheme. This process is aimed at ensuring that bad actors are identified and permanently blacklisted from the financial system.
Authorities say recovery efforts are continuing as additional funds are traced.
Analysts note that the pace of legal action reflects closer coordination between financial institutions and enforcement agencies in addressing cyber-related financial crime.
The case comes as banks contend with more complex fraud methods, including social engineering and automated exploitation of system processes.
As digital products and platforms expand, so too does the risk associated with cyber-crime and related fraud.
“The scale of digital banking means risks are evolving alongside the systems,” said a Lagos-based financial analyst. “Institutions are now judged by how they manage these events.”
Observers say the sector is moving toward a stronger focus on response and recovery, rather than prevention alone.
This includes improving monitoring capabilities, strengthening transaction controls and enhancing collaboration with regulators and law enforcement. The FCMB case, with limited exposure relative to the amount targeted and ongoing recovery, reflects that shift.
For customers, the primary concern is the safety of their funds. In this case, there has been no indication of losses affecting customer deposits. Maintaining that level of protection remains central to sustaining trust in the financial system.
Nigeria’s financial sector continues to grow, supported by digital innovation and expanding access to banking services.
However, analysts say fraud attempts are likely to persist as systems become more complex and interconnected.
They say institutions will increasingly be judged not only on their ability to prevent incidents, but on how effectively they respond and recover when they occur.
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Ex-APC Deputy Guber flag bearer, Joshua MacIver backs Tinubu, express fears over implosion in Bayelsa APC
….congratulates new State Party Chairman, Warman Ogoriba
APC Deputy Governorship Candidate in the 2023 general elections in Bayelsa State, Great Joshua MacIver has declared his total commitment to the re-election of President Bola Tinubu come 2027, declaring that the Tinubu re-election project is non-negotiable.
Great Joshua MacIver, in his statement titled ” BAYELSA APC CONGRESSES: GOING FORWARD, A CALL TO LOOK INWARDS” and made available to newsmen in Yenagoa, warned APC leaders in the state to look Inward and take note of certain factors which may hinder or cut short our victory.
According to Great Joshua MacIver, such noticeable pitfalls include the imbalance in the united front being put up by the State Governor,Senator Douye Diri among various political blocs in the state.
In the statement issued at the weekend. Great Joshua MacIver stated that “First, before His Excellency, Senator Douye Diri, joined the APC in the state, there were clearly two political blocs that made up the party, with the approximate population ratios of the blocs standing at 95% to 5%.”
“After the entrance of His Excellency, Senator Douye Diri, ONLY THE SMALLER BLOC IS BEING CARRIED ALONG IN THE AFFAIRS OF THE PARTY, leaving the greater percentage to their fate, and this situation has the potential to build anger and dissatisfaction in our dear party.”
” The consequence of this has been the high level defection we have witnessed in the party recently and we believe more may likely follow, if we do not put our house in order.”
” If we do not pull together as a party, we may witness a situation where we will lose key stakeholders, especially after the State and National Assembly Primaries as well the Gubernatorial Primaries.”
“Finally, while it is very clear that we are the party to beat in the 2027 elections and that our loyalty to Mr. President IS NON-NEGOTIABLE, we must make haste to say that we cannot afford to create situations or loopholes in our unity which will be exploited by other political interests in the state. We cannot afford to under-rate anyone.”
“Our core interest remains the re-election of Mr. President, a project to which we have committed our all. We also pledge our total loyalty to the party as we have no alternative to the APC. However, our concern is that we must, as a party, look inwards and ensure that we do not create loopholes that can impede our common goal.”
Great Joshua MacIver, however congratulated the newly elected State Executives of the APC in Bayelsà State led by Hon. Warman Ogoriba, saying their emergence is welcomed at this critical time in our national history.
At least 23 people were killed in a series of suspected suicide bombings, police in Nigeria’s northeastern city of Maiduguri said on Tuesday.
https://www.stanbicibtcbank.com/nigeriabank/personal/products-and-services/all-loans/stanbic-ibtc-mreif-home-loans
More than 100 other people were injured in the blasts that took place on Monday evening in the capital of Nigeria’s restive Borno state.
No group has claimed responsibility for the suspected attacks.
The deadly blasts come after a military post was attacked overnight Sunday to Monday, which authorities blamed on suspected Islamist militants.
This sad incident is coming barely two weeks after Primate Elijah Ayodele, the Leader of INRI Evangelical Spiritual Church specifically warned against attacks in some states. He mentioned these states while calling on security operatives to pay close attention to them.
These were his words:
“Another attack is coming up in these following states where the military must watch carefully and intelligently; Kano, Kaduna, Zamfara, Kebbi, Niger, Borno, Kwara and Kogi state. They want to do a deadly attack, it’s preventable but it depends on how they will handle it. I have told you about the danger coming up.”
@primateayodele
Unfortunately, some of our military agencies don’t believe spiritual intelligence can save the country from so much danger hence, their neglect of this prophetic warning but now, it has been fulfilled with the miliary losing credibility by the day while Primate Ayodele continues to gain momentum.
Likewise, At least 26 passengers and crew sustained varying degrees of injuries on Monday following an accident involving the Kaduna–Abuja train, according to the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC).
Opeifa explained that the train departed Rigasa in Kaduna at 7:15 a.m. and was approaching Asham station around 9:16 a.m. when a loud bang was heard after the power car and trailing locomotive collided with one of the passenger coaches.
In July 2025, Primate Ayodele asked nigerians to pray not to see train mishap on the Kaduna-Abuja route.
@primateayodele #nigeriantiktok🇳🇬 #fulfillment #train #abuja #primateayodele
“Let’s pray not to see train mishap in Abuja-Kaduna, Kaduna-Abuja route.”
This has also been fulfilled.
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