News
Winners emerge in Sterling’s ASA 2023 AgroPitch
Photo caption:
Photo caption:
L-R: Group Head, Agric Finance and Solid Minerals, Sterling Bank Plc, Dr. Olushola Obikanye; Executive Director, Technical Services, Leadway Assurance, Adetola Adegbayi; Winner of ASA 2023 AgroPitch, Green Republic Farms Limited, Baliqees Salaudeen and Commissioner of Agric and Natural Resources, Plateau state, Samson Bugama, at the Agriculture Summit Africa 2023, in Lagos recently.
Five winners emerged in the grand finale of the 2023 edition of Sterling’s Agriculture Summit Africa. This year’s edition, which featured a pitch competition called AgroPitch, saw Green Republic Farms Limited crowned the top agroprenuer, walking away with five million naira in grants and an agribusiness entrepreneurship training program from the Lagos Business School. This year’s summit was sponsored by Sterling Bank, Leadway Assurance, Thrive Agric and Noor Takaful,
Green Republic Farms Limited, a youth and women-led enterprise emerged the overall winner and got N5 million cash prize, and a scholarship to attend the Agribusiness Management Programme of the Lagos Business School (LBS) which provides participants with the individual insight, coaching strategies and leadership skills needed to achieve better decisions and results for their companies.
The remaining agribusinesses which emerged as winners are Eden-Acres Integrated Farm, Duketrah Fisheries, Kernelinc Resources Limited, and OG Capital.
Speaking at this year’s ASA, themed Empowering Innovation: A confluence of Capital, Vision and Agribusiness Enterprise, Group Head for Agriculture & Solid Minerals Finance at Sterling Bank, Dr. Olusola Obikanye, said that this year’s summit has shown that there is huge and yet-to-be-realized potential for innovation in the nation’s agribusiness sector.
Dr. Obikanye continued by saying that “The quality of submissions and presentations have shown a clear path towards investment opportunity for the private sector to fund exponential growth in the sector towards achieving a stable and sustainable food economy for the country, while delivering value to operators and investors alike.”
Also in attendance were the Honorable Commissioners of Agriculture for Plateau and Ekiti states, Samson Bugama and Ebenezer Boluwade, who enjoined entrepreneurs in agribusiness to take risks and turn around the fortunes of the sector and help it achieve its potential.
Conceived by Sterling Bank and now in its sixth year, this year’s Agriculture Summit Africa represents a historic milestone in the summit’s history, which stands as a prominent platform for showcasing promising agro-innovators, aligning with the bank’s unwavering commitment to shaping the forefront of agricultural excellence both within Africa and beyond.
Renowned for its now famous HEART of Sterling strategy; which focuses investments in the Health, Education, Agriculture, Renewable Energy and Transportation; its irreverent brand voice and enviable talent management practices, Sterling has been awarded the Most Innovative Bank of The Year for by BusinessDay, been named the Overall Best Place To Work In Nigeria by the Great Place To Work Institute, and has featured on the prestigious top 100 fastest growing companies in Africa, as published by the globally recognized Financial Times, all in 2023.
Myesom Wike, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, has sacked the Acting Executive Chairman of the Federal Capital Territory Internal Revenue Service, FCT-IRS, Mr Michael Ango, of his duties.
The announcement was contained in a statement late Friday by the minister’s Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media, Lere Olayinka.
The statement added that the decision takes immediate effect.
Olayinka said the minister directed the most senior official of the FCT-IRS to immediately assume leadership of the agency
“The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has sacked the Acting Executive Chairman of the Federal Capital Territory Internal Revenue Service, Mr Michael Ango,” he stated.
He added that “the most senior official of the FCT-IRS has been directed to take over the running of the revenue agency with immediate effect.”
The statement did not provide reasons for the removal.
15 members of the Rivers State House of Assembly, led by Speaker Martin Amaewhule, have left the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, for the All Progressives Congress, APC.
Amaewhule disclosed the lawmakers’ decision during Friday’s plenary, attributing their defection to what he called a “clear division” within the PDP.
“Distinguished colleagues, very happily, let me announce that your Speaker has decided, and has indeed written to my ward chairman of my decision, to leave the PDP. APC is my new party,” Amaewhule said.
Amaewhule’s Deputy, Dumle Maol, is one of the 16 lawmakers that joined APC as well.
All the lawmakers, who have jumped ship, are core loyalists of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Chief Nyesom Wike.
The Central Bank of Nigeria,has rolled out a new framework ito expedite handling of fraud accusations and refund victims.
Customers must report suspected fraudulent transactions within 72 hours under this draft guideline, and financial institutions have 16 working days to look into the matter and repay money.
The action comes in the wake of a dramatic increase in banking sector fraud.
According to data from the Financial Institutions Training Center, losses in the first quarter of 2025 increased to ₦3.29 billion, a startling 603 percent increase over the previous year. In the same time frame, reported cases also increased to 12,347.
The November 26, 2025, proposed regulations seek to improve bank accountability, expedite reimbursements, and boost prevention.
Director of the Financial Policy and Regulation Department Rita Sike signed the circular, which describes stricter regulations intended to prevent fraud before it occurs.
The apex bank’s ongoing fight against financial fraud has advanced with the adoption of this guidance. To enhance cooperation between operators, it established the Nigeria Electronic Fraud Forum in 2011.
It directed banks to establish specialized fraud bureaus four years later. By requiring BVN or NIN for account opening, it reinforced Know Your Customer checks in 2023.
-
News2 years agoBreaking: Tinubu’s authentic ministerial nominees
-
News9 months agoSenate to speed up conclusion of Nigeria Forest Security Service Bill
-
News2 years ago“Anytime we want to kill terrorists, President would ask us to take permission from France but they were killing our soldiers-” Niger Republic coup leader
-
News2 years ago“I’m leaving the Catholic church because Bishop Onah is oppressing me,” says Okunerere
-
News2 years agoRadio Nigeria’s veteran broadcaster Kelvin Ugwu dies three months after retirement from service
-
News2 years agoDokpesi and the Gazebo Mystique
-
News2 years agoTsunami: Tinubu orders dissolution of managements, boards of MDAs, to sack all Buhari’s political appointees
-
News2 years agoPersons against Allagoa’s reforms behind protests at NSITF