The Governor of Nasarawa State, Abdullahi Sule, has urged the Dangote Group to scale up its investments by leveraging the state’s abundant mineral resources.

Speaking at the opening of the 3rd edition of the Nasarawa Trade Fair and Exhibition (NASTFE), the Governor who was represented by the Director of Trade in the state Ministry of Trade Industry and Investment, Dr. Ahmed Agbo II, said already there is an existing high-level collaboration with the Dangote Group.

The Governor said Nasarawa State is home to several mineral resources that will interest the Dangote Group.

He commended the company for its job creation stride, adding its $100billion target for vision 2030 will further help,Not only small businesses,but the Nigerian Economy.

The Dangote Group is the major sponsor of the Nasarawa Trade Fair and Exhibition (NASTFE) with the theme: Unlocking Industrial Synergy: Deepening the Value Chain and Driving Inclusive Growth in Nasarawa State.

The State is home to the Dangote’s Nasarawa Sugar Company Limited (NSCL), a backward integration project in the sugar sub sector of the Nigerian economy.

The sugar project, when completed, will be one of the biggest sugar investments on the African continent.

Meanwhile, the Nigerian Association of Small-Scale Industrialists (NASSI) has said that the Dangote Group’s Vision 2030 will support Small and Media Scale Enterprises in Nigeria

This is coming as participants throng the company’s pavilion at the ongoing 3rd edition of the Nasarawa Trade Fair and Exhibition (NASTFE).

Speaking to newsmen on the sideline of the Trade Fair, Chairman of NASSI, Nasarawa State Chapter, Comrade Nidan Sambo Manasseh, said the company’s achievement is a model for small and micro businesses in Nasarawa and Nigeria.

He said NASSI is partnering the Dangote Group to upscale small businesses in Nigeria in line with the company’s Vision 2030.

He said Dangote’s Vision 2030 is an ambitious target that will positively impact all economic activities on the African continent.

He said: “Our strategy is to align local enterprise development with large-scale industrial systems in line with the Trade Fair’s theme: Unlocking Industrial Synergy: Deepening the Value Chain and Driving Inclusive Growth in Nasarawa State.”

He said through its flagship Empowerment Skill Acquisition Programme(ESAP), thousands of youths across Nasarawa State have been trained.

Speaking at the opening of the fair, Regional Director and Senior Adviser to the President of the Dangote Group, Mrs. Fatima Wali-Abdurrahman, noted that the Trade Fair provides a valuable platform for the company to engage with key stakeholders and Nigerians interested in exploring business opportunities with the organization.

The Garko Stakeholders Consultative Congress (GSCC) has called on political parties to prioritize competence, integrity, and proven track records in selecting candidates for state and federal elective positions, as part of efforts to ensure credible representation for the people of Garko Local Government Area.

The call was made during a high-level stakeholders’ brainstorming session held in Kano, where the Chairman of the forum, Hamisu Sule Garko, stressed that the era of mediocre leadership must come to an end.

He noted that the forum, which comprises technocrats, public office holders, business leaders, and retired civil servants, is committed to promoting a new standard of political engagement.

“The Garko Stakeholders Consultative Congress is committed to a new dawn of political engagement. We are appealing to all political parties to look inward and field candidates from Garko who possess the requisite competence and a verifiable history of service. Competence is the only prerequisite for credible leadership,” he said.

According to the forum, its position is anchored on the belief that sustainable development is directly tied to the quality of leadership, adding that Garko has a pool of capable individuals who can effectively represent the area at both the state and national levels.

The group further emphasized its resolve to identify and support individuals of unquestionable character, noting that credible leadership remains essential for attracting meaningful development to the area.

“Our goal is to brainstorm and identify people of proven integrity. We believe that only competent leadership at all levels can attract the necessary development to our community. Moving forward, the GSCC will work across party lines to ensure that Garko is no longer sidelined but represented by leaders who understand the pains and aspirations of its people,” the chairman added.

The forum reaffirmed its commitment to advocacy that promotes good governance and socio-economic development, not only within Garko Local Government Area but across Kano State as a whole.

Pulse Nigeria has issued a public apology and clarification following widespread backlash over its earlier report suggesting that the Kano State Government distributed underwear to women as empowerment materials.

The media platform had initially published a post with the headline implying that the state government was responsible for distributing branded underwear, a report that quickly sparked criticism, mockery, and political controversy across social media.
In response, the Kano Development Forum, in a correspondence issued by Nworisa Michael, General secretary of the forum formally engaged Pulse Nigeria, demanding the immediate removal of the report and a public clarification to correct what it described as a misleading and damaging narrative against the Government and people of Kano State.

Following the intervention, Pulse Nigeria first deleted the original post and later released an official clarification acknowledging that the publication was made without sufficient verification and lacked the necessary context.
In its statement, Pulse Nigeria admitted that the report failed to clarify that the Kano State Government was not responsible for the incident and that the images in circulation were largely linked to the actions of political supporters rather than any official government initiative.

The platform further stated that the framing of the report may have led to misinterpretation and unintended reputational damage to both the people of Kano and the Kano State Government.
“We recognize that the framing of our post may have led to misinterpretation and unintended reputational implications for the people of Kano and the Kano State Government. For this, we take full responsibility,” the statement read.

Pulse Nigeria also extended what it described as its “unreserved apologies” to the people of Kano, the Kano State Government, and all those affected by the misrepresentation.
Reacting to the development, Kano Development Forum described the clarification as a necessary step toward responsible journalism and accountability, while emphasizing that the rush to break news without proper verification continues to damage media credibility.

The controversy had stemmed from images of women displaying red underwear during the APC outing to welcome the First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, to Kano. The images were later weaponized politically, with edited versions falsely suggesting that the state government had distributed the items as an empowerment initiative.

Residebts noted that the issue was more rooted in political symbolism and supporter actions than any formal government programme.

The Forum maintained that while public criticism of the display itself may be valid, falsely attributing it to official government policy was misleading and required correction.