Category: Business Day

Terra Industries is entering Nigeria’s mining security market through a commercial agreement with Promethean Resources to deploy autonomous surveillance systems across the Nigerian miner’s operations, adding technology-enabled security to a broader US-backed push to develop the country’s critical minerals industry.

The agreement was signed in New York during the Nigeria-U.S. Strategic Investment Dialogue on the sidelines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly, bringing together mining, technology and investment interests around Nigeria’s effort to turn its mineral resources into commercially viable supply chains.

The deal is significant because security has become one of the practical constraints facing mining investment in Nigeria, particularly for operators working across remote sites where conventional security coverage can be thin and emergency response times long.

Terra said its systems will provide persistent surveillance across Promethean’s sites, allowing threats to be detected earlier and enabling operators to respond more quickly.

The proposed security infrastructure is expected to combine autonomous surveillance technologies with monitoring and threat-detection capabilities. Earlier disclosures on the partnership said the planned system could include autonomous surveillance towers, unmanned aerial systems and Terra’s Artemis OS platform, with initial deployment proposed for mining operations in Plateau and Kaduna states.

For Terra, the agreement marks an entry point into a Nigerian mining market that is attracting increasing interest from US technology and industrial companies.

For Promethean, the security deal forms part of a wider strategy to build a more integrated mining and processing platform in Nigeria. The company describes itself as a Nigerian-based multi-commodity mining platform spanning exploration, mine development, processing and mineral supply. Its portfolio includes tin, lead-zinc, lithium, rare earths and gold projects across several Nigerian mineral belts.

The company is also targeting increased domestic processing. Its tin portfolio, for instance, has a near-term production target of 600 metric tonnes per month and includes plans for a smelter capable of producing LME-grade tin metal.

That makes security more than a standalone technology purchase. As mining companies move from exploration towards production and processing, protecting workers, equipment, mineral stock and processing infrastructure becomes part of the cost and risk equation for keeping projects operational.

The Terra agreement was one of several commercial partnerships announced around the US-Nigeria critical minerals push. Promethean also signed arrangements involving US companies Vermeer Corporation and Renewvia Energy.

Vermeer is linked to precision mining equipment, while Renewvia is working with Promethean on solar, battery-storage and mini-grid solutions for mining and processing operations and surrounding communities.

Taken together, the agreements address three basic requirements for scaling mining operations: equipment, power and security.

That combination matters because Nigeria’s ambition is increasingly shifting from simply attracting companies to extract minerals towards building more of the value chain domestically.

Promethean says its strategy is to move from resource exploration and mine development into in-country processing and commodity supply, allowing more value to be captured closer to the source.

The federal government has similarly framed the new US partnerships around technology transfer, local value addition, job creation and host-community development. Industry, Trade and Investment Minister Jumoke Oduwole said at the New York dialogue that Nigeria wants investment frameworks converted into tangible commercial partnerships.

The commercial agreements came shortly after Nigeria and the United States signed a Critical Minerals Framework Agreement, giving the deals a wider strategic context. BusinessDay reported that Promethean’s agreements with Vermeer, Renewvia and Terra were part of a series of commercial arrangements linked to the framework.

For Terra, however, the immediate opportunity is operational: helping mining companies secure assets in difficult locations without relying entirely on conventional physical surveillance.

That could become increasingly relevant as Nigeria seeks to expand mining beyond relatively accessible sites into a wider network of mineral-producing locations. Promethean’s stated portfolio already stretches across multiple states, including Plateau, Kaduna, Bauchi, Taraba, Nasarawa, Niger, Zamfara and Kogi.

The company itself identifies safety, community relationships and operational security as important to the sustainability of its mining operations. It says it aims to recruit and train Nigerians while maintaining relationships with host communities whose land, water and labour underpin mining activity.

This gives the Terra partnership a second dimension. Autonomous surveillance may protect physical assets, but the success of mining projects will still depend on how technology is integrated with local security structures, workforce development and host-community relationships.

Nigeria’s critical minerals strategy therefore faces a test beyond attracting foreign partners. The investments announced in New York will have to translate into functioning mines, processing facilities, jobs and local value chains on the ground.

The Terra-Promethean agreement is one early example of the infrastructure being built around that ambition: not just extracting minerals, but creating the power, machinery and security systems required to operate mines at scale.

Mixta Africa has demonstrated resilience in a challenging business environment, as its full-year 2025 performance shows increased property sales and an approved dividend payout to shareholders.

The company is a frontline pan-African real estate developer with over 20 years of experience and more than 30,000 homes delivered across Nigeria, Senegal, Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria, Egypt, Mauritania and Côte d’Ivoire.

At its 18th Annual General Meeting (AGM), held at The Club House, Lakowe Lakes Golf and Country Estate, Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos, the company’s shareholders approved a dividend payout of N12.60 per ordinary share held.

The company, in a statement at the weekend, assured that the dividend will be paid on September 30, 2026, to shareholders whose names appeared in the Register of Members as at September 2, 2026.

The shareholders also adopted the audited financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2025, which recorded a significant increase in property sales during the year.

Group revenue from the sale of properties rose to N42.7 billion, compared with N15.0 billion in 2024, while profit after tax was N22.1 billion compared with N23.6 billion in the preceding year.

During the year under review, Mixta continued to expand access to affordable homes, delivering 152 homes at Ibudo Wura in Lagos and Marula Park, with eligible buyers accessing mortgage financing at 9.75 per cent through the Ministry of Finance Incorporated Real Estate Investment Fund (MREIF).

The company also continued to sharpen its geographic focus, with the business refocused on Nigeria and Senegal following its exit from Morocco, Tunisia and Côte d’Ivoire.

‘After years of building our platform and securing strategic partnerships, we converted potential into performance. Our theme, ‘Beyond the Blueprint’, captures this transition from planning to execution at scale,’ Oladapo Oshinusi, the company’s chairman, noted in his reaction to their performance.

Deji Alli, the Group Chief Executive Officer, assured that the company would build on the progress recorded during the year.

‘We have invested in key assets in a number of countries and developed strong strategic partnerships that continue to enhance our delivery capabilities. Our focus in 2026 is on accelerating delivery, restoring margins and converting scale into sustained shareholder value,’ he said.

Alli revealed that Mixta will also break ground next year on Garden City Golf Annexe in Rivers State, its first MREIF-aligned development outside Lagos. More than 500 homes are currently under construction across Lagos and Port Harcourt, reflecting the company’s continued focus on housing delivery.

The shareholders also re-elected four retiring directors and re-appointed Deloitte and Touche as the company’s external auditors.

Cape Verde goalkeeper Vozinha says the fame he gained from his outstanding performance at the 2026 FIFA World Cup has come at the cost of his privacy and the ‘peace and tranquillity’ he enjoyed before the tournament.

The 40-year-old shot to global prominence in June after a remarkable performance to help Cape Verde hold eventual champions Spain to a goalless draw in their opening World Cup match.

Vozinha made seven saves against Spain as Cape Verde secured a historic result on their World Cup debut, sending his social media following soaring from about 50,000 to more than one million.

His profile increased further after Cape Verde pushed Argentina into extra time before eventually losing in the round of 32.

However, Vozinha said the attention has significantly changed his everyday life and that he preferred the quieter existence he had before the tournament.

‘I’ve lost my peace and tranquillity,’ Vozinha said.

‘I no longer have any privacy, or at least much less than I used to.

‘Now I go out, I go to a restaurant, and there’s always someone who wants to take a photo with me or asks me for an autograph. Or, worse, someone is filming me.

‘That’s what has changed most in my life, and I don’t think there’s anything I can do about it.’

His family has also experienced the impact of his newfound fame. Vozinha’s mother became part of his World Cup story after he revealed that she could not afford a visa to watch his World Cup debut.

US House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries subsequently announced that the visa fee had been waived.

Vozinha said his mother now receives daily visits from fans who want to meet him and take photographs.

‘A lot of people want to be famous and have a public profile, but they only see the positive side of that reality,’ he said.

‘To be honest, if I were offered the life I have today or the life I had before, I’d choose the one I had before.’

His performances earned him a nomination for the men’s goalkeeper of the year award at the Ballon d’Or.

‘It’s nice to feel like a kind of ambassador, but I want to make it clear that what we achieved was a collective effort,’ Vozinha said.

‘We made history, and the best news would be if we could harness that momentum to develop our country and improve the living conditions of our people.’

Nigeria is ready to meet the world’s growing demand for talent, with an initial target of one million export-linked jobs by 2030, Vice President Kashim Shettima said at the global launch of the Hire From Nigeria campaign.

The event was held in New York recently on the sidelines of the 81st Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). The launch attracted strong private and public sector participation, with executives from the outsourcing, financial services, manufacturing, education and healthcare sectors, alongside development partners.

The Vice President, who was represented by Deputy Chief of Staff to the President, Ibrahim Hassan Hadejia, according to a statement made available to BusinessDay, said, ‘While much of the industrialised world grows older, and quietly wonders who will fill the productivity vacuum, Nigeria produces, every single year, a new generation of digitally fluent, English-speaking, ambitious young men and women, ready to serve the world from the home front and from a time zone that is convenient for almost every continent.’

He said ‘the global market for outsourced services will be worth over a trillion dollars in a few years’ time. It is, in truth, one of the great transfers of opportunity in modern economic history, and so I put it to you plainly: Nigeria is the next frontier for global outsourcing.’

The statement explained that Hire From Nigeria is a private sector-led, government-supported campaign that positions Nigeria as a competitive global source of talent, services and technology-enabled capabilities, connecting Nigerian professionals, skilled workers, digital experts, creatives and service providers with global employers, clients and markets.

It said the global launch in New York followed the national launch in Abuja on 31 August 2026.

The Hire From Nigeria campaign, the statement is designed to make Nigerian talent easier for international businesses to discover, securely connect global businesses with Nigeria’s talent and wider value chain opportunities, and deepen Nigeria’s participation in the global economy.

Jumoke Oduwole, Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment said, ‘Hire From Nigeria brings together four of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s priorities: youth, job creation, services and digital trade. We are reshaping the talent pipeline, working together across government and the private sector to take full advantage of the opportunity that lies ahead.’

The statement further quoted Tunji Alausa, Minister of Education, as saying that Nigeria missed the first wave of outsourcing 25 to 30 years ago and it is determined not to miss this one.

Describing education as foundational to Nigeria’s ambition to become a one-trillion-dollar economy by 2030, he further stated that reforms under way aim to ‘change the value chain of education, so that people are not just learning for the sake of learning, they’re learning to provide solutions and learning to earn.’

The President and co-founder of Tech4Dev, Joel Ogunsola, noted that Africa’s outsourcing market is growing three times faster than comparable global markets.

He said the campaign builds on ‘an already existing and growing effort’, with domestic and international outsourcing companies already employing an estimated 20,000 Nigerians in the country across sectors such as customer and business operations, technology and data, and specialised and regulated services.

‘Nigeria’s investment in skills has to be demand-driven, talent must be easy to find, we must build trust, and we must then match the talent to jobs,’ he said.

‘If you’re an international business looking to set up and hire in Nigeria, Hire From Nigeria will support you’, he said

Rosy Fynn, Country Director for Nigeria at the Mastercard Foundation, said the Foundation’s approach to building Nigeria’s talent pipeline is ‘not to train first and look for jobs, but instead to understand what the market is looking for, and provide the training and talent to fit the need.’

Luqman Edu, co-founder and Executive Chairman of Itana, an Africa Finance Corporation-backed company which is building Nigeria’s first digital free zone, said: ‘This is a very exciting time for Nigeria, and we invite global companies to look at Nigerian talent. Nigeria has the talent, and we are providing the infrastructure to ensure this talent can solve the world’s problems at competitive pricing.’

Yinka Adegboye, Divisional Head of Multilaterals at the Bank of Industry Limited (BOI), representing the Managing Director/CEO, Olasupo Olusi, according to the statement emphasised the Bank’s commitment to supporting Nigeria’s young entrepreneurial talent – the pipeline for Hire From Nigeria – through initiatives such as the Investment in Digital and Creative Enterprises programme (iDICE).

In the statement, Abisoye Coker-Odusote, Director-General/CEO of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), outlined legislative and operational reforms to strengthen digital trust in Nigeria through the rollout of digital credentials ‘that are verifiable locally and internationally’, offering assurance to employers at home and abroad.

Hire From Nigeria is a coalition initiative championed by Tech4Dev and Univelcity in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment through the National Talent Export Programme (NATEP), and supported by the Federal Ministry of Education, the Bank of Industry through iDICE, and the Mastercard Foundation, alongside other government institutions, development partners and private sector stakeholders.

Chief Femi Fani-Kayode has written a lengthy polemic against Atiku Abubakar. Length, however, is not evidence. Nor does repetition transform opinion, disputed recollection or allegation into fact.

There are several claims in his opinion article that require correction or, at the very least, proper context.

The ‘seven attempts’ argument

It is correct that Atiku has sought the presidency in different political cycles since 1993. But Fani-Kayode blurs an important distinction for the purposes of mischief.

Atiku was not a presidential candidate in a Nigerian general election in 1993, 2011 or 2015. Those were contests for party nominations. He was actually on the presidential ballot in 2007, 2019 and 2023. Having emerged as the ADC candidate for 2027, the coming election will be his fourth general-election presidential candidacy, not his seventh.

This matters because Fani-Kayode then compares Atiku with politicians from other countries by counting their actual presidential-election candidacies while counting Atiku’s unsuccessful party primaries as presidential elections. That is not a like-for-like comparison.

Abdoulaye Wade, for example, contested Senegal’s presidential election in 1978, 1983, 1988 and 1993 before winning on his fifth attempt in 2000. He subsequently won again in 2007 and lost in 2012.

More fundamentally, Nigeria’s Constitution does not disqualify anyone because of the number of times he has unsuccessfully sought election. Section 137 bars a person who has already been elected President twice; it does not impose a limit on how many times an eligible Nigerian may contest.

The decision whether persistence represents experience, ambition or something else belongs to voters, not to Fani-Kayode’s theology.

Seven political parties? Not quite so simple

Fani-Kayode also claims that Atiku has belonged to seven political parties.

That calculation apparently treats the People’s Front of Nigeria (PFN) as a political party. It was, in fact, one of the political associations formed during the Babangida transition. It was never registered as a political party. The military government rejected the associations and created the SDP and NRC instead. The PFN tendency subsequently moved into the SDP.

Political movement between parties is certainly a legitimate subject for scrutiny. But Fani-Kayode is an unusual person to present changing parties as evidence of peculiar moral failure. He himself joined the APC, returned to the PDP in 2014, repeatedly denounced the APC afterwards and declared in 2019 that he would rather die than join it – only to return to the APC in September 2021.

Party switching may be criticised. But the standard should apply consistently.

Chief Femi Fani-Kayode has written a lengthy polemic against Atiku Abubakar. Length, however, is not evidence. Nor does repetition transform opinion, disputed recollection or allegation into fact.

There are several claims in his opinion article that require correction or, at the very least, proper context.

The ‘seven attempts’ argument

It is correct that Atiku has sought the presidency in different political cycles since 1993. But Fani-Kayode blurs an important distinction for the purposes of mischief.

Atiku was not a presidential candidate in a Nigerian general election in 1993, 2011 or 2015. Those were contests for party nominations. He was actually on the presidential ballot in 2007, 2019 and 2023. Having emerged as the ADC candidate for 2027, the coming election will be his fourth general-election presidential candidacy, not his seventh.

This matters because Fani-Kayode then compares Atiku with politicians from other countries by counting their actual presidential-election candidacies while counting Atiku’s unsuccessful party primaries as presidential elections. That is not a like-for-like comparison.

Abdoulaye Wade, for example, contested Senegal’s presidential election in 1978, 1983, 1988 and 1993 before winning on his fifth attempt in 2000. He subsequently won again in 2007 and lost in 2012.

More fundamentally, Nigeria’s Constitution does not disqualify anyone because of the number of times he has unsuccessfully sought election. Section 137 bars a person who has already been elected President twice; it does not impose a limit on how many times an eligible Nigerian may contest.

The decision whether persistence represents experience, ambition or something else belongs to voters, not to Fani-Kayode’s theology.

Seven political parties? Not quite so simple

Fani-Kayode also claims that Atiku has belonged to seven political parties.

That calculation apparently treats the People’s Front of Nigeria (PFN) as a political party. It was, in fact, one of the political associations formed during the Babangida transition. It was never registered as a political party. The military government rejected the associations and created the SDP and NRC instead. The PFN tendency subsequently moved into the SDP.

Political movement between parties is certainly a legitimate subject for scrutiny. But Fani-Kayode is an unusual person to present changing parties as evidence of peculiar moral failure. He himself joined the APC, returned to the PDP in 2014, repeatedly denounced the APC afterwards and declared in 2019 that he would rather die than join it – only to return to the APC in September 2021.

Party switching may be criticised. But the standard should apply consistently.

Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc (GTCO) has released its audited consolidated and separate financial statements for the period ended June 30, 2026.

The result released to the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) and London Stock Exchange (LSE) shows the Group posted a profit before tax (PBT) of N603.03 billion, driven by strong performance recorded on the interest and trading income lines, which grew year-on-year (y-o-y) by 7.5 percent and 24.7 percent, respectively.

The strong earnings recorded was moderated by a N46.2 billion fair value loss recognised in H1-2026, limiting y-o-y growth in PBT to 0.4 percent.

The Group grew across its asset lines, reinforcing a balance sheet that is well structured, liquid and diversified. This growth was recorded in each jurisdiction where we operate a banking franchise, and across our Payments, Pension and Funds Management businesses.’

Group’s total assets and shareholders’ funds closed at N18.6trillion and N3.3trillion, respectively. Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) remained very strong, closing at 34.9 percent (Bank 29.2 percent ), and asset quality improved as evidenced by IFRS 9 Stage 3 Loans which closed at 3.5 percent and 4.6 percent at both Bank and Group Level in H1-2026 (Bank -3.4 percent, Group 5 percent in FY-2025). Cost of Risk (COR) improved to 0.6 percent from 2.2 percent during the same period.

The Group’s Loan book (net) grew marginally by 0.5 percent from N3.13trillion as of December 2025 to N3.15trillion in June 2026, converse for improved performance on Deposit liabilities which grew by 10.3 percent from N12.87trillion to N14.19trillion during the same period.

Commenting on the results, Segun Agbaje, group chief executive officer of Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc (GTCO Plc) said; ‘Our half year results speak to the strength of what we have built: a resilient franchise, a strong balance sheet and a business that no longer depends on banking alone.

‘Fair value movements weighed on reported earnings, but the core business held firm. Interest and trading income grew, deposits strengthened, and asset quality improved at Group level. The priority now is to execute with discipline and grow responsibly. Digital is our lever for scaling across Banking, Payments, Pension and Funds Management, and for building a more diversified and resilient financial services group,’ he said.

Overall, the Group continues to post one of the best metrics in the Nigerian Financial Services Industry in terms of key financial ratios – that is, Pre-Tax Return on Equity (ROAE) of 35.9 percent, Pre-Tax Return on Assets (ROAA) of 6.6 percent, Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) of 34.9 percent (Bank: 29.2 percent) and Cost to Income ratio of 31.5 percent.

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), regarded as the engine of the economy, are set to gain improved access to affordable business mobility. This is on account of Elizade JAC Motors, which has partnered with the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) to unveil a mobility and financing solution tailored to the needs of the sector.

The initiative provides SMEs with access to trucks to boost their operations, enabling them to strengthen their logistics operations.

Under the partnership, the company, through its SME-focused offering, is targeting businesses that rely heavily on hired vehicles, transporters or used trucks to move goods and supplies. ‘The initiative provides access to JAC trucks ranging from 1.6-tonne to 10-tonne capacities, with options including petrol, hybrid, CNG and diesel models.’

Speaking at the engagement, Arvind Bhardwaj, Chief Operating Officer, Elizade JAC Motors, said that the initiative was designed to address the recurring transportation expenses faced by SMEs and help businesses transition from depending on third-party transporters to owning their logistics assets.

According to Bhardwaj, the company’s assessment of the total cost of ownership also showed that purchasing used vehicles could become significantly more expensive over time because of maintenance, repairs, tyres, batteries and other running costs.

He said the assessment found that an SME could spend about N8.7 million more over a five-year period with a used vehicle compared with a new JAC truck, when the associated ownership and maintenance costs are considered.

Olumide Olaokun, Senior Brand Manager, Elizade JAC Motors, said the company’s entry-level 1.6-tonne truck is available in petrol and hybrid CNG variants, while the larger 3-tonne, 5-tonne and 10-tonne trucks are diesel-powered.

The hybrid CNG option, according to the company, can travel about 120 kilometres on a tank and could significantly reduce operating costs in areas where CNG infrastructure is available.

For SMEs considering acquisition, the financing structure allows customers to make an initial contribution and finance the balance through partner banks. One financing illustration presented at the engagement involved a 20 per cent initial contribution, an annual interest rate of 25 per cent and a four-year repayment period, with the monthly repayment for the 1.6-tonne truck projected at less than ?800,000, the statement said.

Another option allows customers to make a 10 per cent payment to reserve a vehicle while the bank processes the financing for the balance. The company also said customers who can make a higher initial contribution may be able to speed up the acquisition process.

Olukayode Shode, Zonal Coordinator, South-West Zonal Office of the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), encouraged business owners to take advantage of the initiative, particularly as access to affordable business assets remains an important consideration for SMEs.

Data breaches in various organisations have become a major financial and operational concern, with an average breach now costing organisations an average of $5 million per incident.

Also worrisome is that exposure increases by about $1,100 for every hour an adversary remains undetected.

Francis Anyaegbu, Specialist Adoption Architect at Red Hat, who made these revelations at the Pestra Tech Day event held recently in Lagos with the theme: ‘Closing the Fire Safety Gap in Nigeria’s Built Environment’, also pointed to a 1,500 per cent surge in deepfakes, the spread of unmonitored ‘Shadow AI,’ and the emerging threat that quantum computing poses to conventional encryption.

For businesses, the nation and state levels, the figures highlight the growing importance of rapid threat detection, strong cybersecurity systems and effective incident response.

Anyaegbu, who spoke on ‘Intelligent Security and the Quantum Challenge’, advised organisations to move beyond traditional perimeter-based controls towards open, quantum-safe architectures built on digital trust, machine-speed defence and stronger visibility over automated AI agents and connected systems, highlighting post-quantum cryptography, digital sovereignty and tighter AI governance as foundations for long-term resilience.

‘At the nation and state level, and at the corporate level, companies need to update and adjust their IT and OT security strategy to ensure that not only do they protect their data today from these attacks, but also that in the future, they are able to protect their data from such incidents.’

Also speaking on security, Hanwha Vision’s Regional Manager for Africa, Bassy Omar, examined the growing role of artificial intelligence in modern security operations, highlighting advances in intelligent video surveillance, video analytics, licence plate recognition, thermal imaging and related technologies designed to help organisations detect threats earlier, improve situational awareness and respond more effectively to security incidents.

Opening the discussions earlier, Paul Nwokolo, Managing Director of Pestra Ltd, organizer of the event, said Pestra Tech Day was conceived as more than a product showcase. He described it as a forum for examining technology in practical terms, bringing together the people who design, specify, regulate, deploy and use critical safety, security and communication systems.

Samuel Olumode, Controller General of the Federal Fire Service, who dwelt on the topic: ‘Closing the Fire and Life Safety Gap in Nigeria’s Built Environment’, placed fire detection and prevention at the heart of the discussion.

He emphasised the need to narrow the gap between modern building requirements and the systems, practices and professional capacity needed to protect lives and property. His address reinforced the wider purpose of the event – to look beyond individual products and consider how safety systems are designed, specified, integrated, maintained and used throughout the life of a building.

Olumode revealed that in Nigeria, property worth N74.8 billion was lost to fire incidents in 2025. Within the year, assets worth N935 billion were saved from fire incidents, while 114 lives were lost.

He said a total of 1,866 fire incidents occurred in 2025, while a total of 2,106 lives were affected.

He said more often than not, these fire occurrences are the consequences of negligence, poor maintenance, substandard installations, and a culture that still treats fire safety as an afterthought rather than a non-negotiable requirement.

Ziad Hafez, Senior Territory Manager at Honeywell Technologies, highlighted developments across the firm’s life-safety portfolios, including advanced fire detection, intelligent alarm systems and connected life-safety solutions designed to support earlier warning, faster emergency response and more resilient buildings.

He also underscored Honeywell’s collaboration with Pestra to strengthen access to its fire, life-safety and security technologies in Nigeria, providing consultants, system integrators and end users with a dependable local channel for genuine products, backed by appropriate technical and after-sales support.

The presentations pointed to a broader convergence in building technology. Physical security, fire protection, communications, operational systems and cybersecurity are increasingly expected to function as parts of the same connected environment rather than as isolated disciplines. As buildings become more software-driven and AI-enabled, resilience depends not only on what systems can detect and automate, but also on how securely they exchange, process and protect data.

Nigeria, Senegal, Mauritania and Ghana are each betting billions on gas as the fuel that pays for industrialisation and keeps the lights on. Nigeria alone ships enough liquefied natural gas to rank seventh globally, controlling 3.4 percent of world LNG exports, according to the International Gas Union’s World LNG Report 2026.

Senegal and Mauritania are pushing ahead with offshore developments that once looked decades away. Ghana is leaning harder on gas-to-power to steady a grid that industrial investors still treat warily.

None of that guarantees a payoff.

‘Possessing abundant gas reserves alone is no longer enough,’ said Iretomiwa Odusote, regional segment leader for energies and chemicals at Schneider Electric West Africa. Operators, she said, are being judged on three things: how fast they reach first gas, how safely and reliably they run once they get there, and whether they can hold production efficiency for the life of the asset.

The competition isn’t regional anymore. West African projects are chasing the same capital and the same long-term buyers as developments in the U.S. Gulf Coast, Qatar, Australia and East Africa. A project that slips its schedule doesn’t just lose money – it loses its place in the queue for customers who have other options.

That has turned first gas into a race with real financial consequences, given how capital-intensive these projects are from sanctioning onward. But getting there is the easy part, relatively speaking. The harder test comes after startup, when operators have to keep output safe, efficient and commercially viable for years, often decades.

That’s where many facilities still fall short. Data sits in silos. Maintenance is reactive rather than predictive. Energy use goes unmonitored until it shows up as a cost problem. The common thread, Odusote said, is a lack of real-time visibility across production, the kind that lets engineers catch a bottleneck before it becomes downtime.

Part of the issue traces back to how these plants get built. Electrification, automation, safety systems and digital monitoring have traditionally been bid out to separate vendors, each delivering a piece that works on its own but doesn’t necessarily talk to the others. The result, once construction wraps, is a patchwork that’s harder and more expensive to run.

An integrated build, one vendor, one architecture, spanning electrification through digital systems, simplifies life for the engineering and construction firms putting projects together and for the operators who inherit them, Odusote argued. Fewer handoffs during construction; fewer blind spots during operation.

West Africa isn’t short on gas, technical talent or investor interest. What separates the projects that merely get finished from those that generate returns for 20 or 30 years will be execution – how fast they start, how well they run, and how much visibility operators have into their own plants once the ribbon-cutting is over.

Schneider Electric is among the technology suppliers positioning itself around that shift, framing its role less as an equipment vendor and more as an infrastructure partner for a market it says is entering a more demanding phase.

Enugu State Governor, Peter Mbah, has challenged the government and the media to meet at the point of truth, urging journalists to go beyond headlines and political narratives by independently establishing facts through evidence, investigation and context.

Mbah said government had a responsibility to be transparent about its actions and accountable for its results, while the press must independently scrutinise those actions and report the truth, whether the findings exposed shortcomings or revealed progress.

The governor stated this on Thursday while welcoming over 300 editors to the 22nd All Nigeria Editors Conference (ANEC) organised by the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) in Enugu.

The conference has as its theme, ‘The Ballot, the Media and the Task of Keeping Democracy Alive,’ while its sub-theme is ‘When Lies Look Real: Detecting and Debunking AI Misinformation Before, During and After Elections.’

Mbah said the relationship between government and the media should not always be defined by confrontation, stressing that both institutions had different responsibilities, but a common obligation to serve the Nigerian people.

‘Government must be transparent about what it is doing and be accountable for the results. The press must establish the facts and report the truth.

‘Sometimes that truth will expose failure. Sometimes it will reveal progress. The obligation for us both is the same in either case – serving the people of Nigeria,’ he said.

The governor urged journalists to deepen investigative reporting, particularly at a time when artificial intelligence and other technologies were making it increasingly difficult to distinguish between genuine and fabricated information.

He said AI could be used to fabricate photographs, clone voices and manipulate videos to make people appear to say things they never said, warning that the development had increased the responsibility of professional journalists.

‘My challenge to you, therefore, is simple – go deeper, beyond the surface,’ Mbah told the editors.

According to him, rigorous journalism should not involve searching for evidence to support a position that had already been taken.

‘Its value lies precisely in its independence: examine the evidence, test competing claims, establish what happened, and report what you find,’ he said.

Mbah added that the same standard should apply to government and its critics, stressing that government achievements should not be ignored simply because they did not fit a particular political narrative.

‘We have tried to build an Enugu government that is open about what it is doing and clear about what it is trying to achieve. Where we fall short, that should call for scrutiny and be reported. But the same principle applies when the evidence reveals progress,’ he said.

The governor also used the occasion to highlight some of his administration’s projects, including more than 1,500 kilometres of roads constructed or reconstructed, over 7,000 classrooms, Smart Green Schools and Type-2 Primary Healthcare Centres across the state’s 260 wards.

He listed other interventions as water infrastructure, new transport terminals and CNG buses, Enugu Air, the revival of dormant industries and the development of a new city.

Mbah said the administration was working to position Enugu as an economic gateway to the South-East, with the ambition of making the state one of Nigeria’s leading economies and a national leader in human development and quality of life.

He also acknowledged the support of President Bola Tinubu and the Federal Government, particularly in areas of roads, aviation, energy and regional development.

The governor urged the editors to use their presence in Enugu to independently assess the developments in the state.

‘Take some time to explore the city, speak to the people who live and work here, and get a sense of the direction in which Enugu is moving,’ he said.

One of the highpoints of the opening ceremony was the presentation of a plaque for good governance to Governor Mbah by the Guild.