Business
Enugu Air, airport concession to support state’s $30bn economy goal — official
Enugu State is counting on its new airline and the concession of the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, enugu, to support its plan of growing the state’s economy from $4.4 billion to $30 billion by 2031, the Secretary to the State Government, Chidiebere Onyia, said on Tuesday.
Mr Onyia spoke during the Renewed Hope Media Tour of the airport, where he outlined how the state government’s plans to use aviation, tourism, and agriculture to drive economic growth.
According to him, the airport concession is part of a broader strategy by Governor Peter Mbah’s administration to re-position Enugu as a major economic hub in the South-east.
“We looked at Enugu as an economic hub where tourism, hospitality, investment and aviation can work together to drive growth,” he said.
Mr Onyia said the state expects an increase in visitor traffic in the coming years and believes air transport will play an important role in supporting that growth.
He explained that the government’s projections are linked to plans to attract tourists, investors and businesses to the state.
According to him, depending entirely on commercial airlines could limit the state’s ability to move people into Enugu efficiently.
That, he said, informed the decision to establish Enugu Air.
“If we’re expecting people to come into Enugu, then we can’t depend solely on third-party airlines based on their schedules,” he said.
Mr Onyia disclosed that Enugu Air has six aircraft, describing it as the first phase of the project.
The state government also expects the aviation project to support tourism development.
Mr Onyia said efforts are ongoing to revitalise tourist sites across the state, including attractions expected to draw more visitors to Enugu.
He said that improved access to the state would complement investments in tourism and hospitality by making it easier for visitors to travel to various destinations.
“If people are going to come here for tourism, they need to be able to get into Enugu, and when they get into Enugu, we’ll need places for them to visit,” he said.
He also noted that the airport infrastructure will also support the state’s agricultural development plans through cargo operations.
According to him, the cargo terminal will make it easier to move goods and agricultural produce within and outside the state, creating more opportunities for businesses and investors.
“This is also going to help our agricultural investment outlook because this is where the cargo terminal will be, where we can move things in and out of the state,” he said.
He added that the government’s vision is to use aviation infrastructure to strengthen trade and economic activities across the region.
Private sector-led approach
Mr Onyia said the state adopted a private sector-driven model for the airline and airport projects to ensure efficiency and sustainability.
According to him, professionals with industry experience have been involved in developing the airline and setting up its governance structure.
He said the approach is intended to avoid challenges often associated with direct government management of commercial enterprises.
READ ALSO: ENSSAA to begin enforcement against unauthorised outdoor advertisements across Enugu State
Providing an update on the airport concession process, Mr Onyia said October has been set as the timeline for the next phase of activities.
He explained that the current stage marks an important milestone in the project and will allow concessionaires and contractors to begin work at the site.
Mr Onyia also acknowledged the support of President Bola Tinubu and the Federal Ministry of Aviation in advancing the project.
According to him, federal approvals helped move the initiative from the planning stage to implementation.
The concession of the Akanu Ibiam International Airport followed approval by the Federal Executive Council as part of efforts to attract private investment into airport infrastructure.
In January, the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, signed a concession agreement with Aero Alliance for the operation of the airport.
Under the arrangement, ownership of the airport remains with the Federal Government, while the concessionaire will operate, maintain, and upgrade the facility.
The project has attracted public attention in recent months as the Federal Government and Enugu State continue efforts to re-position the airport as a major gateway for business, tourism and trade in the South-east.
BY NKECHI BAECHE-ESEZOBOR—The National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), on Friday debunked reports in the media allegedly issued by the management of Niger Insurance Plc, describing it as false, misleading and intended to deceive the public.
According to the commission,the report which was published by various media organizations lon July 15, 2026, misrepresented the legal status of Niger Insurance Plc, whose operating licence was revoked in 2022.
The commission disclosed this in a statement made aviation to BusinessTodayNG that it remains the only Federal Government agency established by law and vested with the exclusive statutory powers to license, regulate, and cancel the licence of any insurance institution in Nigeria.
It said due to the insolvent state of affairs of Niger Insurance and its persistent inability to pay verified insurance claims, NAICOM, in the exercise of its statutory mandate to protect policyholders, cancelled the its licence in 2022. Consequently, Otunba Sanya Ogunkuade, Esq. was appointed by NAICOM as the Receiver/Liquidator of the Company.
NAICOM added that “Following the cancellation of the licence, some former directors of the Company instituted a suit at the Federal High Court in 2022, purposely to challenge the cancellation of the Company’s licence and the appointment of the Receiver/Liquidator.
“The suit was struck out by the Federal High Court on 31 January 2023 on the grounds that the Plaintiffs lacked the power to institute the suit after the appointment of the Receiver/Liquidator, whose appointment had been duly registered by the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC).
“The decision of the Federal High Court validated the cancellation of the Company’s licence and the appointment of the Receiver. An appeal by the Plaintiffs to the Court of Appeal by the Plaintiffs in the above suit was also struck out on 27th February 2025 by the Court of Appeal. A further appeal by the Plaintiffs to the Supreme Court is still pending
It added that an appeal against the judgment was also dismissed by the Court of Appeal on February 27, 2025, while a further appeal remains pending before the Supreme Court.
NAICOM noted that another suit filed by the same group of former directors resulted in a judgment delivered by the Federal High Court on June 5, 2026.
However, the Commission said the judgment is already being challenged at the Court of Appeal, where applications for a stay of execution have also been filed by both NAICOM and the Receiver/Liquidator.
The regulator maintained that the June 2026 judgment cannot override the earlier Court of Appeal decision, which upheld the cancellation of Niger Insurance’s licence.
The Commission also disclosed that some former directors whose names appeared as plaintiffs in the latest suit had written to disclaim any knowledge of the action, alleging that their names were used without their consent.
It further revealed that it has petitioned the Inspector-General of Police over what it described as the unlawful activities of individuals allegedly parading themselves as the management of Niger Insurance Plc.
According to the Commission, the petition seeks to prevent attempts to interfere with or dispose of the company’s assets, which are meant to satisfy legitimate insurance claims and other obligations.
The Commission reiterated that Niger Insurance Plc remains prohibited from underwriting new insurance business and that its affairs continue to be managed exclusively by the Receiver/Liquidator.
The commission also advised the general public to distance themselves from any person or group of persons purporting to act for or on behalf of the Company, other than the lawfully appointed Receiver/Liquidator
While reassuring that the company’s licence remains revoked, its former board and management remain dissolved, and the Receiver/Liquidator will continue to administer the company’s assets pending the final winding-up of its affairs.
The post NAICOM Dismisses Niger Insurance Claims, Says Company’s Licence Remains Revoked appeared first on Business Today NG.
Nigeria’s foremost development finance institution, the Bank of Industry (BOI), has secured a €60 million credit facility from the European Investment Bank to fund Nigeria’s cocoa and dairy value-addition drive, with a focus on processing, ingredients, and chocolate manufacturing.
The Managing Director/CEO of BOI, Olasupo Olusi, disclosed this on Tuesday, during the Africa Cocoa Summit convened in Abuja by the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment.
With the summit, the ministry aims to transition Africa from exporting raw beans to local processing and branding.
Also known as the Cocoa Value Addition Summit, with the theme ‘From Bean to Brand,’ it was attended by leaders and stakeholders from Nigeria, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, and Cameroon, who signed the Abuja Declaration to establish the Cocoa Value Addition Alliance (CVAA).
According to Mr Olusi, the €60 million forms part of the €85 million EIB–BOI facility, backed by the European Union under the Global Gateway initiative, and designed specifically to strengthen these critical sectors in Nigeria.
The BOI chief said the cocoa value chain initiative provides livelihoods for thousands of Nigerians, aims to enhance productivity, value addition, and market linkages that will directly improve the incomes of farmers and processors in the country.
“This agreement reinforces the Bank of Industry’s commitment to unlocking long-term, affordable finance for priority sectors that drive inclusive growth.
“Approximately 70 per cent of the €85 million financing facility will be channeled to Nigeria’s cocoa and dairy sectors, which BOI considers among the industries with the greatest potential to create jobs and retain foreign exchange earnings.”
“We are particularly focused on cocoa value chains, which provide livelihoods for thousands of Nigerians. Through this initiative, we aim to enhance productivity, value addition, and market linkages that will directly improve the incomes of farmers and processors,” Mr Olusi said.
The BOI MD said that the bank would prioritise lending to processors, cooperatives, and MSMEs that add value locally, rather than only to traders exporting raw beans.
He added that the era of celebrating volume of raw exports must end, as Nigeria loses billions by shipping beans and importing finished chocolate.
According to him, the goal is to create factories around cocoa communities so that value, jobs, and taxes remain in Nigeria.
Technical assistance
However, Mr Olusi noted that financing alone is not enough, and as such, BOI will complement the loans with technical assistance on compliance, climate standards, and access to the EU market.
BOI, he said, will also support farmers and processors to meet the EU Deforestation Regulation and other international environmental and social standards.
Citing BOI’s track record, Mr Olusi said the bank disbursed over ₦164 billion in 2025 to more than 3,500 agro and food-processing businesses.
The support financed factories, mills, packhouses, and cold chains, and linked nearly 48,000 smallholder farmers into industrial value chains, he stated.
The BOI boss said the new financing would target the entire ecosystem, from nurseries and farmer cooperatives to grinding plants, ingredient factories, packaging lines, and chocolate manufacturers.
Cocoa value addition
Speaking also at the summit, President Bola Tinubu, who was represented by the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari, called for a decisive shift from Africa’s long-standing dependence on exporting raw cocoa beans.
Mr Tinubu urged the stakeholders of the producing countries to prioritise value addition and capture a larger share of the global chocolate industry’s wealth.
He noted that although Africa accounts for about 70 per cent of global cocoa production, the continent retains only six cents of every dollar generated by the global chocolate industry.
Mr Tinubu stressed that Nigeria was committed to processing more of its cocoa locally, expanding chocolate manufacturing, building indigenous brands, and competing more effectively in international markets, rather than continuing to export raw cocoa beans.
According to the president, cocoa value addition remains a key component of his Renewed Hope Agenda and the country’s broader industrialisation strategy.
He further disclosed that investors are developing a 70,000-tonne cocoa processing facility in Shagamu, Ogun State, while Nigeria’s cocoa grinding capacity has already surpassed 120,000 tonnes annually.
One-trillion-dollar economy
Earlier at the summit, the, Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Jumoke Oduwole, said the summit aligns with the Federal Government’s ambition of building a one-trillion-dollar economy by 2030.
She observed that despite Nigeria’s significant contribution to global cocoa production, the country continues to earn only a small fraction of the value created across the cocoa value chain.
According to Ms Oduwole, the FG is promoting greater value addition through manufacturing incentives, inves,tment promotion and stronger collaboration among relevant institutions.
The minister added that the government would also deepen market access by leveraging existing trade partnerships and opportunities under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), while encouraging investors to take advantage of regional and global value chains to unlock the sector’s full economic potential.
Cocoa Value Addition Alliance
Also speaking, the Minister of State for Industry, John Owan Enoh, described the summit as another milestone in implementing Nigeria’s Industrial Policy, and announced plans for the establishment of the Cocoa Value Addition Alliance, b,ringing together Nigeria, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire and Cameroon, countries that collectively account for about 75 per cent of global cocoa production.
READ ALSO: Bank of Industry hands over 30-room hostel to Nigerian university
According to Mr Enoh, the alliance is designed to strengthen regional cooperation, promote local processing, and enable producing countries to capture greater value from the global cocoa market.
“We are not here to disrupt existing partnerships but to expand them,” the Minister of State for Industry, Mr Enoh, said.
He urged African cocoa-producing nations to move beyond exporting raw beans and instead focus on developing branded cocoa products capable of competing successfully in global markets.
On his part, the Chief Executive of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), Ransford Abbey, urged African cocoa-producing countries to deepen domestic processing.
“I am here to support the effort and commit to a joint effort towards increasing value for our hardworking cocoa farmers and our respective economies,” Mr Abbey said.
He said Africa produced about 75 per cent of the world’s cocoa but earned less than 10 per cent of the global chocolate industry’s wealth.
“This system cannot continue. We must shift the paradigm from exporting raw poverty to creating refined wealth right here on ,the African continent,” he said, adding that stronger regional collaboration, investment, and technology transfer will help African countries capture greater value from the global cocoa economy.
The Head of Cooperation of the European Union Delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Massimo De Luca, reiterated the importance of value addition in the cocoa value chain.
While expressing the support of the EU, Mr De Luca called on governments of the various countries to ensure they play their part in ensuring that a proper framework necessary for the success of the initiative was established and clarified.
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