President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has commended the Dangote Group for its significant contribution to Nigeria’s economic growth, citing the conglomerate’s strategic investments in key sectors as instrumental in boosting domestic production, creating jobs, reducing dependence on imports, conserving foreign exchange and strengthening the country’s industrial capacity.

The President gave the commendation during a visit to the Dangote Group pavilion at the ongoing 32nd Nigeria Economic Summit at the Transcorp Hilton, Abuja, on Monday. He was represented at the event by Vice President Kashim Shettima.

Tinubu praised the Group’s performance across its business operations, highlighting the critical role of private-sector investments in expanding productive capacity, stimulating economic activities and supporting national development.

The Dangote Group has investments spanning cement manufacturing, fertiliser production, sugar refining, salt processing and petroleum refining.

These investments contribute to local value addition, employment generation and the development of domestic supply chains, while supporting efforts to reduce Nigeria’s dependence on imported products.

He said his administration is creating conditions for public and private sectors to invest, expand and generate productive employment.

Dangote Group is the second biggest employer of labour after the federal government.

The 2026 Nigeria Economic Summit, themed “Growth That Works: Delivering Jobs, Productivity and Shared Prosperity,” was declared open by the President, who used the occasion to defend the Federal Government’s ongoing economic reforms and emphasise the importance of industrial harmony and private-sector-led growth.

The summit brings together policymakers, business leaders, investors and other stakeholders to discuss practical strategies for accelerating economic growth, improving productivity, generating employment and ensuring that the benefits of economic expansion reach more Nigerians.

The President’s commendation underscores the importance of sustained collaboration between government and the private sector in building a more productive, competitive and resilient Nigerian economy.

He said Nigeria has performed below its potentials for far too long, but “there is no shortcut for economic development.”

We came to rewrite the story of a nation that has performed below its potentials for far too long,” he said.

Through its investments in strategic industries, the Dangote Group remains a major private-sector participant in Nigeria’s industrialisation drive, with the potential to deepen local manufacturing, strengthen supply chains and support the country’s broader economic development objectives.

Through the Dangote Group’s diversified operations, the conglomerate has established a substantial presence across critical sectors of the economy, providing products and services that support construction, agriculture, manufacturing, energy and other productive activities.

One of its investments is the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals complex in Lagos, which has the potential to transform Nigeria’s downstream petroleum industry by increasing domestic refining capacity and reducing the country’s reliance on imported refined petroleum products.

By Yusuf Danjuma Yunusa

The Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday dismissed a no-case submission filed by former Gov. Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State in his ongoing trial over alleged unlawful interception of the telephone communications of the National Security Adviser, NSA, Nuhu Ribadu.

Justice Joyce Abdulmalik, in a ruling, held that the State Security Service, SSS, had placed before the court sufficient evidence to warrant the court to call on the ex-governor to enter his defence if he so desires.

The judge, therefore, ordered El-Rufai, the sole defendant in the charge, to enter his defence.

The defendant had opted for a no-case submission after the SSS closed its case by calling two witnesses.

Mr El-Rufai, through his counsel, Akinyemi Aremu, had urged the court to hold that the prosecution had failed to establish a case requiring the former governor to enter a defence.

In response, the SSS lawyer, Oluwole Aladedoye, SAN, adopted their counter affidavit in opposition to the no-case submission.

Mr Aladedoye argued that the defence failed to address Exhibit “B”, which the prosecution said contained El-Rufai’s alleged admission concerning the tapping of Ribadu’s phone.

He submitted that since the prosecution had established a prima facie case against El-Rufai, the defendant was required by law to enter his defence.

The National Chairman of Jama’atu Izalatil Bid’ah Wa Iqamatis Sunnah (JIBWIS), Sheikh Abdullahi Bala Lau, has strongly condemned a viral video showing a man dressed in the uniform of the organisation’s First Aid Group, participating in a jogging exercise and chanting provocative statements calling for AK-47 rifles to be given to them to enable them to travel to Enugu on Sunday and carry out an attack.

Reacting to the disturbing development, Sheikh Bala Lau called on the Department of State Services (DSS), the Nigeria Police Force and other relevant security agencies to immediately investigate the incident, identify those responsible and ensure that anyone found culpable is brought to justice in accordance with the law.

The National Chairman categorically dissociated JIBWIS from the inflammatory statements, stressing that such expressions of violence, intimidation and threats against any community are completely alien to the principles, teachings and objectives upon which the organisation was established.

He emphasised that wearing the uniform of the JIBWIS First Aid Group or appearing among its members does not automatically establish that an individual is acting on behalf of the organisation or with its authorisation.

Sheikh Bala Lau further expressed concern that the incident could represent a deliberate attempt by individuals or external interests to misrepresent the organisation and damage its longstanding reputation. He therefore urged security agencies to thoroughly investigate the circumstances surrounding the video, including the identity, affiliation and possible motives of those involved.

The Chairman recalled that JIBWIS recently organised an international conference in Abuja, bringing together Christian leaders, Muslim scholars from different Islamic schools of thought, prominent personalities and participants from different parts of the world, with the central objective of promoting interfaith dialogue, mutual understanding, religious tolerance and peaceful coexistence.

He questioned how an organisation that has consistently invested its resources, leadership and institutional efforts in building bridges across religious and ethnic divides could reasonably be associated with statements advocating violence against fellow Nigerians.

For approximately 48 years since its establishment, JIBWIS has remained committed to the propagation of authentic Islamic teachings, the promotion of the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad (SAW), moral reformation, education, humanitarian services and the peaceful coexistence of people irrespective of their religious, ethnic or geographical backgrounds.