Business

Why FG Sited N71.19bn Solar Cell Factory In Nasarawa —Osinbajo

Published

3 years ago

March 25, 2023

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, on Friday, in Nasarawa State, said the abundance of Silicon and Silica—major raw materials for the production of solar cells—informed the siting of the NASENI solar cells production plant in Gora, Karu Local Government Area of the state.

“The major raw material requirements for the production of solar cells—Silicon and Silica—are naturally occurring in abundance in this area. We are grateful to the good people of Nasarawa for hosting this important project,” Osinbajo said at the foundation-laying ceremony of the N71.19bn ($171.97m) facility he described as the first solar cell factory in West Africa.

Osinbajo noted that the ceremony was a culmination of a decade’s work by the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure which the Buhari regime has funded through a one per cent annual allocation from the federation account.

He said the project is necessary because it would be “clearly unsustainable” to add more carbon emissions to the $50bn worth of diesel fuel used in sub-Saharan Africa every year.

The thinking, the VP said, is in line with Nigeria’s Energy Transition Plan, which projects an increase in solar power use in the Nigerian energy mix, surpassing gas by 2035.

According to Osinbajo, “The prudent decision to site the factory in Gora, Nasarawa State, leverages translational research into the biogeography, geological surveys and mining cadastral reconnaissance that has positioned Nasarawa as the home of solid minerals in Nigeria.

“The major raw material requirements for producing Solar cells—Silicon and Silica—are naturally abundant in this area.

“We are grateful to the good people of Nasarawa for hosting this important project and congratulate you in advance for the positive boost it is certain to bring to the local economy.”

He stated that “this landmark achievement places Nigeria within the ranks of countries pushing the boundaries in using climate-smart alternative energy sources, particularly solar power.

“And as we have heard, this particular project is building on 10 years of work. 10 years ago, NASENI established its 7.5MW solar panel production plant. Its capacity is now 21MW.”

The Vice President observed, “NASENI’s solar cell production factory will be a game-changer, given the urgency of climate action today and the importance of developing African green energy manufacturing and solutions.”

He hoped the facility would “meet and surpass all our expectations when it becomes fully operational.”

The VP congratulated the government and the people of Nasarawa State, as well as the NASENI leadership led by its executive Vice Chair, Prof. Mohammed Haruna, on behalf of the President Muhammadu Buhari who is the Chairman of the governing board.

In his remarks, the Governor of Nasarawa State, Abdullahi Sule, thanked the Vice President for his concern towards the development of the State, country and the welfare of its people.

“We also in Nasarawa State knowing that you touched lives, will never forget you, we remain grateful to you, sir, in office and out of office,” Sule said.

Earlier in his remarks, the Executive Vice Chairman of NASENI, Prof. Mohammed Haruna, noted that the plant, which covers 15.8 hectares of land, comprises a polysilicon section with a capacity of 1,000 tons per annum, an Ingot section of 50MW per annum, Wafers of 50MW per annum and Solar cells of 50MW per annum.

He said, “It will cost a total of $171,970,000 (N71.19bn) with 85 per cent funding equivalent of $146,174,500 (N67.31bn) support from China Africa Development fund through the Bank of China and 15 per cent local counterpart funding, an equivalent of $25,795,500 (N11.88bn) from Nigeria.

“The other two projects are the Electric Power Transformer Production Plant at $123,990,000 and the High Voltage Testing Laboratory at $29,900,690. The total cost approved for the three projects is $325,860,690 and a total of $276,981,586.5 representing 85 per cent is from China.”

Haruna explained that the 15 per cent counterpart for the three projects is $48.88m and NASENI has in instalments remitted up to 46.89 per cent or $22.92m of the 15 percent ($48.88m).

He projected that an excess capacity of polysilicon and future expansion of wafers and solar cell production would lead to exportation for foreign exchange earnings.

Dignitaries at the event included the APC National Chairman, Sen. Abdullahi Adamu; Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Otunba Niyi Adebayo; Emir of Lafia HRM Justice Sidi Dauda Bage; and the Emir of Keffi, Dr Shehu Chindo Yamusa III, among others.
PUNCH

Business

Okonjo-Iweala Reveals How Nigeria Can Dominate AfCFTA

Published

9 hours ago

September 23, 2025

Editor

The Director-General of the World Trade Organisation, WTO, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, says Nigeria has what it takes to lead Africa’s new era of trade if it tackles high logistics costs, develops efficient payment systems, and invests in value addition.

Okonjo-Iweala, who was speaking on the sidelines of the WTO Public Forum in Geneva, Switzerland, said Nigeria and other African economies must speed up the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area, AfCFTA, and build stronger infrastructure to unlock billions of dollars in opportunities in manufacturing, services, and digital trade.

“The AfCFTA is a great step, but Africa trades only about 15–20 percent within itself — far below the European Union, EU’s 60 percent. We (Nigeria) need to speed up implementation so Africans trade more with each other.

“Take Lesotho: it exports around $200 million worth of textiles (jeans, etc.) to the U.S. — about 10 percent of its GDP — while Africa imports $7 billion of similar goods. Why not absorb Lesotho’s products within Africa? To unlock intra-African trade, we (Nigeria) need efficient payment systems (Afreximbank and others are working on this), better infrastructure and lower trade costs. It shouldn’t take longer to ship goods from Cape Town to Lagos than from China to Lagos.

“With critical minerals, energy, and new supply chains, plus opportunities in services and digital trade, there’s huge potential — if we invest in connectivity and implementation,” she said.

The former Nigeria’s Minister of Finance also cautioned that negative narratives about global commerce risk overshadowing recent successes achieved through multilateral cooperation.

Business

French Media Giant Canal+ Takes Over S.Africa’s Multichoice

Published

1 day ago

September 22, 2025

Editor

French media giant Canal+ said Monday it had taken effective control of South African television and streaming company MultiChoice, creating a group present in nearly 70 countries in Africa, Europe and Asia.

The companies said in a joint statement that the combined group will have a workforce of 17,000 employees and serve more than 40 million subscribers.

The acquisition is “the largest transaction ever undertaken” by Canal+, the statement said.

Canal+, which is already the sector’s leader in French-speaking African countries, now controls what it described as the leader in the continent’s English- and Portuguese-speaking regions.

“This acquisition allows us to strengthen our position as a leader in Africa, one of the most dynamic pay-TV markets in the world,” Canal+ chief executive Maxime Saada said in the statement.

The buyout was given a final green light by South Africa’s competition authority in late July, more than a year after Canal+ launched its bid.

Canal+ offered 125 rand ($7.2) per share for MultiChoice when it launched its offer last year, valuing the South African firm at around $3.0 billion.

Canal+ is present in 25 African countries through 16 subsidiaries and has eight million subscribers.

MultiChoice operates in 50 countries across sub-Saharan Africa and has 14.5 million subscribers.

It includes Africa’s premier sports broadcaster, SuperSport, and the DStv satellite television service.

AFP

Business

BREAKING: Nigeria’s GDP Grows By 4.23% In Q2 2025 – NBS

Published

2 days ago

September 22, 2025

Editor

Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product grew by 4.23 per cent (year-on-year) in the second quarter of 2025, the National Bureau of Statistics revealed in its Q2 2025 GDP Report.

According to the report released on Monday on its website, the figure shows a significant improvement compared to 3.48 per cent recorded in the second quarter of 2024 and the 3.13 per cent recorded in Q1 2025.

The figures signal a strengthening economy, driven by recent rebasing, rebound in oil production and a resilient non-oil sector.

The report said, “Following the rebasing of the Gross Domestic Product using 2019 as the base year, previous quarterly GDP estimates were benchmarked to the rebased annual estimates to align the old series with the new rebased estimates

“This procedure provided a new quarterly GDP series, which is compared to the 2025 second quarter estimates. Gross Domestic Product grew by 4.23% (year-on-year) in real terms in the second quarter of 2025.

“This growth rate is higher than the 3.48 per cent recorded in the second quarter of 2024. During the quarter under review, agriculture grew by 2.82%, an improvement from the 2.60% recorded in the corresponding quarter of 2024.

According to NBS, “The growth of the industry sector stood at 7.45% from 3.72% recorded in the second quarter of 2024, while the Services sector recorded a growth of 3.94% from 3.83% in the same quarter of 2024.”

The report said in terms of share of the GDP, “the Industry sector contributed more to the aggregate GDP in the second quarter of 2025 at 17.31% compared to the corresponding quarter of 2024 at 16.79%.”

It added, “In the quarter under review, aggregate GDP at basic price stood at N100,730,501.10 million in nominal terms. This performance is higher when compared to the second quarter of 2024, which recorded an aggregate GDP of N84,484,878.46 million, indicating a year-on-year nominal growth of 19.23%.”

Details later…