The Federal Government says it expects to sign a long-awaited agreement with a Chinese company before the end of 2026 to revive the dormant Ajaokuta Steel Company, a project that will require an estimated $1.5 billion to $2 billion in investment. The assurance was given by Sha’ibu Abubakar Audu, Minister of Steel Development, during an appearance on the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) programme Good Morning Nigeria. According to the minister, discussions with the prospective Chinese investor have reached an advanced stage as the Tinubu administration intensifies efforts to resuscitate the steel complex, which has remained idle since it was established…
Author: Elvis Eromosele
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has warned individuals and businesses against rejecting any N100 banknote, reiterating that both the standard and commemorative versions remain legal tender and must be accepted for all transactions nationwide. The clarification was contained in a circular issued on Wednesday and signed by Hakama Sidi-Ali, CBN’s Acting Director of Corporate Communications. According to the apex bank, the statement became necessary following reports that some traders, businesses and individuals have been refusing to accept certain N100 notes during commercial transactions. The CBN stressed that such actions violate the provisions of the Central Bank of Nigeria Act, 2007.…
Walmart is capitalising on its unexpected popularity among international visitors by launching exclusive in-store tours for World Cup tourists, transforming America’s largest retailer into one of the tournament’s most talked-about attractions. The initiative follows a surge of viral social media videos showing first-time visitors from around the world marvelling at the sheer scale of Walmart stores, oversized food packages and endless snack aisles. Many of the clips have attracted millions of views on platforms such as TikTok. To tap into the growing buzz, Walmart will host two VIP shopping experiences. The first will take place in New Jersey ahead of…
Australia’s largest telecommunications provider, Telstra, has apologised after a nationwide network outage disrupted train services, interrupted emergency calls and left thousands of customers without mobile and data connectivity. The outage began at about 4:30 a.m. local time on Wednesday, affecting mobile calls and data services across the country. Full services were restored roughly 12 hours later after engineers identified and fixed the problem. Michael Ackland, Telstra Chief Financial Officer said the disruption was caused by a software defect linked to time-keeping servers at the company’s data centres in Sydney and Melbourne, stressing that the incident was not the result of a cyberattack.…
The Federal Government has said it may demolish buildings obstructing drainage alignments along the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway corridor as part of measures to improve flood control and construct service lanes. David Umahi, Minister of Works, disclosed this after a joint inspection of the highway ordered by President Bola Tinubu in response to concerns over flooding in communities along the project corridor. The inspection team included officials from the Federal Ministry of Environment, members of the National Assembly, project consultants, contractors and presidential aides. Speaking to journalists after the tour, Umahi dismissed claims that the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway caused flooding in…
Industry leaders and experts have called on regulators in Nigeria’s oil and gas and insurance sectors to establish a joint task force to drive implementation of critical reforms, saying stronger local capacity, enhanced collaboration and increased investment in reinsurance are essential to achieving the country’s 2030 local content and energy sector goals. The recommendations emerged from a panel discussion at the SUPERNEWS Local Content Confab’26 and 10th Anniversary Celebration in Lagos, where stakeholders stressed that the time had come to move beyond discussions and begin implementing practical solutions. Dr. Nneka Obi, Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Deepshores Energy Limited, led the call…
The global market for general-purpose robots is poised for explosive growth, with consulting firm McKinsey projecting it could expand from less than $1 billion today to about $370 billion by 2040 as advances in artificial intelligence (AI) accelerate the adoption of intelligent machines. According to McKinsey, the next generation of AI-powered robots is moving beyond factories into workplaces, hospitals and homes, where they are expected to work alongside humans rather than simply perform repetitive industrial tasks. McKinsey Partners Ani Kelkar, Christian Jansen and Zina Cole said breakthroughs in AI, sensing technologies and computing have significantly expanded what robots can do. They noted that the…
Nigeria’s electricity exports to neighbouring countries continue to face payment challenges, with Togo, the Republic of Benin and Niger Republic owing $12.66 million for power supplied in the first quarter of 2026, according to the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC). The disclosure is contained in the Commission’s Q1 2026 report, which also revealed that the Federal Government incurred a N358.32 billion electricity subsidy during the period due to non-cost-reflective tariffs. According to NERC, the three international bilateral customers were billed a combined $17.48 million for electricity supplied by Nigerian generation companies (GenCos) between January and March 2026. However, they paid…
Nigeria’s telecommunications operators are increasingly investing in customer-facing infrastructure to bring services closer to subscribers, marking a shift from simply expanding network coverage to improving the overall customer experience, according to Dinesh Balsingh, Airtel Nigeria Chief Executive Officer. Balsingh said the industry’s next phase of growth will be defined not only by towers, fibre networks and spectrum investments, but also by how quickly and conveniently customers can access support and digital services. In a statement, Balsingh noted that Nigeria’s telecom industry has spent decades building one of Africa’s largest telecommunications markets, connecting more than 175 million active mobile lines through…
Dr. Bosun Tijani, Nigeria’s Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, has directed the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), and the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) to suspend the implementation and enforcement of new regulations affecting digital platforms, internet intermediaries and other cross-cutting digital economy issues. The directive, announced in a statement issued on Tuesday, is aimed at allowing the Ministry to complete an ongoing policy harmonisation exercise designed to eliminate regulatory overlaps and provide greater clarity for stakeholders. According to the Minister, the decision followed a high-level strategic meeting with the leadership of…