Nation
NSIA Records N160bn Income

The Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) says it had a strong year in 2020, recording N160.06billion in total comprehensive income amounting to 343 per cent growth compared to N36.15billion in 2019.
The Managing Director, Mr Uche Orji, revealed this in a virtual media conference on the presentation of the NSIA’s 2020 Audited Financial Statements and Performance Review, yesterday, in Abuja.
Orji attributed the growth, in spite of the challenges of Covid-19, to strong performance from its investments in international capital markets, improved contribution from subsidiaries and affiliates and exchange gain from foreign currency positions.
He added that the authority achieved 33 per cent growth in net assets amounting to N772.75billion as against N579.54billion in the previous year.
He also said that the NSIA received additional contribution of $250million and provided first stabilisation support of $150million from the Stabilisation Fund to the Federal Government.
According to him, the authority also received $311million from funds recovered from late Gen Sani Abacha from the US Department of Justice and Island of Jersey.
He said that the funds were deployed towards the Presidential Infrastructure Development Fund (PIDF) projects of Abuja-Kaduna-Kano Highway, Lagos-Ibadan Expressway and the Second Niger Bridge.
“The 2020 fiscal year was characterised by high volatility and global market uncertainty on account of Covid-19 in the first half.
“However, the authority’s strategic investments generated respectable returns in spite of the impact of Covid-19.
“Notably, NSIA has invested in various private equity and venture capital investment funds to tap into the high-growth sectors.
“NSIA expects that the outlook for 2021 would be positive, however, we expect bouts of volatility as global markets adjust and recover from the impact of the pandemic.”
Speaking on some of the projects and interventions the organisation was involved in; he said that it entered a strategic collaboration with BBVGH for cancer treatments.
Orji said that the group was helping in training personnel and bringing in lower costs cancer medicine for those who were in the NSIA-Lagos University Teaching Hospital Cancer Centre.
He also said it had operationalised the NSIA-Kano Diagnostic Centre and the NSIA-Umuahia Diagnostic Centre which were developed as first-rate diagnostic centres with individual investments of $5.5million each.
For the power sector, Orji said that the NSIA was building a 10 megawatts solar power plant in Kano, which presently was the single largest in Nigeria.
“Expected to be completed at the end of 2022 at a cost of about $15million, the plant would link industrial customers to an additional source of power supply,” he said.
He said it was also setting up a platform with International Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) to allow it spread across various parts of the country.
In agriculture, through the Presidential Fertiliser Initiative (PFI), it produced 12million 50 kilogram bags of NPK 20:10:10 equivalent in 2020.
This, he said, brought the total production since inception to over 30 million 50kg bags equivalent, while the number of participating blending plants increased to 44 from less than seven at inception.
Orji added that the NSIA completed construction of 3,000 hectares Panda Agric Farm in Nasarawa, the first project of the UFF-NSIA partnership.
He said that the NSIA launched Nigeria’s Innovation Fund to address investment opportunities within Nigeria in Information technology.
According to him, with immediate pipeline it includes data networking, data centres, software and services as well as Agri-tech and Bio-tech.
Speaking on gas industrialisation, he said significant progress had been made on developing the Ammonia and Diammonium phosphate production plants in partnership with OCP.
For 2021, he said the organisation was looking forward to completing the concession, capital raise and operationalisation of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Second Niger Bridge and Abuja-Kaduna-Kano Highway.
“In the Future Generations Fund, we expect to allocate more capital to venture capital, global equity markets and an increasing exposure to European equities where we had been under exposed in 2020.
“NSIA believes that broad opening of the markets will provide a comprehensive lift to equities. Although NSIA believes the market is unlikely to repeat some of the performance of 2020.
“It is more likely that a broader market recovery will occur with economies opening unlike the case in 2020 in which technology stocks drove market performance.”
The NSIA was set up to manage funds in excess of budgeted hydrocarbon revenues.
Its mission is to play a leading role in driving sustained economic development for the benefit of all Nigerians.
This would be through building a savings base for the Nigerian people, enhancing the development of Nigeria’s infrastructure and providing stabilisation support in times of economic stress.
Nation
Rivers Judiciary Denise Media Reports On Issuing Judgement Sacking SOLAD
The Rivers State Judiciary has denied claims of media reports circulating online that a judge of its High Court issued a ruling in favour of Governor Siminalayi Fubara against former Governor Nyesom Wike and President Bola Tinubu, there by sacking the sole Administrator of the state, vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (rtd).
A statement signed by the Chief Registrar of the State High Court, David Ihua-Maduenyi yesterday in Port Harcourt, described the purported report as false and misleading, particularly for linking a judge of the State High Court, Justice Boma Diepirii, to a ruling that reportedly came from a Federal High Court.
According to the statement, Justice Boma Diepirii is a Judge of the Rivers State High Court and not of the Federal High Court and currently on Easter Vacation, which commenced on Monday, 14th April.
The Chief Registrar further clarified that the Federal High Court and the State High Court are separate entities, stressing that “the inclusion of Justice Diepiri’s name in the fabricated report underscores the crass ignorance of the author.”
“The attention of the Rivers State Judiciary has been drawn to a fake news report alleging that His Lordship, Hon. Justice Boma Diepiri, delivered a judgment sacking the Sole Administrator of Rivers State. This is false in its entirety,” the statement read.
“Justice Diepiri is a judge of the High Court of Rivers State, not of the Federal High Court as was falsely reported”.
” Additionally, His Lordship is currently on Easter vacation which began on Monday, April 14, 2025, Ihua-Maduenyi stated.
The statement however advised the general public and members of the media to always cross checked information concerning the judiciary before publishing and as well disregard the said report in its entirety as its an embodiment of falsehood and fabricated story.
Nation
Senate Passes Bill For Establishment Of University In Abia
The Senate yesterday approved the bills for the establishment of Federal University of Medical and Health Sciences and College of Education, Bende at its plenary session.
The two bills sponsored by the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon . Benjamin Kalu came to the Senate for concurrence after the approvals from the House of Representatives.
The Deputy Leader of the Senate, Sen. Lola Ashiru in the absence of the Majority Leader presented the recommendations of the Lower Chamber for consideration and Concurrence .
The Bill for an Act to establish Federal College of Education, Bende in Abia State seeks to provide full-time courses, training in technology, applied sciences, commerce, social sciences, arts and humanities among others.
Kalu had in his lead debate stated that Bende has remained undivided since its creation in 1976, even though with the size of four local government areas as found in comparative federal constituencies.
“Despite its strategic location in Abia and sharing a border with Akwa Ibom, with a growing population and landmass, there is no tertiary institution in the Federal Constituency operated either by Federal or State Government. Bende deserves to have the presence of a tertiary institution to serve the education need of the teeming youthful population, especially now that the need for well-trained educationists has risen. This is accompanied by the need to fill the gaps created by both the consequences of brain drain and the lack of qualified educationists to provide quality training at all levels of education,” he said.
For the bill seeking the establishment of Federal University of Medical and Health Sciences, Bende, Abia State, he said when it becomes law, the university will be charged with the responsibility to, among other things, offer full-time training leading to the award of degrees in medical and health sciences.
Nneka Amaechi-Nnadi
Nation
South East Caucus Kicks As Senate Rejects Nwosu’s Immortalisation
South East Caucus of the Senate has appealed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to immorttalise late Professor Humphrey Nwosu considering his commitment to achieving a practical democracy for Nigerian.
The Senators visibly angered by the Senate’s rejection of the need to immortalise the late National Electoral umpire who stood for democracy through the turbulent 1993 elections stormed out of the Senate Chambers and spoke to the press .
The Chairman of the South East Caucus, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe ( Abia South), as he did in plenary on Wednesday, presented a motion for immortalisation of Humphrey Nwosu by naming the national headquarters of the Independent National Electoral Commission ( INEC) , after him , for laying the foundation in 1993 and conducting the freest and fairest Presidential election in the country .
The late Professor Nwosu was the National Chairman of the National Electoral Commission ( NEC) , now known as Independent National Electoral Commission ( INEC) , who through option A4, conducted the June 12, 19993 presidential election , adjudged to be the freest and fairest in the country.
Abaribe in the motion co – sponsored by 15 other Senators , said late Humphrey Nwosu deserved to be immortalised like other heroes of the June 12 , 1993 presidential election .
He also urged the Federal Government to honour the late former electoral umpire with post humous national honours .
But Abaribe’s request , seconded by Senator Victor Umeh (Anambra Central) and supported by Senators from the South East including forner Senate Leader, Yahaya Abdullahi ( Kebbi North) , was roundly rejected by other Senators who said the deceased deserved no immortalization .
Specifically , Senator Adams Oshiomhole ( Edo North) , in his contribution to the debate said the motion to him, was nothing but an attempt to manipulate and rewrite history.
“ Professor Humphrey Nwosu as NEC Chairman in 1993, failed to deliver on the June 12 , 1993 Presidential Election for lack of Courage
“ He who is not ready to die for something , will die for nothing
“ If he was afraid of the gun from announcing the election results and winner in 1993 , he cannot be rewarded now , more so, when many Nigerians died for what he inadvertently created “, he said .
Nneka Amaechi -Nnadi
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