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N20 BILLION DAILY LOSS: DANGOTE ASSURES ON TIMELY COMPLETION OF APAPA ROAD

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…Inspects road project

 

President of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote has assured that the Apapa Port Wharf concrete road currently under construction by his company, AG Dangote would be delivered on schedule to save the people and businesses the hassles of the traffic gridlock being experienced now.

 

He gave the assurance yesterday when he visited the construction area in company with the Managing Director of the AG Dangote Construction Company, Mr Ashif Juma to assess the extent of work done.

 

The Apapa Port road which is the artery of the nation’s non-oil economy, has been in a state of disrepair over a long period of time with experts claiming that the nation is losing about N20 billion daily owing to the state of dilapidation of the road as imports are trapped in the ports for days as a result of traffic gridlock generated by the bad road.

 

Dangote Group, a pan African Conglomerate and a major stakeholder at the ports brokered a tripartite arrangement with Flour Mills, a leading Nigerian Food Company and Nigerian Port Authority, (NPA), taking over the road from the Federal Government and undertaking the reconstruction of the road into a lasting concrete pavement as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility.

 

The road construction in which both NPA and Flour Mills have financial outlay as their contributions while AG Dangote Construction, a subsidiary of the Dangote Group, is undertaking the construction, is to cost the three partners N4.3 billion

Dangote said the road will be completed in few months’ time and that Nigerians would be surprised to see the project delivered even before scheduled, saying efforts are being redoubled by his company to ensure quality job and timely completion.

 

According to him: by the time the road construction is completed, even some of the advanced countries would not be able to boast of the quality.”

He explained that what actually delay the take-off of the project was the gas pipeline that has to be relocated to pave the way for unfettered construction work “and having done that, you could see that the work is progressing at a very fast speed.”

 

The businessman while relying on the reports of the challenges encountered by the site engineers appealed to the authorities to help see to the disturbing issue of multiple check points being mounted by security agencies and which have been creating long queues of trailers and thus affecting free flow of work on the road project.

 

He also explained that his company has agreed with the federal government to do some palliatives on the Mile2 expressway road to ease the traffic congestion and ensure free flow of vehicular movement.

 

Dangote stated that the road was very strategic because Apapa and Tin Can Island ports handle about 80 per cent of the cargo that come into Nigeria and the condition of the road has made nonsense of businesses depending on the ports efficient operations.

 

He said that he more worried about the fate of small businesses and other port users that have imported cargo and whose charges are accumulating every day.

 

Mr. Juma took Dangote and his team round the construction area and showed him how they have been following the designs handed over to his company.

 

Speaking in similar vein, Group Managing Director of Flour Mills, Mr. Paul Gbededo said the three partners have shown how to be good corporate citizens saying by the time the road project is completed it would be one never seen before in the country.

 

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Dennis Ekamah Isn’t Building Houses—He’s Redefining What Home Means for Africans Through PropTech

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Dennis Ekamah Isn’t Building Houses—He’s Redefining What Home Means for Africans Through PropTech.

 

The founder of coHouse.ng is reimagining how millions of Africans access, experience, and share housing through technology.

 

In Africa’s rapidly evolving innovation landscape, the most transformative companies are no longer defined by the industries they enter, but by the systems they redesign.

 

For Dennis Ekamah, the opportunity was never about constructing buildings, it was about confronting a deeper question.

 

why is access to housing still so structurally difficult for millions of Africans in a digital age?

 

Rather than stepping into real estate as a developer. Dennis chose a different path, positioning coHouse.ng as a PropTech platform rethinking how housing is accessed, experienced, and shared. At the heart of this vision which is connecting potential home owners together via resource pooling for the purpose of either Living or Growth. Simply, *Connect. Live. Grow.*

 

*A Platform Not a Property Company*

 

coHouse.ng is not a real estate company. It is a technology-driven ecosystem connecting like-minded individuals into structured communities where they can live intentionally, invest collectively, and grow within a shared system.

 

From Insight to Recognition

 

In 2025, coHouse.ng was recognised among the Top 50 Tech Startups in Africa. Even ahead of its official launch, the platform attracted over 1,000 early waitlist users, individuals eager to be part of a new way of living and investing.

 

Solving for Access, Alignment, and Trust

 

Dennis Ekamah’s diagnosis goes deeper than supply shortfalls. The real barriers he argues are access, coordination, and trust. coHouse.ng tackles all three through identity verification powered by a third party verification system api. coHouse is not flying solo without the help and collaboration with government bodies across Nigeria and other African countries.

 

In his words;

“Imagine what you would achieve as an individual or group if you’re living with the right people or like-minded individuals around you.”

 

I’m not a developer, I’m not a professional realtor, I’m just someone who sees the need for this solution based on the problem we face as youth/young entrepreneurs in today’s housing deficiency across Africa.

— Dennis Ekamah

 

Join our waitlist by visiting www.cohouse.ng

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Landmark Judgment: Federal High Court Dismisses ₦50bn Oil Spill Claim Against ExxonMobil

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Landmark Judgment: Federal High Court Dismisses ₦50bn Oil Spill Claim Against ExxonMobil

 

The Federal High Court sitting in Uyo has dismissed a ₦50 billion lawsuit filed against ExxonMobil, sued as Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited, now Seplat Energy Producing, in a ruling analysts say could significantly reshape oil spill litigation and compensation claims in Nigeria’s petroleum sector.

Delivering judgment on April 29, 2026, Justice Onyetenu held that the suit instituted by the Ejige Ore Njenyisi Muma & Fishing Co-operative Society Ltd was incompetent and liable to dismissal for lack of jurisdiction.

The plaintiffs had sought ₦50 billion in damages over an alleged hydrocarbon spill said to have occurred on September 12, 2021.

However, counsel to the defendant, Chinonso Ekuma of KENNA LP, successfully argued that the claimants failed to disclose any legally recognisable violation attributable to the oil firm.

In its findings, the court held that the plaintiffs failed to establish any actionable wrongdoing against the defendant.

A key element in the court’s decision was the Joint Investigation Visit (JIV) Report tendered by the plaintiffs themselves, which showed that the alleged spill incident was confined within ExxonMobil’s operational facility and did not impact the members of the cooperative society or their sources of livelihood.

The court further ruled that claims arising from such incidents must be pursued strictly under the statutory compensation framework provided in Section 11(5) of the Oil Pipelines Act, rather than through common-law claims founded on negligence or nuisance.

Justice Onyetenu held that the plaintiffs’ attempt to circumvent the statutory regime by framing the suit as a tort action rendered the matter incompetent before the court, thereby depriving it of jurisdiction.

Legal analysts say the judgment reinforces the supremacy of the Oil Pipelines Act in determining compensation procedures relating to oil pipeline incidents and environmental claims in Nigeria.

The ruling is also seen as strengthening the evidential weight of Joint Investigation Visit Reports, particularly in cases where such reports indicate no direct impact on claimants or host communities.

Industry observers believe the judgment will have far-reaching implications for future oil spill litigation, especially regarding the procedural requirements for compensation claims against oil operators.

The court’s decision further provides clarity for operators within Nigeria’s energy sector by reaffirming that compliance with Section 11(5) of the Oil Pipelines Act is mandatory and cannot be sidestepped through alternative legal formulations.

While K.O. Uzuokwu appeared for the plaintiffs, the defence was led by Chinonso Ekuma of KENNA LP on behalf of ExxonMobil.

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Union Bank Honoured by ASBON at Nigeria National SME Business Awards

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Union Bank Honoured by ASBON at Nigeria National SME Business Awards

 

 

Lagos, Nigeria – Union Bank of Nigeria has reaffirmed its reputation as a strong supporter of Nigerian businesses, receiving the Best SME Growth Banking Initiatives Award for 2025 from the Association of Small Business Owners of Nigeria (ASBON) at the Nigeria National SME Business Awards, held recently in Lagos.

The award was presented to the Bank in recognition of its strategic leadership in advancing the growth and resilience of small and medium-sized enterprises, through a differentiated suite of solutions designed to enable business expansion and long-term value creation.

Receiving the award on behalf of the Bank, Ayokunnumi Abraham, Head of SME Segment at Union Bank, described the recognition as a strong endorsement of the Bank’s commitment to supporting small and medium-sized businesses. He said:

“We are honoured to receive this recognition, which reflects Union Bank’s continued commitment to helping SMEs grow by making banking simpler, faster, and more accessible. Through enhancements to our specialised platforms such as Union360, we have meaningfully reduced the time it takes for businesses to come on board and begin transacting. These improvements have shortened onboarding, increased digital adoption among our SME customers, and supported the acquisition of new business clients. Our focus remains on delivering practical solutions that help Nigerian businesses thrive.”

Organised by ASBON in partnership with the Lagos State Government through the Ministry of Commerce, Cooperatives, Trade and Investment, the event convened stakeholders from the public and private sectors to recognise individuals and organisations driving meaningful impact across Nigeria’s SME ecosystem.

Union Bank remains focused on deepening its support for SMEs through customer-led solutions and processes that strengthen business growth across the ecosystem.

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