Category: Business Day

Uncertainty over Nigeria’s capital gains tax is emerging as a major concern for offshore investors, threatening to undermine improved sentiment towards the country’s economic reforms, according to Cordros Securities.

The investment firm said foreign fund managers it met during a recent weeklong engagement were significantly more positive about Nigeria than they were in 2023, but raised concerns about the lack of clarity surrounding the administration of the capital gains tax.

‘The issue is no longer about whether it was the right thing or at the right time,’ Cordros said in a market note on Wednesday.

‘It is now about both the lack of communication since the tax became effective this year and the opacity around its implementation.’

Africa’s most populous country has tripled its capital gains tax from 10 percent to 30 percent, following a major tax overhaul that came into effect on the 1st of January, 2026.

That move has since created anxiety amongst foreign equity investors and saw the stock market shed its biggest losses since 2010 in November.

The concerns highlight a growing divide between investors’ improved assessment of Nigeria’s broader economic reforms and their uncertainty over how individual policies will be implemented.

Cordros said investors now broadly regard Nigeria as being ahead of other African and frontier markets in ‘doing the right things’, marking a significant shift from the scepticism it encountered during its previous meetings with fund managers in 2023.

Yet many foreign funds remain undecided about returning to Nigeria.

Most of the investors Cordros met were still net sellers of Nigerian equities, with only a few having bought stocks recently, revealing their sentiments on the tax policy even though the market has returned nearly 60 percent year-to-date.

The investors also questioned whether the current reform momentum can be sustained beyond President Bola Tinubu’s administration, with the 2027 elections featuring prominently in their discussions.

Banks face regulatory concerns

Tax uncertainty was not the only policy concern raised by investors.

Cordros said offshore fund managers also viewed Nigerian banks as being subject to excessive regulation, citing the windfall tax on banks’ foreign-exchange revenues, the Central Bank of Nigeria’s directive on holding-company recapitalisation and a 45 percent cash reserve requirement.

Investors considered the holding-company recapitalisation directive unnecessary except for banks presenting the greatest risks, while describing the 45 percent cash reserve ratio as too high.

They questioned the compatibility of such a high reserve requirement with the recent banking recapitalisation exercise and the government’s ambition to build a $1 trillion economy.

Despite the concerns, foreign investors said they did not consider Nigerian equities overvalued and acknowledged that corporate earnings had broadly kept pace with share-price gains.

Banks, telecommunications companies, oil and gas firms and consumer companies were among the sectors attracting interest, while investors also sought information on Dangote Refinery’s operations and its planned initial public offering, as well as the wider pipeline of Nigerian IPOs.

Cordros said the re-inclusion of Nigerian equities in frontier-market indexes should also stimulate foreign buying interest.

The investment firm said investors were impressed by the resilience of domestic investors, who have sustained the equity market despite the reduced role of foreign portfolio investors.

The findings suggest that Nigeria’s challenge is increasingly shifting from convincing investors that reforms are necessary to providing sufficient clarity and predictability for foreign capital to return.

Cordros said the improved reception of Nigeria’s reforms was clear, but many funds had yet to make up their minds about returning to the market.

The United States (US) Department of Homeland Security has established a specialized interagency unit aimed at curbing birth tourism.

The policy shift directly targets a lucrative commercial infrastructure built around birth tourism. These include facilitators what often operate under the guise of doulas, midwives, or travel advisors, offering all-inclusive packages that feature visa coaching, forged medical records, and coordinated hospital stays.

Others are those involved in marketing campaigns openly pitch US childbirth as a pathway to global mobility and long-term residency options for parents.

Federal investigators report that clients are frequently coached to misrepresent their travel plans to border officials and bypass medical bills, creating significant financial liabilities for domestic healthcare providers.

Spearheaded under the direction of Donald Trump and Marco Rubio, secretary of state, a newly formed Birth Tourism Prevention Task Force will mark a coordinated effort between the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security to disrupt networks exploiting nonimmigrant visas to secure automatic US citizenship for foreign-born children.

Operating on a global scale, the

Birth Tourism Prevention Task Force

unit will be actively involved in analyzing travel histories and visa records across federal databases to uncover systemic deception.

The crackdown has already yielded immediate operational results, with federal authorities revoking more than 600 travel visas issued to foreign nationals.

The administration emphasizes that nonimmigrant visas are legally restricted to temporary, specified purposes, rejecting the commercialization of American citizenship as an entry product for foreign travelers.

What some documented cases reveal

Investigative patterns released by the Bureau of Consular Affairs highlight widespread misrepresentation across diverse geographic regions.

Documented cases include foreign couples using trade conferences or shopping trips as pretextual travel to deliver children in the US as well as a foreign government official who utilized a one-week official travel visa to undergo a three-month stay for childbirth.

Under current federal guidelines, foreign nationals who willfully misrepresent their travel motives face immediate visa revocations, potential permanent inadmissibility to the United States, and broader legal exposure for facilitating networks.

The Federal Government, through the Northeast Development Commission (NEDC), has announced plans to roll out 10,000 electric vehicles and charging stations across the region’s states to create employment opportunities for young people, encourage technology transfer, and strengthen the emerging electric mobility ecosystem.

Abubakar Momoh, the Minister of Regional Development, responding to journalists shortly after the project inspection in Maiduguri, said when completed, the electric vehicles comprising buses, tricycles and taxis with charging infrastructure

will serve people in rural and urban communities across the region.

He stressed that he inspected the progress of the ongoing assembly of 10, 000 electric vehicles meant for distribution to the six Northeast states in Maiduguri, the Borno

state capital.

He said, ‘We have visited the E-vehicles assembling plant, under the management of the North East Development Commission. These are projects approved by the Federal Executive Council

‘From what we have seen today, I can say that I am very much impressed because nearly all the 10, 000 E-vehicles and tricycles are on ground. They are already assembling them.

‘We have also seen several e-taxis and buses. We are very much impressed. For me, I think we are not disappointed, and I am sure President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will also be very happy to see that this project has actually seen the light of day,’ he stated.

According to him, the project will create job opportunities for youths during and after its unveiling across the Northeast region.

‘I have been told that all those E-vehicles are going to all six states in the Northeast, and by the time they get there, apart from the fact that it will help to improve the movement of people, it will also create jobs’, he stated.

‘Take a look at the assembling process; even before the commissioning, jobs have been created. Our people assemble the vehicles.

‘When I ask the Director of Operations, he said before they complete the 10, 000 target, at least we must have catered for not less than 100,000 people who will get jobs in the assembling process. This is the transformation that this administration is talking about,’ he maintained.

Mohmoh said that, in addition to the vehicles, other rural road projects inspected by the ministry will serve a complementary purpose.

‘The e-vehicles and the road we inspected are inter-linked. Most of the tricycles that we saw today are like minibuses; you can use them to carry both passengers and agricultural produce,’ he stressed.

‘Let me say it in clear terms that from the very first project we visited, which is the Ngwom / Kushebe / Gadamari axis, to Gongulong, we have seen tremendous improvement on that road corridor,’ the Minister emphasised.

He, however, urged the leadership of the North East Development Commission to ensure that rural dwellers are not excluded from the e-vehicle distribution chain upon completion.

‘I am using this opportunity to appeal to the Managing Director of NEDC that in distribution, he should make sure that in the corridor of the new roads, the people there should be catered for because they need these machines to be able to evacuate their products from their area to the city centre’, he said.

Following the Minister’s visit to the ongoing construction of the headquarters of the Northeast Development Commission in Maiduguri, he expressed satisfaction with the pace of work, assuring that it will be completed iwithin18 to 24 months.

He said, ‘And here we are today, the office of the headquarters of the Northeast Development Commission. When we were here last year, I was just at the basement level. Today, the basement is complete,, and one section of the building is already underway.

‘The contractors have assured us that, plus or minus, with adequate flow of funds, that in the next 18 to 24 months, this project will see the light of the day’, he stated.

The Minister commended the North East Development Commission for its commitment to delivering on its mandate in rebuilding the region after over a decade of insurgency.

‘In all, I want to commend the Management and the board of the NEDC for what they have done so far. Now that we are already making progress, we may need to identify other areas where they think we can make a greater impact, because that is what the administration of Mr President is all about. His priority is connecting villages with roads,’ He noted.

Mohammed Alkali, managing director of the NEDC, said, ‘The project aligns directly with the provisions and strategic direction of the North-East Stabilisation and Development Master Plan (NESDMP), particularly its pillars of Protected Environment, Purposeful Infrastructure, including transportation, and Connected Region.

‘Through the promotion of electric mobility and the establishment of local assembly capacity, the project contributes to a cleaner and more sustainable environment, provides innovative transportation infrastructure, strengthens connectivity across the region, and creates opportunities for skills development, enterprise and employment.

‘The progress recorded reflects the commitment of the Commission, the project team, engineers, contractors and other stakeholders to delivering the project in accordance with the required standards and specifications,’Alkali stated.

Aceroyal Estates strengthens its leadership culture and global outlook with an executive development retreat across Kigali, Rwanda, and Nairobi, Kenya.

Aceroyal Estates has strengthened its commitment to leadership development with the successful completion of its Mafia Managers Strategic Leadership Retreat, an immersive executive development programme held across Kigali, Rwanda, and Nairobi, Kenya, from 23 to 31 July 2026.

The retreat brought together more than 20 members of the Aceroyal Estates team, including senior managers and emerging leaders, for an intensive programme focused on strategic thinking, executive decision-making, leadership alignment and organisational growth.

More than an international retreat, the programme was designed around a specific leadership objective: to develop executives who can think beyond their individual roles and make decisions with the perspective, confidence and strategic depth expected at board level.

At Aceroyal Estates, the term ‘Mafia Managers’ represents a distinct leadership culture built around alignment, strategic thinking, loyalty to the organisation’s vision and disciplined execution.

The concept reflects the company’s desire to develop a closely aligned group of leaders who understand the wider business, think beyond departmental responsibilities and are prepared to take ownership of the organisation’s long-term direction.

The retreat was therefore structured not simply as a leadership workshop, but as an opportunity for participants to step outside their day-to-day operational responsibilities and begin thinking like business leaders.

The programme began in Kigali, Rwanda, with leadership reflections and alignment sessions focused on mindset, discipline, organisational vision and the responsibilities that come with leadership.

The programme then moved to Nairobi, Kenya, where participants undertook an intensive three-day executive training and board simulation experience.

The board simulation was designed to replicate elements of real-world corporate decision-making, challenging participants to assess complex business situations, consider competing priorities and approach decisions from a broader organisational perspective.

A central principle throughout the retreat was the relationship between leadership capacity and mindset.

For Managing Director Endurance Agonor and the board of Aceroyal Estates, developing a high-performing organisation requires developing leaders who are capable of thinking at the level of the organisation’s ambitions.

As Agonor often emphasises: ‘You cannot lead from a small place; your mind must match the level you are called to operate in.’

The retreat provided an environment for participants to examine this principle practically, considering not only how they lead their teams, but how they contribute to strategy, culture and the broader direction of the business.

The leadership programme was complemented by a series of experiential activities designed to strengthen relationships and collaboration among participants.

Team members took part in safari experiences, city exploration, archery, go-karting and structured team-building activities, creating opportunities for colleagues across different departments and leadership levels to connect outside their usual working environments.

These experiences were an important part of the retreat’s wider objective.

A strong leadership culture is not built solely through presentations and training sessions. It is also strengthened through trust, shared experiences, communication and a common sense of identity.

By creating space for participants to interact beyond their formal roles, the retreat helped reinforce relationships and cohesion across the Aceroyal Estates leadership community.

The Rwanda and Kenya retreat also reflects Aceroyal Estates’ broader ambition to build an organisation with international exposure and globally informed leadership while maintaining strong roots in the Nigerian market.

For the company, international exposure is not pursued simply for visibility. It is intended to broaden perspective, challenge existing assumptions and give its people opportunities to experience different environments, cultures and approaches to business.

This philosophy is increasingly reflected in Aceroyal Estates’ investment in international training, leadership development and professional exposure for members of its network.

The objective is to develop people who can understand global standards and perspectives while applying that knowledge effectively within the Nigerian real estate market.

The successful completion of the retreat represents another milestone in Aceroyal Estates’ ongoing investment in its people and organisational culture.

The company’s approach recognises that sustainable growth requires more than strong products, market opportunities or ambitious targets. It requires leaders who are equipped to make sound decisions, build high-performing teams and think strategically about the future.

For Aceroyal Estates, leadership development is therefore not a one-time intervention. It is an ongoing investment in the people, culture and capabilities required to support the organisation’s next stage of growth.

From Kigali to Nairobi, the retreat reinforced a defining idea at the heart of Aceroyal Estates’ leadership philosophy:

Build the people who can build the future.

And as Aceroyal Estates continues to grow, its ambition is increasingly clear, to build a high-performance African real estate organisation led by professionals whose thinking is as expansive as the future they are preparing to shape.

A faction of JonahCapital Nigeria Limited has asked the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to investigate a claim that more than $300 million was invested in the development of River Park Estate, Abuja.

The faction, led by Adeniran Ogunmuyiwa, a director and founder of JonahCapital, disputed the claim and urged the Federal Government to exercise caution over an ongoing arbitration involving the River Park project at the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) in Paris, France.

Ogunmuyiwa alleged that the arbitration could expose Nigeria to a claim for hundreds of millions of dollars over an investment that, according to him, was never made.

The dispute centres on Plot 4, Cadastral Zone E30, Lugbe West, Abuja, now known as River Park Estate. JonahCapital Nigeria Limited acquired the property through a Development Lease Agreement (DLA) with the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) in 2007.

The development has since become the subject of a dispute between Nigerian investors and a Ghanaian-linked faction over the ownership and control of JonahCapital and the rights arising from the lease agreement.

The Ghanaian faction has commenced arbitration against the FCDA, arguing that the development lease remains valid until 2030, despite its termination last year.

Ogunmuyiwa, however, rejected the claim that JonahCapital funded or provided infrastructure for River Park Estate.

In a letter dated August 10, 2026, and addressed to Nyesom Wike, Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Ogunmuyiwa said he signed the original Development Lease Agreement with the FCDA and was involved in the company’s dealings concerning the project.

He alleged that an ownership dispute within JonahCapital had led to changes in the company’s corporate records between 2024 and 2026.

According to him, JonahCapital was not incorporated by the Ghanaian individuals now claiming ownership of the company, nor was it sold to them.

Ogunmuyiwa also disputed claims attributed to Samuel Esson Jonah that JonahCapital invested more than $300 million in infrastructure at River Park Estate.

He said JonahCapital did not provide infrastructure or funding for the development, adding that the infrastructure was financed by Paulo Homes Limited under an agreement with the company.

The petition to the EFCC, written by lawyers led by Oluwabunmi Adebiyi and received by the commission on August 11, called for an investigation into the alleged $300 million investment claim and the parties behind it.

The petitioners asked the EFCC to demand documentary evidence showing that the funds were brought into Nigeria and spent on the River Park project.

They listed Certificates of Capital Importation (CCI), bank statements, foreign inward remittance records, Central Bank of Nigeria documentation, foreign exchange records, investment agreements, audited accounts, payment vouchers and evidence of payments to contractors and suppliers among the documents they want investigators to examine.

They also asked the commission to establish the source of the alleged funds, the accounts from which they originated, the Nigerian accounts that received them, the dates and amounts of transfers, and how the funds were deployed.

The petitioners further asked the EFCC to investigate the roles of Samuel Esson Jonah and Kojo Mensah, including representations allegedly made before the ICC and documents relied upon to support the $300 million investment claim.

They said that if the investment claim was false, it would go beyond a private commercial dispute because it was being relied upon in an international arbitration involving a project connected to the Nigerian government.

The faction also alleged that filings at the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) were altered to remove legitimate shareholders and directors and replace them with individuals aligned with the competing ownership claim.

It further alleged that Jonah was never a director of JonahCapital but later presented himself as one.

According to the petition, Jonah was admitted as a shareholder after the company was established, with an understanding that he would contribute capital to the project. The petitioners allege that he failed to provide the agreed funding and was removed as a shareholder in 2008.

The petitioners said Ogunmuyiwa subsequently sought alternative financing from Paul Odili of Paulo Homes Limited, which they claim funded activities including the settlement of indigenous settlers and the construction of access roads, water reticulation and other primary infrastructure.

The faction therefore urged the EFCC to investigate what it described as an attempt to establish a false history of ownership and investment in order to obtain financial or proprietary rights over River Park Estate.

The dispute comes as the FCT administration faces arbitration over the project, with Wike recently confirming that Nigeria had been taken before the ICC in France.

The competing claims have not been determined by a court, the EFCC or the arbitral tribunal. They remain allegations pending investigation and determination by the relevant authorities.

At its core, the dispute concerns three questions: who owns JonahCapital, who has the authority to represent the company, and whether more than $300 million was actually invested in River Park Estate.

Ogunmuyiwa’s faction says the Ghanaian-linked faction has no right to represent JonahCapital and that there is no evidence that the claimed $300 million was invested in the project. It wants the EFCC to trace the funds and determine whether they entered Nigeria and were used for River Park.

The other side has taken the dispute to international arbitration, arguing that its rights under the development agreement remain valid.

The key issue for investigators is therefore whether the alleged $300 million can be traced through verifiable financial records showing its source, entry into Nigeria, recipients and use in the River Park project.

The Department of State Services (DSS) has called for stronger collaboration among security agencies, government institutions, traditional authorities and communities to confront terrorism, banditry and other emerging security threats in the North-West.

The call was made at the second North-West Zonal Conference of State Directors of Security, hosted by the Department of State Services (DSS) in Katsina State on Thursday, with the theme, ‘Unite Against Terror.’

Representing the Director-General of the DSS, Oluwatosin Adeola Ajayi, the Chairman, North-West Forum of State Directors of Security and Kano State Director of Security, Husseini Abubakar, said the conference provided an opportunity for security stakeholders to compare experiences, assess evolving threats and develop effective strategies against terrorism and banditry.

He said, ‘This edition of the Northwest SDSS Conference gives us another opportunity to compare notes, share experiences, assess evolving and endemic security challenges, particularly the threat of banditry, and devise appropriate containment strategies in the effort to secure our communities.’

Abubakar, who conveyed the goodwill of the DSS Director-General, said the Service under the current leadership was working to strengthen its tactical capabilities and improve the capacity of its personnel to respond to security challenges.

He also commended the existing synergy among security and law enforcement agencies in the North-West, noting that such cooperation remained critical to addressing terrorism and other forms of criminality.

‘As we go into the technical session, I am optimistic, and we should bear in mind that the war against terror is a task that must be accomplished,’ he said.

In his welcome address, Alhassan Iliyasu, the Katsina State Director of Security, said the conference was designed to strengthen intelligence-led operations and develop coordinated responses to security threats confronting the region.

He said the theme, ‘Unite Against Terror,’ was deliberately chosen to emphasise that the fight against terrorism and banditry could not be left to security agencies alone.

‘By uniting against terror, it involves everybody, not only the security agencies, but the entire society,’ he said.

He said Katsina had adopted a community-based approach to security, with the state government, security agencies, community watch structures and vigilante groups working together to prevent and respond to threats.

According to him, the security architecture had contributed to the state’s improved response to security challenges.

‘If you observe in Katsina State, that theme, ‘Unite Against Terror,’ is no longer news because we live as one family. At any point in time, however late the day is, whoever you call among the action agencies, we are responding,’ Iliyasu said.

He said the purpose of the conference was to examine security challenges in the North-West ‘from the nitty-gritty,’ review existing countermeasures and develop new strategies capable of tackling banditry and related criminal activities.

The conference comes amid persistent security concerns in parts of the North-West, where banditry, terrorism, kidnapping, arms trafficking and other forms of organised criminality have continued to challenge communities and security institutions.

The conference brought together State Directors of Security and other stakeholders from the seven North-West states of Katsina, Kano, Kaduna, Jigawa, Kebbi, Sokoto and Zamfara, as well as heads of security agencies, traditional rulers, government officials and retired security personnel.

Introduction

Nigeria’s pharmaceutical story was once little more than a shopping list: imported medicines, imported active pharmaceutical ingredients, imported machinery and, finally, a national argument about price. That model is beginning to change. The more difficult question is whether the current momentum is strong enough to turn Nigeria from a large consumer market into a globally competitive manufacturing base.

The momentum is real, the Presidential Initiative for Unlocking the Healthcare Value Chain (PVAC) says at least eleven pharmaceutical manufacturing projects are due for commissioning this year, 2026, while four pharmaceutical companies ranked among the ten best-performing firms on the Nigerian Exchange in 2025. According to PVAC national coordinator, Abdu Mukhtar, this list that has long belonged to banks and oil companies now accommodates pharmaceutical companies. Coherent Market Insights values the pharmaceutical domestic market at $3.34 billion in 2026, projecting 9.5 per cent annual growth through 2033, although this estimate vary widely. Nigeria already accounts for about 60 per cent of drug manufacturing in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) region.

The Ambition of Self-Sufficiency for Nigeria’s Pharmaceutical Industry

Notwithstanding, the perspective of self-sufficiency depends on the party asked. Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Group of Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (PMG-MAN) put the ratio of imported to locally made essential medicines at about 50:50 and says imported finished products fell from 4.03 billion units to 1.13 billion units by 2025. The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) put import dependence at around 60 per cent late last year, 2025. The Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN) says it is still above 70 per cent. These figures are not necessarily irreconcilable. Finished-dose volume, market value, active ingredients, biologics, vaccines and medical devices measure different parts of the value chain. Nigeria has localised the formulation of many common medicines more quickly than it has localised high-value inputs, complex therapies and advanced manufacturing technology.

The quest for self-sufficiency also has a policy flavour. The Executive Order of October 2024 removed tariffs, excise duties and VAT on pharmaceutical machinery, active ingredients, excipients, reagents and packaging for two years, as well as promised framework contracts and volume guarantees. As at 2025, the Customs began applying the exemptions and the Federal Ministry of Health reports that over ?6 billion in waivers was accessed by 47 manufacturers between March and August 2025, out of 115 enrolled. The tax reforms, which produced the Nigeria Tax Act 2025, added to this shift from 1 January. Under the Nigerian Tax Act 2025, pharmaceutical products moved from VAT-exempt to zero-rated. This is beyond semantics, seeing that it was formerly exempt. What the exemption did was to trap input VAT inside the cost of production and pass it on to the patient; zero-rating makes it recoverable, and the Act widened recovery to cover services and fixed assets. For a capital-heavy plant, that is cash flow rather than paperwork.

Capital is also a factor in the consideration of self-sufficiency and we see an example of this in Emzor’s $23 million active ingredient plant in Sagamu, which as at 2025 reported a 90 percent completion, with five antimalarial ingredients already synthesised, the first facility of its kind in sub-Saharan Africa. Codix Bio, also in Sagamu, now holds a World Health Organization (WHO) sublicence to manufacture 147 million rapid test kits. However, the most asset in the aforementioned is not a factory or an ingredient plant. It is NAFDAC’s rebenching success. WHO engages a Global Benchmarking tool using tiers- ML1, ML2, ML3 and ML4. These tiers evaluate national regulatory agencies (NRAs) for medicines and vaccines. WHO’s rating of NAFDAC at ML3, June 2025, means we have a stable, well-functioning, and integrated regulatory system. This makes NAFDAC the first African regulator to sustain that rating. At ML3, the country can credibly manufacture vaccines. Notwithstanding, the goal should be Maturity Level 4 (ML4). ML4 is the highest level, representing an advanced, continuously improving system that operates at international standards. At ML4, NAFDAC is sure to be an export gate, interestingly, NAFDAC has closed 27 of its 57 indicators to ascend to that rating. Getting an accession to Level 4 will give us credibility in joining the African Medicines Agency, which helps, in parallel, cut duplicate approvals across a regional market of roughly 460 million people. Thus, until ML4 is done, ‘global hub’ is a statement of intent, not of standing.

CONCLUSION

Nigeria is not yet a global pharmaceutical manufacturing hub. It is, however, closer to making that ambition credible than it has been in decades. The decisive test will not be the number of new factories announced, but whether those factories can secure reliable power and finance, source more inputs locally, meet international quality standards, win transparent procurement contracts and export competitively. Policy ambition has opened the door. Procurement discipline, regulatory consistency and patient industrial policy will determine whether Nigeria walks through it.

Amnesty International Nigeria says it will use Francis Fadahunsi Senator as an example of political impunity by naming and shaming the Osun East lawmaker across the 150 countries where the organisation operates over his alleged inciting remarks ahead of Saturday’s governorship election.

Isa Sanusi, country director of Amnesty International Nigeria, made the disclosure on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Thursday while reacting to a viral video in which Fadahunsi, an All Progressives Congress (APC) senator, allegedly directed supporters to kill members of the Accord Party.

Sanusi said the organisation would intensify its campaign for accountability against the senator, arguing that political leaders must be held responsible for statements capable of triggering violence during elections.

‘We are going to use him as an example. We have had so many terrible politicians say terrible things ahead of the election,’ Sanusi said.

‘But this one is exceptional, a situation where somebody came out on record, saying ‘kill them wherever you find them’.’

His comments come as tension remains high ahead of the August 15 Osun governorship election, with political parties and civil society groups raising concerns over the potential for inflammatory rhetoric to translate into electoral violence.

The Osun State Police Command summoned Fadahunsi on Tuesday following the controversy and questioned him for about two hours on Wednesday.

Amnesty International Nigeria had earlier condemned the senator’s alleged remarks, describing them as reckless and warning that authorities have a responsibility to prevent advocacy of hatred that amounts to incitement to hostility, discrimination or violence.

Sanusi said the organisation would continue to push for legal and political accountability, stressing that the use of inflammatory language by politicians should no longer be dismissed as campaign rhetoric.

‘I believe that that person does not deserve any peace again, because advocacy of hatred is a crime under international law as well as Nigerian laws,’ he said.

‘Therefore, we are going to use this man as an example to show that the impunity by Nigerian politicians cannot continue and we cannot tolerate it again.’

The controversy has added to growing scrutiny of political conduct ahead of the election, particularly as authorities face pressure to prevent campaign statements from escalating into violence.

Amnesty said Fadahunsi must be held accountable if investigations establish that his comments amounted to incitement, while urging relevant authorities to enforce existing laws against hate speech and election-related violence.

The organisation’s position places additional pressure on security agencies and political leaders to ensure that Saturday’s poll is conducted peacefully and that politicians are held accountable for statements that could threaten lives or undermine the electoral process.

Airtel Nigeria has surpassed 17,000 cell sites as the telecommunications operator increase network expansion across the country, adding more than 1,000 sites annually to extend high-speed connectivity to underserved communities.

The expansion brings Airtel closer to the 18,000-cell-site milestone and reinforces the operator’s growing infrastructure footprint across Nigeria’s 774 Local Government Areas.

According to Airtel Africa’s latest annual report, its Nigerian operation added more than 1,050 new sites during the 2025-26 financial year, as the company continued to invest in network coverage, capacity and resilience.

The latest expansion represents a significant increase from the approximately 15,000 sites Airtel operated two years ago. By early 2026, the company had crossed the 17,000-site mark, following the addition of about 2,000 sites over two years.

More than 99 percent of Airtel Nigeria’s sites are now 4G-enabled, with the operator continuing to deploy new infrastructure and upgrade existing locations to meet rising demand for mobile voice and data services.

The network expansion is also reaching communities that have historically had limited access to telecommunications infrastructure, including Kukawa in Borno State, Okomu-Udo in Edo State, Chimbi in Niger State, Orile Ijaiye in Oyo State, Kopii in Benue State and Aran-Orin in Kwara State.

Airtel has said a significant portion of its network investments is being directed towards deep rural communities, small towns and the outskirts of major cities.

At a media roundtable in February, Dinesh Balsingh, Airtel Nigeria’s CEO said the company would maintain the scale of its network expansion during 2026.

‘Everyone has the right to digital connectivity, including people in deep rural markets and small communities,’ Balsingh said.

Beyond expanding geographical coverage, the investment is designed to improve the quality and reliability of connectivity for existing users.

In 2025, Airtel upgraded capacity at about a quarter of its existing sites, deploying higher-capacity radios and migrating portions of its backhaul infrastructure from microwave to fibre.

The operator has also continued to strengthen its spectrum position. Since November 2025, Airtel has added 20MHz of spectrum, which it expects to fully integrate across its sites during the current quarter.

Balsingh said the company’s investment programme was focused on strengthening coverage, capacity and network resilience, with the benefits expected to translate into improved customer experience.

‘We have invested with discipline and clarity to strengthen our network nationwide. Those investments are now translating into measurable improvements in performance, customer experience and reach, including in underserved communities,’ he said.

Independent network measurements have also pointed to improvements in Nigeria’s mobile connectivity environment. Ookla’s Speedtest Global Index reported a median mobile download speed of 97.74 Mbps for Nigeria in June 2026.

However, for Airtel, the infrastructure rollout is not only about expanding its physical footprint but also increasing the speed, capacity and stability available to customers in areas where demand for mobile services is rising.

Ismail Adeshina, director of marketing at Airtel Nigeria, said the company’s investments were aimed at making connectivity more useful to Nigerians as consumers, families and businesses increasingly depend on mobile services for communication, commerce and access to essential services.

The expansion is also expected to support Nigeria’s wider digital economy, particularly as mobile connectivity becomes l important to sectors such as financial services, agriculture, education, healthcare, logistics and e-commerce.

‘With mobile connectivity serving as the platform for financial services, commerce, education, healthcare, agriculture and enterprise, expanding the physical network effectively increases the number of Nigerians able to participate in those activities,’ Adeshina said.

For rural communities, stronger mobile networks can improve access to agricultural information, market prices, weather updates and advisory services, while small businesses can use reliable mobile data for digital payments, customer engagement, logistics and online commerce.

The continued rollout comes as Nigeria’s telecommunications sector faces growing demand for mobile broadband, driven by smartphone adoption, digital payments, streaming, social media, cloud-based services and other data-intensive activities.

Airtel’s expansion positions network investment as part of the broader infrastructure required to increase participation in Nigeria’s digital economy and not just a telecommunications strategy.

Tourism is often associated with beautiful landscapes, cultural festivals, heritage sites, reserves and hospitality. Before any tourist centre becomes an attraction, there must be a groundswell of popular acclaim and acceptance from a critical mass of the target population driving word of mouth, attention and footfalls to it. It is these first signs of potential that investors look for before directing their investments into any area.

If we want our tourism ideas and projects to become more than a destination and an asset class that attracts investments, we have to put on the cap that investors wear. The question is, what does an investor look for before choosing which tourism destination becomes an asset class?

Investors tend to ask a simple, and very important, question: can this destination consistently create value? If your tourism destination cannot ace this important question, you can be certain that the investor will take his business elsewhere.

That question is what separates a destination from an asset.

A destination attracts visitors. An asset attracts capital. A destination may become popular overnight; an asset continues to create value over generations.

For Nigeria to unlock tourism’s full economic potential, we must move beyond promoting attractions alone. We must build confidence: confidence that transportation is reliable, infrastructure works, experiences are worthwhile, service is professional and investments can generate sustainable returns.

Long before a visitor boards an aircraft, books a hotel room or registers for a festival, that person has already made an investment based on trust. The same is true, at a larger scale, for the hotel developer, airline operator, conference organiser, tour company and institutional investor.

Tourism, therefore, is not built only on attractions. It is built on confidence.

Every destination can attract visitors. Only a few attract sustained investment. The difference lies in six important transformations.

From seasonal attractions to living ecosystems

Many tourism destinations are built around annual events, but far fewer are built around year-round economic activity.

Years ago, while working as a journalist, I wrote an article titled A Tale of Two Cities. It reflected on how one of our cities in Nigeria becomes vibrant during a major festival, only to return to near silence after the celebrations end. The streets are empty, businesses are slow and economic activity fades.

The lesson remains relevant: festivals create moments; ecosystems create sustained prosperity for all stakeholders.

A festival may attract visitors, but an ecosystem attracts investors. The critical question is not simply what happens during the festival. It is what happens during the other days of the year when the bells for the festival have stopped ringing.

Can visitors return for food, culture, heritage, business, leisure, conferences, sport or family experiences? Can local businesses remain active after the event? Can jobs and enterprise be sustained?

Tourism becomes investable when a destination continues to create value long after an event has ended.

From access to enduring connectivity

Accessibility is essential, but it is never permanent. It must continually evolve.

I once came across a case study of a thriving American town that became deserted. Hotels closed, businesses disappeared and residents moved away. The town itself had not changed. What brought people there before was still there, but the town no longer enjoyed the status it once had. What brought this about? A new highway had simply been constructed that bypassed it. Travellers no longer needed to stop there, and the traffic – and economic activity – flowed elsewhere. Any illusion that it was a viable tourist attraction was dissolved with that one act.

The lesson is clear: destinations cannot build infrastructure only for today’s travel patterns. They must anticipate tomorrow’s and work ahead to stay relevant for those who invest in them.

Roads, airports, digital access, last-mile transport, signage, safety and seamless movement within a destination all matter. A location that is difficult to reach, difficult to navigate or difficult to leave will struggle to retain both visitors and investors.

Today’s competitive advantage can become tomorrow’s forgotten route if connectivity is not deliberately sustained and updated to match current realities, tastes and stature of the audience.

From visitor numbers to economic multipliers

Tourism is often measured by arrivals. It should be measured equally by economic impact.

One passenger arriving in a city supports far more than an airline. That journey can create business for airports, hotels, restaurants, transport operators, retailers, artisans, event organisers and local communities.

One journey. Many beneficiaries.

This is why tourism can be such a powerful driver of inclusive growth. Its benefits can extend beyond a single operator or sector when the destination has deliberately connected its value chain.

The challenge for tourism planners is to ask, ‘What can be built into the visitor experience that multiplies benefits for local communities while improving returns for investors?’

The answer may include curated local experiences, reliable transport, destination merchandising, skilled tour guides, conference facilities, food markets, cultural centres, digital booking platforms and partnerships that keep more visitor spending within the local economy.

Connectivity multiplies prosperity.

From ownership to collective stewardship

Over the years, I have had the privilege of being involved in advertising, marketing communications, festivals and promotional campaigns. Many generated excitement and achieved recognition. Yet some gradually faded – not because they lacked creativity, but because they never outgrew their founders.

Too many of the tourism events we hold dear are driven by the vision of a single individual rather than the dreams of a community or nation.

We must come to the realisation that an idea becomes an enduring asset when ownership becomes collective. The government must see value in it. Communities must protect it. Businesses must invest in it. Young people must find opportunity in it. The media must amplify it. Airlines, hotels, transport providers and other enablers must support it.

The greatest compliment any tourism initiative can receive is when people begin to say, ‘This belongs to all of us.’

That is when it ceases to be merely an event and begins to become an institution. Before this can happen, it must be centrally driven and consciously midwifed till it becomes part of our DNA.

From informal service to a professional standard

Tourism must also learn from aviation in the area of training, certification and professional discipline.

In aviation, competence is not assumed. It is demonstrated, assessed, renewed and, where necessary, independently verified. From pilots and engineers to cabin crew, dispatchers, safety personnel and maintenance organisations, there are recognised standards that build confidence in both the people and the institutions that serve the industry.

Tourism needs a similarly deliberate approach.

Beyond obtaining a degree or attending a course in catering, hotel management or hospitality, there is a need for a credible tourism and hospitality training institute, or an industry-led framework, that provides practical, globally benchmarked courses and certifications for people who work across the value chain.

This should cover hotel and guest-house operations, tour guiding, destination management, customer service, food and beverage, events, transport, safety, sustainability and tourism enterprise management.

More importantly, it should provide a transparent means of grading both professionals and organisations. A visitor should be able to recognise that a hotel, tour operator, attraction, restaurant or destination service provider has met defined standards of quality, safety, service and sustainability – much as recognised quality certifications give confidence in other sectors.

Such a framework should not exist merely to issue certificates. It should create a culture of continuous improvement, clear career progression and accountability.

Tourism jobs must also be elevated into professions that people are proud to pursue and grow within. The receptionist, tour guide, chef, driver, guest-relations officer, housekeeper, event coordinator and destination manager are not peripheral workers. They are often the people who determine whether a visitor leaves with a good story – or never returns.

When tourism workers are properly trained, respected, certified and rewarded, the entire visitor experience improves. When organisations are transparently assessed against credible standards, investors gain greater assurance that quality is not accidental.

Professionalism is not an optional extra in tourism. It is part of the infrastructure of confidence.

From isolated projects to an investment ecosystem

Tourism should not be viewed in isolation because each investment can strengthen another.

Better airports can attract more airlines. More airlines improve accessibility. Greater accessibility attracts more visitors. More visitors encourage hotel investment. Better hotels attract conferences. Conferences increase business travel. Business travel supports aviation. More aircraft movements strengthen the business case for maintenance facilities and skilled aviation services.

Each investment reinforces the next.

This is how destinations become asset classes: not through isolated projects, but through connected systems that reduce risk, increase confidence and create multiple opportunities for value.

Aviation: An often unseen tourism asset

Aviation is one of the critical enablers of this confidence.

At Aero Contractors, we have seen how reliable air connectivity supports economic activity far beyond the airport. For decades, we have helped connect commercial centres, supported strategic industries and made movement possible across challenging routes.

In the oil and gas sector, aviation has long enabled the safe movement of personnel to offshore platforms and remote operational locations. These services are about more than transportation; they support one of Nigeria’s most strategic economic sectors.

During a recent visit to long-standing partners in Sokoto, a simple statement stood out: ‘One Aero. One Sokoto.’ It reflected the value of dependable connectivity over time.

I also recall arriving in Warri and being warmly welcomed by an official, who described Aero Contractors as an airline that helped open the route and connect the region more effectively with the rest of Nigeria.

Such experiences reinforce an important truth: airlines do not simply connect airports. They connect economies, people and possibilities.

There is also an aviation contribution that tourists may never see but investors understand very well: Maintenance, repair and overhaul capability.

Reliable aviation depends on reliable maintenance. A strong MRO reduces operational risk, strengthens airline confidence, supports skilled employment and can attract engineers, inspectors, regulators and operators into the country. It helps build the dependable aviation ecosystem that makes regional connectivity more sustainable. An MRO may never appear on a tourism brochure, but it quietly supports the confidence on which tourism depends.

The real objective

As Nigeria seeks to diversify its economy, tourism presents a significant opportunity. But our ambition should not simply be to increase visitor numbers. We should seek to create destinations that remain valuable, relevant, competitive and investable twenty, thirty and even fifty years from now.

That requires continuity: moving from seasonal attractions to year-round ecosystems.

It requires connectivity: ensuring access today while anticipating tomorrow’s travel patterns.

It requires economic multiplication: seeing every visitor as a catalyst for broader prosperity.

It requires collective ownership: transforming initiatives into institutions embraced by communities and stakeholders.

It requires professional standards: building a tourism workforce and service culture that is trained, certified, respected and continuously improved.

And it requires credible enablers: the often unseen infrastructure, including aviation and maintenance capability, that makes the entire system dependable.

Tourism does not begin when a visitor arrives. It begins much earlier – with confidence.

Confidence to travel. Confidence to invest. Confidence to return.

When people trust a destination, visitors come. Businesses follow. Investment grows. Communities prosper.

That is how destinations become asset classes.