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Angola Shows Interest in Improve Trading with Nigeria
Angola Shows Interest in Improve Trading with Nigeria
By: Michael Mike
Angola has expressed interest in improving trading with Nigeria, assuring that it would continue to push for improvement of bilateral relations.
Amb. José Bamóquina Zau, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Angola to Nigeria, Benin, and Niger, said this at the 48th independence anniversary ceremony of the country on Friday night in Abuja.
He said the 48 years of independence of Angola represented the sacrifices made by Angolan people and the government’s determination to implement the main objective of the country.
Zau added that Angola and Nigeria are brother countries and giant crude oil producers in Africa and have been in a relationship that started since Angola’s liberation struggle began until its independence.
He said: “Angola and Nigeria faced challenges and their respective leaders remain committed to resolving most essential problems and strengthening bilateral cooperation are core plans of Presidents Joao Lourenco and Bola Tinubu.
“Since 2008, Angola-Nigeria Bilateral Joint Commission has awaited a roundtable with the officials of the two countries to work on socioeconomic, political, defense and internal security issues.
“The commission also awaits to consolidate the bilateral legal instruments needed, in view of the dynamic that is to be created between the two brotherly countries.
“The Angola-Nigeria economic balance still does not reflect the strategic dimension of the two giants.
“The African Free Trade Zone is coming, so it is in everyone’s interest to prioritise trade cooperation and reverse the current situation in the short and medium term.”
The envoy while acknowledging the partnership between Angola and Nigeria within the framework of Technical and Methodological Coordination of African Petroleum Producing Organization (APPO), which extended to the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), noted that the Gulf of Guinea Commission as one of the outcomes of the sub-regional organisation’s coordinated actions aimed at gaining momentum, amidst the current challenges in the area.
He said: “In this regard, the leaderships of the two countries have always taken the lead in fulfilling principles defended by the founding fathers of the OAU.
“It is where we highlight the intangibility of the borders of our colonial heritage, freedom for oppressed people, and freedom of religion, and above all raising the great challenge of lifting millions of Africans out of poverty.
“The UN organisation is another forum where leaders of the two countries expressed desire for an increasingly fair world with re-founding of multilateral institutions on a global scale.@
The Ambassador said that the Angola/Nigeria Chamber of Commerce and Industry was established in Luanda to ensure the needs of the business community in both countries are properly understood and supported.
The envoy stated that the embassy on Oct. 19 hosted its maiden Diplomatic Business Forum that brought together political and business stalwarts from Angola and Nigeria.
He noted that at the forum, were captains of industry such as the oil and gas sector, banking, agribusiness, aeronautics, and mining, among other areas of interest to both countries.
He revealed that it was the mutually coordinated actions of both countries that resulted in the establishment of the Angola-Nigeria Business Council (ANBC).
He described the event as a preparation for the proposed “Road Show Angola,” an exhibition fair designed to boost business opportunities in Angola.
He revealed that: “As part of the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area, structural reforms have been made in various sectors: Legislative, Migration, Banking and agriculture.
“We can highlight here the ease of the mobility of Nigerian business people and not only to Angola with the granting of entry visas at a very short time, contrary to the previous period.
“This is always in the context of human mobility on a global scale, a total of 98 countries in the world were exempted from entry visas to Angola with immediate effect.”
He however observed that: “This process of removing some barriers to movement of people is carried out gradually with the inclusion of more countries whenever technical and material conditions are created for such purpose.”
Angola Shows Interest in Improve Trading with Nigeria
Nine PAP Foreign Scholarship Beneficiaries Bag Master’s Degrees From UK Varsities
•••771 to Graduate in Nigeria in 2025
•••Otuaro Hails Scholars’ Performances
By: Michael Mike
Nine students awarded foreign post-graduate scholarships by the Presidential Amnesty Programme have graduated from their master’s degree rprogrammes in universities in the United Kingdom.
The successful scholars are the first graduates in the offshore post-graduate scholarship deployment to UK institutions by the PAP Administrator, Dr Dennis Otuaro, for the 2024-2025 academic session.
They graduated from the Anglia Ruskin University, University of Dundee and The University of Law with master’s degrees in cyber security, data science and engineering, law, construction and civil engineering management, project management, and ICT.
Also, 711 undergraduate and post-graduate scholarship beneficiaries are expected to graduate from universities within Nigeria this year.
The PAP, on Wednesday, 3 December, 2025, organised a graduation reception for the scholars in London.
Otuaro has congratulated them on their successful graduation, stressing that they completed their programmes in record time which shows the seriousness they had put into their studies.
He said they have justified the Federal Government’s investment in their education with their successful graduation, and urged other beneficiaries not to be distracted in their academic pursuits.
“We congratulate these scholars on their successful graduation. It shows that they took their studies seriously. That is what we demand of every scholarship beneficiary, whether at the undergraduate or post-graduate level”, Otuaro said.
He reiterated his unwavering commitment to expanding the scholarship scheme to create more opportunities for indigent students of Niger Delta extraction to access higher education with a view to closing the human capital development gap in the region.
Otuaro said it was for this reason he deployed 3800 beneficiaries in-country in the 2024-2025 academic year, and increased the figure to 3900 in the 2025-2026 academic session with 200 for foreign scholarships.
Otuaro has so far deployed 7700 students for the PAP scholarship scheme within Nigeria in less than two years.
Within this period, also, he has also deployed 162 students from the region for post-graduate programmes in targeted disciplines in the UK universities.
According to him, this is in conformity with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu for the Niger Delta, who has given unprecedented support to the PAP because of his sincere love for the area.
The PAP boss said, “Our decision aligns with the Renewed Hope Agenda of His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR for the Niger Delta. We will continue to create more higher educational opportunities for students from indigent backgrounds in our region.
“We are also deepening the implementation of the programme’s mandate in informal education and other areas for the sustainable peace and socio-economic advancement of the region.”
Nine PAP Foreign Scholarship Beneficiaries Bag Master’s Degrees From UK Varsities
Sunshine Joint Venture Infrastructure Limited Established for Realization of Ondo Project
By: Michael Mike
Sunshine Joint Venture Infrastructure Limited has been incorporated to seamlessly allowed for the Refinery and Free Trade Zone in Ondo State.
A press statement on Thursday read that: “In furtherance of our commitment to the execution of these two major projects – Refinery and Free Trade Zone in conjunction with the Ondo State Government, the joint partners have taken another giant step by incorporating a joint company, namely – SUNSHINE JOINT VENTURE INFRASTRUCTURE LIMITED – as the vehicle to be used in executing these projects. A move that further reinforces the sincerity of purpose and total commitment of the funding partners to move ahead together as a united front.
According to the release by Wale Adekola on behalf of the JV, the Sunshine Joint Venture Infrastructure Limitedwill, going forward serve as the vehicle to work with the Ondo State Government through the Ondo State Investment Promotion Agency (ONDIPA) in the implementation of the executed Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs).
The statement added that: “In moving the projects forward for implementation, the JV team met in Dubai to finalize the funding modalities and put in place structures and plans for the commencement of activities for ground breaking and community engagements. These initial activities are aimed at complementing the 50th Anniversary of the creation of Ondo State and the one year anniversary of the election of the Executive Governor of the Sunshine State, His Excellency, Chief Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa CFR.
At the Dubai meeting were key officers of the JV Company, including: Messrs SALEHI FARHAD; ZAHERI NAVID; EGHBAL KORDJAMSHIDI; SAHEED ZAHERI; DR. STEPHEN DIKE; HENRY OWONKA AND MRS. NAMVAR MARYAM.
The statement further informed that, plans have been concluded to mobilize the relevant contractors working with the locals and host communities to put up structures that will host the information center, architectural models to showcase the projects on offer and facilities that will serve the team. All these are being planned with ONDIPA to execute the relocation and accommodation of the host communities that are likely to be affected by the projects and create a seamless transition that will engender peaceful co-existence and harmonious relationship with our host communities.
The JV company further reiterated its commitment to work with Ondo State Government (through ONDIPA) to change the infrastructural landscape of the Sunshine State and for mutual benefits.
Sunshine Joint Venture Infrastructure Limited Established for Realization of Ondo Project
Edo: Seven suspected bandits arrested along Benin-Agbor Road
By: Zagazola Makama
Seven suspected bandits were arrested along the Benin–Agbor Road in Edo State during stop-and-search operations, security sources confirmed.
Sources told Zagazola Makama that the suspects, all Fulani youths, were intercepted after being offloaded from a truck at about 1800 hours on 2 December 2025. A search revealed pictures of assault rifles, including AK-47s, on their mobile phones.
Upon interrogation, the suspects claimed to have travelled from Adamawa State. Investigations are ongoing for the possible recovery of actual firearms and to determine their involvement in criminal activities.
Security agencies have urged members of the public to report any suspicious movements to help prevent criminal acts in the area.
Edo: Seven suspected bandits arrested along Benin-Agbor Road
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