Business

AIICO Insurance Denies False Allegations, Sues Obinna Nwosu Over Defamation

Published

1 hour ago

August 22, 2026

Preport

BY NKECHI BAECHE-ESEZOBOR—In a decisive move to protect its corporate reputation, AIICO Insurance Plc has taken legal action against a dismissed agent, Mr. Obinna Adolphus Nwosu, suing him for defamation after he circulated unsubstantiated claims to regulators, the media, and the general public.

For the avoidance of doubt, Mr. Nwosu’s appointment as an agent of AIICO Insurance Plc was terminated. Following the termination of his appointment, the Company published a public notice in national newspapers on 26 June 2025, expressly warning customers and members of the public against continuing to transact or maintain any business relationship with him on behalf of, or in connection with, AIICO Insurance Plc.

A statement released by the company reads: “AIICO Insurance Plc has become aware of a sustained campaign of false and misleading allegations being circulated by Mr. Obinna Adolphus Nwosu, a former agent of the Company, to various stakeholders, including regulatory authorities, law enforcement agencies, media organisations, bloggers, employees and other members of the public.

“Notwithstanding this, Mr. Nwosu has continued to circulate false and misleading narratives about the Company through various channels, including digital platforms and direct communications with stakeholders.

“His persistent and increasingly aggressive efforts to disseminate these claims have the potential to cause unwarranted damage to the Company’s reputation and create unnecessary concern among its employees, customers and other stakeholders.

“AIICO Insurance Plc wishes to state unequivocally that these allegations are false and should be treated with the utmost caution. Rather than engage in a media exchange or submit to a trial in the court of public opinion, the Company has elected to pursue the matter through the appropriate legal channels and has consequently commenced a defamation action against Mr. Nwosu at the Lagos State High Court.”

The statement added that “AIICO Insurance Plc will not be drawn into a public exchange with a former agent who has chosen to continue making unsubstantiated allegations while the matter is being pursued through the courts. The Company remains confident that the facts will be properly examined and determined through the established judicial process.

It further urged the media, regulators, employees, customers and the public are therefore urged to exercise due caution and discountenance the false and misleading narratives being circulated by Mr. Nwosu.

The statement also called on Nwosu to make himself available to receive the relevant court processes and allow the matter to proceed in accordance with the law, rather than continuing to prosecute his claims through digital media and direct approaches to individuals within and outside the Company.

While noting that any genuine grievance or complaint should be presented through the appropriate regulatory, investigative or judicial channels, where it can be properly examined and determined based on verifiable facts and evidence.

The company reaffirmed assured “AIICO Insurance Plc remains committed to the highest standards of integrity, accountability and transparency.

The Company will continue to pursue all lawful avenues available to protect its reputation, its employees, customers and other stakeholders, and to ensure that the matter is resolved through due process and in accordance with the law.

The post AIICO Insurance Denies False Allegations, Sues Obinna Nwosu Over Defamation appeared first on Business Today NG.

Related Topics:AIICO Allegations Defamation denies False Insurance Nwosu Obinna sues

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Dangote to sell 30% shareholding of new refinery to East African countries – Report

Published

9 hours ago

August 21, 2026

Preport

Dangote Group, the empire of Africa’s richest man Aliko Dangote, has offered a 30 per cent holding in its proposed 700,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) refinery to nations in East Africa, the region where the mega crude-processing plant is to be located, Bloomberg reported Friday.

Kenya, where the new refinery will be sited at the southeastern coastal town of Lamu, will take a 10 per cent stake estimated at around half a trillion dollars, David Ndii, a top economic adviser of President Ruto, told Bloomberg.

“The total for the region is about $1.5 billion. I don’t actually see a challenge in doing that, and if some of them are not off-taking we will backstop,” Mr Ndii was quoted as saying at a capital market conference in Nairobi on Thursday.

Ethiopia and Rwanda are said to have indicated willingness to participate.

Mr Dangote is turning to business-friendly Kenya and other promising markets in East Africa to expand his multi-billion dollar empire after facing an avalanche of resistance from his home country Nigeria in bringing a refinery of similar capacity to completion.

The Nigerian refinery, situated in the outskirts of Lagos and initially projected to be completed in 2016, did not see the light of the day until eight years after, held back by logistic delay, infrastructure constraints and COVID-19 lockdowns.

The magnate, who has built his fortune around cement, sugar and a couple of fast-moving consumer products, accused international oil companies of sabotaging efforts at getting the refinery running seamlessly in its early days.

He claimed that the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, which serves as the top watchdog for the midstream and downstream segments of the oil industry, issued new licences to some players to import “dirty fuel” as part of a broader conspiracy to frustrate his push to wean Nigeria off its longstanding dependency on fuel imports.

In the heat of the crisis, Farouk Ahmed, the CEO of the regulator at the time, resigned his appointment, while Mele Kyari, the immediate past managing director of state oil company NNPC Limited, whom Mr Dangote accused of surreptitiously running a fuel blending plant off the coast of Malta, was shown the exit door.

“I knew there would be a fight. But I didn’t know that the mafia in oil, they are stronger than the mafia in drugs,” he told an investment conference in June 2024.

ALSO READ: Dangote Refinery raises $2.5 billion in Africa’s largest private equity placement

A private placement, which raised $2.5 billion ahead of the Nigerian refinery’s planned $5 billion initial public offer scheduled for October, valued the refinery at $40 billion.

The private equity capital raise was 3.7 times, drawing interest from African institutional investors and institutional investors from outside the continent.
The groundbreaking of the Kenyan refinery is expected to kick off next month.

That puts the company on course to achieve the ambition of doubling its refining capacity to 1.4 million bpd in the next three years, with processing capacity at the refinery in Lagos already upped to 700,000 bpd from its original 650,000 bpd.

The planned refinery in Kenya is expected to cost $15 billion to $17 billion.

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Business

Sanwo-Olu Sets Fresh Agenda to End Blackouts, as Lagos Targets 3,500MW Power Supply

Published

1 day ago

August 21, 2026

Preport

The Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to ending the persistent blackout and aim for a twenty four hours electricity in the state.

He said the Lagos State Government is ready to work with the critical stakeholders to actualise the targeted increase in available electricity supply to about 3,500 megawatts (MW) through coordinated action on generation, transmission, distribution and metering.

Governor Sanwo-Olu made the commitment on Thursday at the Lagos State High-Level Strategic Power Town Hall, held at Lagos House, Marina, to critically assess the state’s electricity situation and develop practical solutions to the challenges affecting generation, transmission and distribution.

The high-level engagement was attended by stakeholders across the electricity value chain, including regulators, power distributors, transmission operators, asset managers, investors and representatives of the Federal Government and Lagos State Government.

The town hall meeting focused on how Lagos can leverage its enormous electricity demand, existing infrastructure and emerging state electricity market to attract investment and deliver more reliable power to homes, businesses and industries.

Speaking at the town hall meeting, Governor Sanwo-Olu called for stronger coordination, smart metering, better data management, enforcement and revenue assurance as panacea to the perennial challenges facing the sector. He said stakeholders must work together to build consumer confidence and attract investment.

Also speaking, the Minister of Power, Mr. Joseph Tegbe, who was represented by the Director of Distribution Services in the Federal Ministry of Power, Engr. Baba Mustapha, said Lagos requires more than 6,000MW, but currently receives far less from the national grid.

He stressed that increased generation would have limited impact without adequate transmission and distribution infrastructure, identifying gas supply, generation, transmission capacity, distribution bottlenecks and metering as key priorities.

The Special Adviser to the President on Power and Chairman of the Presidential Taskforce on Power Sector Reset and Restoration, Dr. Rilwan Lanre Babalola, said the challenge before Lagos and Nigeria was no longer simply about generating more electricity, but about building a functional and sustainable electricity market.

He said the country must move away from a system where government continuously acts as buyer, guarantor and absorber of losses across the electricity value chain.

Babalola explained that the proposed Clean Lagos Electricity Market (CLEM) could provide a practical model for transforming Lagos’ huge electricity demand into a structured and investable market through demand aggregation, bilateral contracting, open access, payment assurance and transparent settlement.

He said stakeholders must be able to establish where the demand and customers are, where electricity and gas will come from, whether the network can deliver the power, the efficient tariff and how payments will move transparently to generators, network operators and gas suppliers.

Babalola also highlighted the importance of decentralisation following constitutional amendments and the Electricity Act, which have opened the way for states to establish and regulate their electricity markets.

Also speaking, the Lagos State Commissioner for Energy and Mineral Resources, Mr. Abiodun Ogunleye, said the town hall meeting was convened to bring an end to what he described as the culture of blackout in Lagos.

He said Lagos State would develop clear action points and establish a baseline for measuring progress at the proposed six-month review.

On tariffs, Ogunleye stressed that improved electricity supply must accompany payment, insisting that consumers should not be made to pay for darkness

He explained that achieving the target would allow more feeders to operate and provide increased electricity to homes and industries that require reliable power for productive activities.

Ogunleye also disclosed that newly commissioned substations would contribute to the state’s power infrastructure, while the government would work with distribution companies to monitor selected feeders and measure improvements in electricity supply.

The Chief Executive Officer of the Lagos State Electricity Regulatory Commission, Temitope George, identified constraints in generation and transmission, energy theft, vandalism and non-payment of electricity bills as major challenges affecting the sector.

George urged electricity consumers to pay for the power they consume, warning that non-payment distorts the electricity market and ultimately affects the ability of other consumers to receive adequate supply.

She said Lagos State is also exploring embedded power generation to complement electricity from the national grid and reduce overdependence on the national system.

The town hall ended with a commitment by stakeholders to translate the discussions into concrete action points, establish measurable baselines and periodically assess progress.

The post Sanwo-Olu Sets Fresh Agenda to End Blackouts, as Lagos Targets 3,500MW Power Supply appeared first on Business Today NG.