₦airaland Forum

The president of the country is not around in the time of extreme hunger.

This is not only insensitive but wicked.

This hunger is needless and regrettable.

This is nothing but Massive failure of governance.

This administration is willfully starving Nigerians.

Yet this administration feels comfortable with the hunger of Nigerians.

The more food inflation we have, the higher the core inflation.

The higher the core inflation, the unstable naira becomes.

The more unstable Naira becomes, the higher the interest rate.

The higher the interest rate, the higher the inflation rate.

One way to break this endless vicious cycle including Naira instability, is by breaking food inflation. Yet this government has perpetually looked away from the hunger crisis

This administration has failed Nigerians 🤦🏽‍♂️🤦🏽‍♂️

Seeing the composition of that cabinet with the first confirmation of what has been the trajectory of the contraption since 1999. The worst (but not unexpected) fear confirmed.

The President's staunch supporters are deserting because of @officialABAT policies that are making life unbearable for Nigerians. 👇

No cabinet reshuffle would save President Bola Ahmed Tinubu anymore. He missed it from the get go. You need your first 11 on the pitch at the blast of the whistle, not halfway, in a nation-building game you have scored many own goals against yourself. The horses have bolted.

We should stop the gaslighting that state governors have a role in this hunger issue.

The cultivation of land is a mid to long term solution

The immediate solution lies with PBAT, which is import food and makes it tariff free.

There was a circular released to this effect far back in July, how far have we gone with the implementation. ?.

There is no governor’s fault. This is entirely PBAT’s fault.

Massive failure

If this fuel price does not crâsh by December. I will be number 1 Tinubu critic on this app.

Call me anything I don’t care; I am not an hypôcr!te… if you can’t speak against this level of w!ckedness then I am here to tell you that Dev!l is better than you.

BREAKING : Federal High Court Abuja Bars PDP, Others from Removing National Chairman of PDP pending the Party's National Convention.

I stand with Sim Fubara 👍
I stand with the Damagum led NWC to discipline the erring National Publicity Secretary and National Legal Adviser.

My strong appeal to Amb. Umar Damagum led NWC and the new capacity Acting National Publicity Secretary for them to address the issue of Rivers State by ensuring that all contending issues are addressed in the interests of the State. The Governor needs support!

'Tonye Barcanista

The National President of Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Abubakar Shettima, has urged the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) to sell Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), commonly known as petrol, to its marketers at the same rates offered by Dangote Petroleum Refinery.

Shettima, while speaking Thursday on Channels Television, also demanded a refund of the funds owed to the oil marketers, which have been held by NNPC for the past three months.

He stressed the financial strain that the prolonged delay in refunds had placed on petroleum marketers, urging the NNPC to take immediate action.

“Our major challenge now is that already, we have an outstanding debt by the NNPC and the company collected product through Dangote refinery at a lower rate — not up to N900.

“Presently, our money has been with them (NNPC) for almost three months.

“But with the recent changes, we have requested that they sell to us at Dangote price or return our money. That’s the current situation and is the reason for the scarcity. We started negotiation yesterday,” he said.

According to him, the national oil company has directed the IPMAN members “to buy the product from them at the rate of N1,010 in Lagos, N1,045 in Calabar, N1,050 in Port Harcourt, and N1,040 in Warri”.

Expressing displeasure at the NNPC’s stance that marketers should buy petrol directly from the Dangote refinery, Shettima said: “We have a problem with that because already, we buy products from them.

“So when they made this increment, they told us to add money and buy above what Dangote is selling products to them.

“That is the reason we told them to return our monies to our banks so that we can go directly to Dangote refinery and buy, if that’s the case.”

“The NNPC does not sell on credit and we buy products ahead of loading. Anytime they have products, they will call us to collect our products.”

The haphazard and disingenuous approach of the current administration to fuel subsidy management has been the reason we are in this current economic crisis in the country. As things stand, there will be no let up in the escalating inflation rate, which is drowning the material well-being of Nigerians. It is even more worrying that T-pain is undisturbed by the hardship in the country. -AA

Has Mr President converted his Escalade to CNG?

President Bola Tinubu’s administration has announced a new increase in petrol price that will see Abuja residents buy fuel at N1,030 per litre. The price of petrol is pegged at N998 per litre.

NNPC stations displayed the new price in Lagos and Abuja on Wednesday.

This upward review comes amidst unprecedented economic hardship.

Since Mr Tinubu assumed office on May 29, 2023, announcing that “fuel subsidy is gone”, fuel price has skyrocketed.

President Bola Tinubu has been seething inside the State House after Nigerians lashing out over worsening economic crisis labelled him ‘Tpain’ barely one year into his administration, according to internal memo and aides with direct knowledge of the president’s quandary.

During a recent meeting at the Presidential Villa, the president told two guests and aides present that he was “very sad” that Nigerians won’t stop blaming his administration for the raging economic crisis, adding that most citizens would rather ridicule him than offer potential solutions to the country’s challenges, internal notes and our sources said.

“The president has been very sad and not hiding his frustration over how quickly the so-called Tpain label was allowed to spread on social media,” an aide at the meeting told Peoples Gazette. “The president was mostly angry with unpatriotic people who sit on social media to call him names without offering any unique solutions of their own but only to malign the government.”

Another aide subsequently corroborated the account. Both officials sought anonymity to discuss the president’s annoyance with The Gazette, fearing administrative backlash.

One of the officials said the president was not particularly seeking to muzzle speech and other fundamental rights on social media, but only decried the undesired impact of its unfettered deployment on the government’s ability to deliver on its promises without distractions. The Gazette reviewed internal deliberations among a restricted loop of presidential aides where countermeasures against the social media derision of the president were suggested.

“We’re just trying to determine where the campaign to humiliate the president and people working for him is coming from,” the official said. “The president respects the rights of Nigerians to express themselves, but some of us will push back hard against the attackers before they do further damage to the country’s image.”

A presidential spokesman declined comments for this story on Monday morning.

The Gazette could not pin the label to a specific point in time, but it appeared to have gained rapid resonation among Nigerians on social media in recent weeks. It was a play on the first letter of the president’s last name, presumably with inspiration from American rapper Faheem Najm, who goes by the stage name T-Pain.

Some of the earliest uses in reference to Mr Tinubu were tracked to April 2024, but The Gazette noticed that the label spiked around September 16, after a handle on X used it in discussing the president’s arrival in Maiduguri to soothe flood victims that Monday afternoon.

The label has now become a regular feature of social media commentary among Nigerians despite the administration’s efforts to scapegoat some prominent voices on microblogging platform X, formerly Twitter. Pidom Nigeria, an ardent critic of the Tinubu administration known for receiving leaks of vouchers indicating wasteful earmarks at the Presidential Villa, was arrested on August 5, 2024, and held for several weeks by the police, regaining freedom only last week.

Deprecating nicknames have long been assigned to Nigerian leaders, including Ibrahim ‘Maradona’ Babangida and Goodluck ‘Badluck’ Jonathan, but only Mr Tinubu’s has complained about the source of his label: social media.

Mr Tinubu assumed office in May 2023, when the U.S. dollar was exchanging at about N425. The rate has since increased rapidly, peaking at N1,900 at both official and black market bargains last week before after the government launched a nationwide assault on money changers and alleged speculators, which purportedly include cryptocurrency platforms Binance and Coinbase.

Together with the removal of subsidy on petrol, the foreign exchange crisis has led directly to high inflation rates — 38 per cent this year— and fast-spreading hunger among the 200 million-strong population.

Several Nigerian cities, including Kano and Ibadan, held demonstrations throughout August after rice, bread and other basic food items became unaffordable to wage earners and labourers. Nigerian youth employment hovered around 51 per cent when Mr Tinubu assumed office, and has worsened ever since.

The administration has said it was doing its best to address the crisis, which first became pronounced under President Muhammadu Buhari. New reforms, ranging from the floating of national currency to easing of regulatory red tapes, are being touted as top solutions, although the government acknowledged only results would assuage growing frustration among Nigerians.

Mr Tinubu also announced his administration would intensify roll-out of gas-powered vehicles to reduce transportation costs for the poor, and recently lifted tariffs on imported rice, wheat, among other essential food items.

Still, everyday Nigerians said their patience was wearing thin for Mr Tinubu, who assumed office promising to implement progressive social and economic policies he had preached for decades as a pro-democracy campaigner.

Even though I have never been a Kwankwasiyya loyalist, but I have always admired and respected Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso and see him as one of the progressive political figures we have in this country. However, I do not agree with his recent statement during his interview in Kano, where he claimed to be politically bigger than Peter Obi.

Looking at the results from the 2023 presidential election, Peter Obi garnered 6,101,533 votes and led in 11 states, demonstrating significant national support. In contrast, Senator Kwankwaso secured 1,496,687 votes and led in just one state, Kano.

These numbers clearly suggest that, at least in the context of the 2023 election, Peter Obi has significantly more political influence across the country.

So, Peter Obi is bigger than Rabiu Kwankwaso, politically.

This afternoon, whistleblower and investigative journo Isaac Bristol @PIDOMNIGERIA left Kuje prison a free man after fulfilling his bail conditions

Many Houses Burnt, Properties Destroyed As Irate Youths, Hoodlums Attack Yoruba Community In Kaduna State

Many houses have been destroyed after some irate youths attacked the Yoruba community in Jushi Waje, opposite the Nigeria Army Deport Barracks, Sabon Gari, Zaria, Kaduna State.

Multiple sources told SaharaReporters that the attack initially started on Sunday 29th of September and continued till Tuesday, October 1st.

It was gathered that the crisis broke out when a Hausa boy reportedly entered a woman’s house in the Yoruba community and was caught.

However, he was said to have been beaten by members of the community and died after he was taken to Sarkin’s palace.

“The Hausa boy was caught stealing in a Yoruba woman’s house and was beaten even by same Hausa people on Sunday. He was later taken to Sarkin’s palace, the thief requested water to drink and it was one Hausa woman that gave him water.

“In the process, he gave up to the ghost, by 7pm, the Hausa youths mobilised in groups and started destroying Yoruba people’s properties. They burnt down houses and cars. Alhamdulilah, I saw death but trust Allah they only destroyed all my glass windows, I’m out of my home now, please continue to support me and my family with prayers,” a resident affected told SaharaReporters.

Another resident of the community said the youths returned on Tuesday morning attacking people from other tribes.

“They are back destroying our properties and attacking us. See, most of these thieves are from Sarkin’s house and in the past, when these thieves were caught and taken to Sarkin’s house, they would immediately release them yesterday.

“One of my close boys who is a Hausa boy sent me a message late last night to leave my house as they would be coming to kill the Yoruba people and other tribes today.

“Yesterday, one of the Hausa boys stabbed one of our persons and owner of Adumas School while he was sending back his students home over the crisis. They handed the boy to the police but they have released him as we talk, please we all have left our homes because these Hausa boys are threatening to kill us all.”

Calls put across by SaharaReporters to Kaduna command’s PPRO, ASP Mansir Hassan were not picked nor returned.
Text message sent to his line were yet to be replied as at the time of this report.

One of the greatest Nigerians to ever live.

Prof. Wole Soyinka.

Okay I am seeing a lot of misrepresentation on Twitter
So to clarify, this just further proves that a lot of you did not care about the Lekki Panel Report and you didn’t read it.

Picture below is the compensation given by the Lagos State Panel that has not been paid yet.
So the Lagos State OWES me 10 million naira as awarded to me by the court.
All the other victims were awarded 15million and 1 witness was awarded 2 million.

But note that the Govt hasn’t paid any compensation to the Lekki Massacre victims.
So I haven’t even received the compensation given to me by the court neither has any of the victims.

The pic was extracted from page 304 of the panel report.

You can get the full panel report from this link: …n-media-assets.storage.googleapis.com/wp-content/upl…

So this picture has nothing to do with the 100 million naira from the govt.

SAN Fusika is drafting a full response for the media and you’d see the full report of who got what with the 100 million naira.
The lawyers handled it and I had no business with the 100 million since I took myself out of it, and I didn’t get a dime.

The total of the compensation as instructed by the panel is 237 million naira, but the govt refused to pay it up until today and later said it would be paid by the federal govt and then asked the victims to use the 100 million as health aid to treat themselves in 2022. A year to election 😀.

So help us beg Sanwo to pay our compensation so that I can finally receive my 10 million naira and use the money to drink palm wine with your tears 💁🏼‍♀️.

I haven’t received a dime, not even my LEGAL compensation has been paid, and I didn’t receive a dime from the ILLEGAL 100 million naira “backyard money”💁🏼‍♀️.
They even wanted to make me SSA, lmao story for another day 😅.

Following the EndSARS unrest, and during the panel of inquiry, the Lagos state government's initial funding offer was met with resistance.

@sarahibrahim and associates then consulted Mr. Femi Falana regarding the substantial sum proposed for advisory purposes.
Despite Mr. Falana's counsel to accept the funds as a gift, I deemed it incongruous to accept financial compensation from those we were opposing, fearing it may undermine our integrity.

The first funds Sarah called me to pick up was 1.5m. The second was 1m. I have proofs. Messages to back it up. The #endsars coordinators shared millions of money severally. Going back and forth to pick a Ghana must go filled with cash at Alausa Ikeja.

On two separate occasions, I entrusted my personal assistant to collect money from Sarah, ensuring she took photographs for evidentiary purposes. Afterwards, I shared images of the funds received on EndSARS United and Competent Nigerians platforms for public dissemination as giveaways.

Adeshina Ademola Ogunlana of blessed memories was the only lawyer that stand genuinely for the endsars. He can never be bought.

Falana is a constant betrayal of our ideals. Remember he almost frustrated the tribunal.

Mr Femi Falana is not a saint.
Te ba fa gburu, Gburu ma fa igbo.

#istandwithVDM

Madam Oniru thank you for starting this story but for you to write it this way is not just plain stupidity but severe ingeniousness.

I wanted to ignore you but for the sake of posterity and for the truth, let me clarify.
Because honestly, I don’t see the reason why you should type all of this lies online if not for clout.

Thanks to those that brought this to my notice.
It is quite unfortunate that you would put up a story YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT in a bid to insult SAN Falana and subtly insult me too when you know THE FACTS AND TRUTH.

Well I guess it’s story time for the TL🤦🏼‍♀️.
So yes, I was reached by the Lagos State Government to offer 100 million naira. A meeting they were trying to have for months but I kept refusing because I was rightfully pissed at them.
Finally I attended one of the meetings after speaking with my lawyers SAN Fusika, who then took me to also consult jointly with SAN Falana on what to do.

At one of the meetings, I attended with @akintollgate where one of Sanwo Olu’s commissioners apologized for what happened at the Toll Gate and wanted us to make amends. He spoke like a father, he was nice and very understanding and wanted us to make peace with the govt, and move on. Truthfully, his words calmed me.
After all was said and blames passed back and forth, he stated there’s a financial offer to us to cover for all we must have spent and gone through during the period. An amount of a 100 million naira.
Immediately I refused, I didn’t want to involve myself with it.
And I spoke with Akin who agreed with my thought on it.
I only requested that prosthetics be done for those who were amputated so that we can help them move around.

So I have kept this to myself since February of 2022, and not told anyone about it and even up until April when the govt continued reaching out to me, until sometime in May, I got a call from someone I thought I could trust who was a part of the group too, Dabira. We spoke about some issues and I mentioned to her that oh, I had a meeting with the govt oh and they offered money but we won’t take it, but I told them we would send demands like a memorial and other things. The next thing I knew, I started getting calls that day up until the end of that month from various victims telling me they need the money, and I am only refusing the money because I am well to do but they are in pains and suffering. Dabira reached out to them and told them about it and they started to blast my phone.

All of this, madam Oniru knew clearly.
You all know how much I hate to share personal messages, I NEVER DO, this is the second time I would be forced to share WhatsApp messages and it’s always the people starting the lies and I have to bring out the facts. And I always have to take permission from my lawyers before I share the messages and that’s why I don’t like to and I also feel like it’s childish🥲.
But oh well.

I am happy Agbado online rascals and bald headed Mikano inconsequential noisemakers are crying today courtesy of Serah Ibrahim.

So since they are screaming about the 100 million naira, I am happy they are shouting. But I wonder why you all are shouting about it without shouting about who offered it and for what💁🏼‍♀️.

So FACTS you are ignoring: Your Lagos Governor offered 100 million naira to people that died at the Lekki toll gate.
LET THAT SINK IN YOUR EMPTY HEADS.
FOREVER.

The same govt that you helped to deny that there was a massacre offered 100 million naira to the victims.
Why you’re still an online towncrier, crying everyday.

And why I didn’t collect a dime from that 100 million naira is because the only money I would be collecting from your governor, would be my compensation.
So the tears you’re using to cry about this 100 million naira, since you have accepted your Governor admitted to his crimes at Lekki Toll Gate through paying this money, kindly help me tell him to pay up the compensation ✌🏻.

20th of October is 3 weeks away.
It’s been 4 years now.
Pay the compensation 💁🏼‍♀️.

Guy!!! He’s been so consistent.
I don’t disagree with you at all.

And no longer Peter Obi?? Lol

Who is Peter Obi? The man Nigerians sacrificed their blood🩸 and money and gave him victory, he watched that victory slip away, he's never serious to be a politician. A clear victory the whole world saw, he kept saying don't protest on my behalf.

I said this the other day and many came for me with so much gaslights.
Sowore is the man to suport. He's been consistent

My brother, Swore @YeleSowore has been consistent over the years in his struggle for a society that works for everyone. The guy has the spirit of Nnamdi Kanu.

Las las, it seems Sowore is the right man to stand with.

I’ve always been a strong admirer of Sowore.
In 2019, I supported Sowore’s candidacy.
In 2023, I supported Obi’s candidacy.
In 2027, .
We all shamelessly called him names for not agreeing to our messiah discovery thoughts.

Elon Musk has changed the badge tick of Mr. President @officialABAT to the right one.🙄

President Bola Tinubu is set to reshuffle his cabinet, signaling imminent changes in the leadership of key ministries.

During a press briefing at the State House in Abuja on Wednesday, Bayo Onanuga, the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, disclosed the President's concerns about the communication gap between ministries and the public.

Onanuga stated that while significant progress has been made across various sectors, many Nigerians remain unaware of such due to a lack of media engagement.

“The President has directed ministers to be more proactive in publishing the activities and achievements of their ministries," Onanuga said.

He stressed that the reshuffle would help reposition the government to better serve Nigerians, while urging ministers not to shy away from media interactions.

“The President has expressed his desire to reshuffle his cabinet and he will do it. I don’t know whether he wants to do it before October first and he will surely do it. That is what I will say, but he has not given us any timeline,” Onanuga said.

Speaking on the performance of the present administration, Onanuga said, “The President has given an order to all his ministers at the last Federal Executive Council meeting to go out there and speak about the activities of his administration.

“Some of them have been media shy, television shy, radio shy, and he wants them to overcome all that and go out there and speak about what they have been doing.

“Because the feeling out there is that government is not doing enough and the government has been doing a lot. And it is up to them to go out there and blow their own trumpet. They should go out there and talk about what their ministries have been doing.

Commenting on the administration's performance, Onanuga stated, “At the last Federal Executive Council meeting, the President instructed all ministers to actively engage the public about the government’s achievements.

He said some have been hesitant to engage with the media, but he wants them to overcome this and communicate their work effectively.

“There’s a perception that the government isn’t doing enough, but the truth is much more has been done. It's their responsibility to go out there and showcase the work of their ministries.”

You people have a severe psychological problem - the same one that made you passionately detest and mobilise against a PhD who delivered 7% annual growth, and replace him with an illiterate who delivered 4 recessions and a massacre.

I won't explain. It'd be wasted on you anyway.

Nigeria's average transport speed is 55 km/hr. A Chinese initiative funds and builds an urban metro railway offering nearly double that average speed, and the morons who don't even know the difference between intercity high speed rail and urban metro rail are bleating.

Useless.

Winning is one thing. Being declared a winner is another thing! …. From 7pm make una go Dey mount collation center !! #EdoDecide2024

Nah that night dem Dey always strike … for osun we no sleep 3 days .. I knke how many back of head I slap that day ..’wake up ooo sleep never reach “.. Edo pple u have to be vigilant till the very end… I mean VERY END !!

The flogging is too much 😂😂😂💪🏾❤️ #EdoDecide2024

The President Bola Tinubu-led government has said it has approved the supply of food items and water to Borno State.

This comes amid the flood disaster that sacked the state capital Maiduguri.

This development on the donation was communicated by the Minister for Agriculture and Food security, Senator Abubakar Kyari, through a post on his official X handle.

“Following the visit of our President and Commander in Chief of the Nigerian Armed Forces, President Bola Tinubu, GCFR, to Borno State to commiserate with the people and government after the recent flood disaster, he has given me his approval and directive to deliver 6,000 tonnes of assorted food items to the Borno State Government under the leadership of His Excellency, Prof. Babagana Umara Zulum, CON, @ProfZulum on behalf of the Federal Government.

He listed the items as: “100 trailers of milled rice, 50 trailers of maize, 30 trailers of sorghum and 20 trailers of millet.”

In addition, it was stated that the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security has also made available 2,000 water pumps to assist communities still affected by flooding.

“Furthermore, a committee will be constituted under the National Agricultural Development Fund to assess and provide recommendations for enhancing agricultural activities in the state, ensuring that those whose livelihoods depend on farming receive support in rebuilding their futures.” the statement read.


Following the visit of our President and Commander in Chief of the Nigerian Armed Forces, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, to Borno State to commiserate with the people and government after the recent flood disaster, he has given me his approval and directive to deliver 6,000… pic.twitter.com/8Rx2BU6TCW

— Sen. Abubakar Kyari, CON (@SenatorAKyari) September 21, 2024

Recently, Tinubu visited Maiduguri while pledging Government support in the aftermath of the collapsed Alau Dam flooding that has claimed many lives and destroyed properties.

APC thugs collected wotoporiously in Oredo Ward 3 Benin, Edo State because men mount💁🏼‍♀️

APC thugs collected wotoporiously in Oredo Ward 3 Benin, Edo State because men mount💁🏼‍♀️ pic.twitter.com/NH1aKd0FXF

— AMB. SERAH IBRAHIM (@TheSerahIbrahim) September 21, 2024

These crazy Abuja people really got a former British diplomat to mention my name IN WRITING accusing me of working with Russia to organise a regime change operation to overthrow Tinubu 🤣🤣🤣

If only governance could get a quarter of this energy!💀

T-Pain - Nigeria’s newest super-star

T-Pain - Nigeria’s newest super-star pic.twitter.com/1AXlLQlX4H

— Dan Bello (@BelloGaladanchi) September 20, 2024

Coca-Cola Nigeria Limited has repeated its previous promise of investing $1 billion in Nigeria barely two months after the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) found it guilty of multiple unfair and deceptive trade practices.

On July 29, the FCCPC published its investigation into the business practices of the company as well the Nigerian Bottling Company, and found that the two companies had been deliberately mislabelling some of their products.

However, in an X post on Thursday, the federal government disclosed that the management of the bottling company made the pledge that it would stretch the investment over a five-year period.

But this appeareda repeat of the exact promise the company made to the government in 2021 during the Muhammadu Buhari administration.

FIRST PROMISE OF 2021

On November 23, 2021, former vice-president, Yemi Osinbajo, stated that Coca-Cola had promised to inject $1 billion into its Nigerian business for expansion and more opportunities.

Laolu Akande, then Osinbajo’s spokesperson, quoted his principal in a statement retrieved from the State House website as saying, “Your ongoing investment in the country, which I am told will be in the order of $1billion in the next five years, testifies to your faith in the possibilities of Nigeria.

“And you can rely on the partnership of the Nigerian government, (and I dare say the Nigerian people too) as you make these great strides. And we will continue to work with businesses across the broad spectrum of our dynamic economy to ensure that we do this with a clear view of the opportunities and problems of the day.

“Young people who have found successful careers in sports and entertainment inspired by your support; consumers from Lagos to Kano, Rivers to Plateau, linked by distributors in every region of the country, who have built enduring businesses getting Coca-Cola into the hands of millions; a robust value chain that includes service providers and marketing agencies, creators of the iconic Coke adverts that have formed part of our individual and collective memories all these years.”

SAME PROMISE AGAIN

Like the first promise, the announcement of the second promise came from the presidency. About three years after the first, the company remade the promise, to be executed over the same number of years.

Some top executives of the company met with President Bola Tinubu at the State House on Thursday. The X post made after the meeting strongly appeared to be the outcome of their meeting.

NEWS UPDATE: President Bola Tinubu Welcomes $1 Billion Investment from Coca-Cola

President Bola Tinubu has secured another major win for Nigeria’s economy!

During a meeting with global and local Coca-Cola executives at the Presidential Villa today, Coca-Cola System announced… pic.twitter.com/bfN3zbTPPH

— Presidency Nigeria (@NGRPresident) September 19, 2024

“NEWS UPDATE: President Bola Tinubu welcomes $1 billion investment from Coca-Cola,” the post read. “President Bola Tinubu has secured another major win for Nigeria’s economy.”

“During a meeting with global and local Coca-Cola executives at the presidential villa today, Coca-Cola System announced that it will invest $1 billion over the next five years, creating more jobs and growth opportunities. President Bola Tinubu reiterated Nigeria under his administration, will remain business friendly, and is open for business.”

Bayo Onanuga, a special adviser on information and strategy to the president, wrote on X on Thursday that the company could not fulfil the first pledge because of challenging business climate then.

“Yes, the company made a similar promise three years ago. But it couldn’t fulfill it because of the challenging business environment prevailing in Nigeria then,” he said.

FCCPC INVESTIGATION
In violation of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act, Coca-Cola had deceitfully engaged in unfair tactics and misleading trade descriptions, making its customers unable to distinguish between products of different content.

The FCCPA commenced the investigation in 2019 and made its findings public in July.

EXPLAINER: Understanding the Coca-Cola’s $1 billion investment

Naysayers and doubters scorned the $1 billion fresh investment pledge in Nigeria made by the company's global leadership to President Bola Tinubu today in Abuja, saying the company made a similar promise in 2021.… pic.twitter.com/8uFEgoae38

— Bayo Onanuga (@aonanuga1956) September 19, 2024

Part of the report read, “By December 2020, the Commission was convinced based on the evidence, that Coca-Cola and NBC on multiple occasions, and counts violated, and remained in violation of the FCCPA, particularly with respect to transparency, and clear disclosure obligations to their product patrons, intentional communications in describing their Coca-Cola ‘Original Taste, Less Sugar’ variant as one and the same, as well as unchanged, when in actual fact, same had indeed changed, was different, differently formulated and not the same as their otherwise ‘classic’, or ‘Original Taste’. One of the parties also attempted to, or misled the Commission under Section 112 of the FCCPA.”

The commission’s findings include: “a) That companies knowingly and intentionally applied a trade description to the Coca-Cola Less Sugar variant that could reasonably mislead consumers as to the nature and feel of the drink, in such a manner that consumers would assume that the product was the Coca-Cola Original Taste variant, in violation of Section 116 (1) and (2) of the FCCPA.

“b) That NBC, by producing and distributing the two variants of Limca Lime-Lemon flavoured drink in the same packaging and brand design, and using the same NAFDAC registration number for both products, impliedly and falsely communicated to the consumer that both products are the same and thus misled and deceived consumers, in violation of Section 123 (1) (a), (b) and (c) of the FCCPA and Regulation 2 (a) of the National Agency For Food And Drug Administration and Control Act (2004), Pre-packaged Food (Labelling) Regulations.

“c) That NBC, on at least four occasions, provided false and misleading information to the Commission, in violation of Section 112 of the FCCPA; and That CocaCola Nigeria, on at least one occasion, misled the Commission, in violation of Section 112 of the FCCPA.”

In its conclusion, FCCPC disclosed that after it concluded the open investigation, it again engaged Coca-Cola and NBC with a view to providing sufficient remedies. However, Coca-Cola, despite this prolonged investigation, and multiple opportunities to comply with the law, failed to do same pursue remedies.

“Despite multiple and repeated further engagements with Coca-Cola, NBC and their respective retained legal practitioners, the current market status and consumer feedback clearly demonstrates the colossal ineffectiveness of the milder and weak differentiations Coca-Cola and NBC have adopted,” FCCPC said.

“Their internal documents show that they are aware of the evidence of the feedback that their efforts remain ineffectual. Coca-Cola and NBC have however made more spirited efforts at other interventions to address the regulatory concerns than measures to ensure compliance, and discharge from the regulatory process.”

It remains unclear whether the company would made good its investment promise this time around.

Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company has disclosed plans to invest $1 billion in Nigeria in expansion of its business in the next five years.

The Chief Executive Officer, (CEO) of the company, Mr Zoran Bogdanovic disclosed this during his visit to President Tinubu where it noted the company’s long-term commitment to Nigeria.

In a statement signed by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, Coca Cola noted that it generates around N300 billion in revenues year from Nigeria and returns N90 billion back to the government.

Furthermore, the company noted that since 2013, it has spent around $1.5 billion in its Nigerian business on capacity expansion, supply distribution and logistics.

According to Mr. Zoran Bogdanovic, “That assurance gives us the confidence to continue our investments. Since 2013, we have invested $ 1.5 billion in Nigeria in capacity expansion, transformation of our supply chain infrastructure capabilities, training and development.”

“I am very pleased to announce that, with a predictable and enabling environment in place, we plan to invest an additional $1 billion over the next five years. We believe Nigeria’s potential is tremendous, and we are committed to working with the government to realise this potential.”

President Tinubu praised Coca-Cola for its enduring partnership with Nigeria and for creating over 3,000 jobs across its nine production facilities.

Addressing the delegation, he emphasized that private sector partnerships, which drive sustained investments, are key to his administration’s comprehensive reforms aimed at enhancing the business environment. He also assured that the government would continue working with Coca-Cola to boost investments and tackle environmental challenges, including climate change.

Coca cola’s recent row with FCCPC
The company’s investment will come as a confidence booster to the federal government in its drive to attract foreign investors despite significant exits in the past few years. However, the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) had earlier in the year accused Coca Cola of misleading trade description and unfair marketing tactics.

The FCCPC stated that Coca-Cola Nigeria Ltd and NBC misled the public by claiming that the ‘Original Taste, Less Sugar’ variant had the same formulation as the ‘Original Taste’ variant.
The Commission further noted that the matter of Abuse of Dominance, along with the appropriate penalties under the FCCPA and the Administrative Penalties Regulation 2020 (APR), has been reserved for future regulatory action, with penalties to be imposed in due course.

This @IjeleSpeaks2 attacked Sowore verbally when Sowore spoke against the abuse of Nnamdi Kanu's right by the FG. Now, his own rights are being trampled upon by the very system he defended. His APC/Batist friends have abandoned him but Sowore is still doing his best to defend his human rights. This is a lesson that no matter what, DO NOT, DO NOT, DO NOT support human rights violations