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Gateway Trade Fair: OGUNCCIMA lauds Dangote Group’s collaboration.
THE Ogun State Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (OGUNCCIMA) has commended the Pan African Conglomerate, Dangote Group for its giant strides in economic development of the country through massive investments in several sectors of the economy describing the feat as worthy of emulation by other Nigerians.
President of OGUNCCIMA, Mrs. Adesola Adebutu who made this commendation at the opening ceremony of the 8th Gateway Trade Fair holding in Abeokuta Ogun state said the support given enough by the Dangote Group went a long way in making the staging of the Fair a success.
She explained that the theme of the Fair, “Promoting Agricultural Value Chain through SMES for Nigeria Economic Recovery”, was chosen in line with Ogun state’s policy of Agricultural industrialization which is also in consonance with the national policy of repositioning agriculture as the viable alternative to oil.
Mrs Adebutu stated that OGUNCCIMA was planned to be a clear departure from the past such that this year’s will rekindle the interest of the old investors and introduce new ones in new opportunities for its investments in Ogun State.
In his opening address, Ogun State governor, Ibikunle Amosu, thanked OGUNCCIMA for taking up the challenge to organize the fair despite paucity of funds and logistics challenges.
He said Nigeria is blessed with climate that can sustain agriculture all year round and that it’s heartening that the federal government is leading the way in diversification of the economy from oil based to agriculture whose value chain can create millions of employment.
Dangote Group, which is a leading sponsor of the Fair, stormed the venue with varieties of its consumer goods as well as its flagship product, cement.
“Dangote Group, which is a leading sponsor of the Fair, stormed the venue with varieties of its consumer goods as well as its flagship product, cement”.
Companies from under Nigeria’s foremost indigenous conglomerate, Dangote Group are adding colour to the Gateway Fair with an array edible goods on display. Three companies in the group offering consumer goods at the fair are Dangote Sugar Refinery, NASCON Allied Industries Plc (Dangote Salt), Dangote Flour and Dangote Cement.
Some products on display at the fair include Dangote sugar, Dangote Flour, spaghetti and macaroni, Dangote salt, Danq (seasoning), tomato paste. Dangote Sugar will be offering customers different sizes of granulated sugar packs at the fair.
A statement from Corporate Communications Unit of Dangote Group, said the fair has become a veritable venue for introduction of new innovations to Dangote products and that visitors to the group pavilion at both fairs will have the opportunity of buying products of these companies at reduced prices.
Dangote Flour is staging a wet sampling and offering customers a wide range of products at discounted prices. Buyers are going with several gifts as reward for purchasing Dangote Flour products. Products at the stand include-Dangote, flour for baking, wheat meals, spaghetti and macaroni.
Dangote Group is of the view that the trade fair is coming at an appropriate time, close to the last month in the year. This affords traders and dealers the opportunity to buy and stock their shops while end users buy for yuletide.
NASCON is offering its repackaged salt packs to customers at the trade fair. The new salt pack which is to endear the product to its teeming customers still comes in packs of 250g, 500g and 1kg. It is redesigned is to make the product more accessible and affordable for consumers and other end users.
Also, there will be free samples of the products like salt, seasoning, Tomato paste and the Dansa juice drinks for the visitors. Management of NASCON explained that Dangote Salt, seasoning and Dangote tomato paste will be offering free samples to visitors to the Dangote kitchen/restaurant which will be attached to the Dangote Stand to wet their appetite.
NASCON said the company would be giving its customers a good treat at the fair saying it has added to the richness of its products like Danq seasoning and Tomato paste and embark on an expansion of its distribution network to make the product more readily accessible to consumers.
Aside this, the statement said customers wanting to be distributor of any of the Dangote group subsidiaries would have the opportunity to be offered informed explanations by staff of the companies who would be on hand to put the customers through on how to go about it.
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Alleged KGB Infiltration: Police in Dilemma as Senator Natasha Abandons Petition, Snubs Summons
The Nigeria Police Force appears to be in a quandary over its investigation into the alleged infiltration of the National Assembly by Russia’s KGB (Komitet Gosudarstvennoy Bezopasnosti), the former Soviet security agency.
Checks revealed that the police had invited the Senator representing Kogi West, Sunday Karimi, for interrogation following a petition filed by his colleague, Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan of Kogi Central.
In the petition dated March 5, 2025, Akpoti-Uduaghan, who is currently serving a six-month suspension from the Senate, urged the police to investigate Karimi’s claim that the KGB had infiltrated the National Assembly, posing a serious threat to Nigeria’s democracy.
She specifically alleged that Senator Karimi had circulated a report titled “KGB Agent Group Warns Senate: A Call for Vigilance Amidst Threats to Democracy” on the official WhatsApp group of the 10th Senate on February 23, 2025.
Describing the claim as a matter of national security, Akpoti-Uduaghan insisted that the alarm raised by Karimi should not be taken lightly. “No nation can afford to ignore the presence of such a group within its legislative body,” she emphasized in her petition.
Karimi Appears Before Police, Natasha Recoils
Further investigations revealed that Senator Karimi honored the police invitation on Monday, appearing at the Force Headquarters in Abuja to clarify his position.
Sources within the police described his session as “positive and insightful,” revealing that he admitted to sharing the report in question. However, the police were reportedly taken aback when Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan distanced herself from the petition and ignored requests to appear for questioning.
“We reached out to her after our session with Senator Karimi, expecting her to provide further clarification, but she has continuously ignored our invitation,” a senior police source disclosed.
“What is disturbing is how she suddenly abandoned such a serious petition against her colleague. First, she claimed to be outside the country, but a viral video has since surfaced showing her in her constituency. It is difficult to reconcile her claims with the information available to us,” the source added.
The police official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, further hinted at possible political undertones behind the petition.
“We do not want to meddle in the ongoing power play within the Senate. However, it would be scandalous if she attempted to use the police as a tool in her political battles.”
When asked about the possible next steps, the source stated that his superiors would determine the fate of the petition, which he described as “frivolous.”
Twelve inmates have escaped from the Federal Correctional Centre in Kotonkarfe, Kogi State, following an early morning jailbreak on Monday.
Confirming the incident, the Kogi State Commissioner for Information, Kingsley Fanwo, described it as “unfortunate” and assured the public that the government, in collaboration with security agencies, was taking measures to prevent a recurrence.
According to Fanwo, law enforcement officers have already re-arrested one of the escapees.
“The theory that the inmates escaped through the tower without causing any structural damage raises serious concerns. This calls for a thorough investigation to determine the exact circumstances of the escape, arrest the fleeing inmates, and identify possible saboteurs within the system,” he stated.
The commissioner further disclosed that Governor Usman Ododo has directed security agencies to ensure that such breaches do not happen again.
“We call on the public to report any suspicious individuals in their communities. Anyone found harbouring an escaped inmate will be held accountable,” Fanwo warned.
Reassuring residents, he added: “There is no cause for panic. We encourage citizens to go about their daily activities as normal, knowing that the security of lives and property remains our top priority.”
Authorities have yet to disclose further details about the escapees or ongoing efforts to apprehend them.
The United States has announced the termination of legal status for over 500,000 immigrants, ordering them to leave the country within weeks, as President Donald Trump pushes forward with what he calls the largest deportation campaign in American history.
The sweeping directive, issued on Friday, affects approximately 532,000 Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans who arrived under a programme launched by Trump’s predecessor, Joe Biden, in October 2022 and later expanded in January 2023.
According to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the affected immigrants will lose their legal protections 30 days after the order is published in the Federal Register on Tuesday. This means they must leave the United States by 24 April, unless they secure another immigration status permitting them to stay.
Welcome.US, an organisation that supports asylum seekers, has urged those impacted to “immediately” seek legal counsel regarding their options.
A Reversal of Biden’s Immigration Policy
The Processes for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans (CHNV) programme, introduced in January 2023, allowed up to 30,000 migrants per month from these nations to enter the United States for two years. The initiative was designed to offer a “safe and humane” alternative to the dangerous crossings at the US-Mexico border, which had seen a surge in arrivals.
However, the DHS reiterated on Friday that the programme was never meant to provide permanent residency.
“Parole is inherently temporary, and parole alone is not an underlying basis for obtaining any immigration status, nor does it constitute an admission to the United States,” the agency stated.
Mass Deportations Under Trump
Trump, who has made immigration control a cornerstone of his presidency, has vowed to crack down on migrants—particularly those from Latin America.
Last week, he invoked rare wartime legislation to deport more than 200 alleged members of a Venezuelan gang to El Salvador, a country that has controversially offered to imprison both migrants and U.S. citizens at a discounted rate.
The latest order signals Trump’s intent to follow through on his hardline immigration policies, raising concerns among human rights advocates about the humanitarian impact of such mass deportations.
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