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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.
Isaac Fayose, brother of former Ekiti State Governor, Ayo Fayose, has announced the death of his wife after a prolonged battle with cancer.
The social media commentator shared the sad news on Instagram with a candle image, alongside a farewell message.
“Rest in peace my darling wife, odabo oyinbo mi”, he wrote.
Before her death, Fayose had opened up about the severity of her illness.
He said he travelled to Australia to spend time with his family, but was met with a painful reality as his wife had become extremely weak due to cancer.
He explained that she was no longer able to speak or carry out basic daily activities. According to him, the woman who once welcomed him at the airport could no longer do so, and he had to make his way from the airport by Uber.
He also described how roles had reversed in the home, saying he now had to take care of her, including cooking for her, as she could no longer do so herself. He added that he spent time beside her, singing her favourite songs, while she responded only by holding his hand.
In his emotional reflection, he also spoke about life and wealth, stressing that money and material possessions could not stop illness or death, and questioned the actions of those who use public office to take what belongs to others.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has confirmed that all 22 registered political parties in Nigeria have submitted their membership registers in compliance with the Electoral Act 2026.
In a statement issued on Friday, the Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Haruna, said the submissions were completed on May 8, two days ahead of the extended deadline set by the Commission.
According to INEC, the extension became necessary after political parties raised concerns over the original timeline during a meeting held on March 24.
The Commission had initially fixed April 21 as the deadline for the submission of membership registers in the Revised Timetable and Schedule of Activities for the 2027 General Election.
However, following consultations with political parties, INEC announced on March 27, 2026, that the deadline would be moved to May 10, 2026.
The adjustment, INEC said, was made to align with Section 77(4) of the Electoral Act 2026 and the actual dates chosen by political parties for their primaries.
Under the revised timetable, political parties are permitted to conduct their primaries between April 23 and May 30, 2026. The law also requires each party to submit its membership register to the Commission not later than 21 days before the date of its primary election.
INEC stated that all registered political parties complied with the requirement within the extended timeframe.
“The Commission is pleased to note that all registered parties submitted their registers as of 8th May 2026, two days before the extended deadline,” the statement said.
The electoral body added that the submitted registers would now undergo the necessary verification processes in accordance with the law.
INEC reiterated its commitment to conducting free, fair, credible and inclusive elections in Nigeria.
According to the Commission’s timetable for the 2027 General Election, elections into the offices of President and members of the National Assembly are scheduled for January 16, 2027, while governorship and state assembly elections will take place on February 6, 2027.
Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, the deputy commander of the Islamic State terrorist group, ISIS, has been killed in Nigeria.
US President Donald Trump said al-Minuki was killed in a “complex mission” carried out by Nigerian and American troops.
The US president shared updates on the operation in a social media post late Saturday.
“Tonight, at my direction, brave American forces and the Armed Forces of Nigeria flawlessly executed a meticulously planned and very complex mission to eliminate the most active terrorist in the world from the battlefield,” Trump wrote.
“Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, second in command of ISIS globally, thought he could hide in Africa, but little did he know we had sources who kept us informed on what he was doing.
“He will no longer terrorise the people of Africa, or help plan operations to target Americans.
“With his removal, ISIS’s global operation is greatly diminished.”
Trump also acknowledged and thanked the Nigerian government for its “partnership on this operation”.
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