In the bid to promote wealth creation and expose youths to investment opportunities, the Ondo State Government has unveiled plans to buy shares for 500 young entrepreneurs in the state in the Dangote Group.

Ondo State Governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, made the disclosure on Saturday at the 2026 ONDEA Entrepreneurs Summit in Akure, with the theme: “Positioning entrepreneurs for emerging opportunities”, where he also launched the Lucky Light Initiative, a programme designed to provide reliable solar power support for 1,000 small businesses across the state’s 18 local government areas.

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The governor also unveiled an N80 million grant package for 20 entrepreneurs under the Ondo State Entrepreneurship Agency (ONDEA) My IDEA initiative, with each beneficiary receiving N4 million alongside business support, mentorship and international business exposure opportunities.

Aiyedatiwa further promised to purchase shares in the Dangote Group of Companies for 500 young entrepreneurs in Ondo State as part of efforts to expose them to investment opportunities and encourage wealth creation.

He said the initiatives form part of his administration’s vision to transform Ondo from a civil service-driven economy into an entrepreneurship and innovation hub.

According to him, the state is deliberately building an entrepreneurial ecosystem that connects ideas to skills, skills to businesses, businesses to finance and businesses to markets.

“Our fundamental objective is to move from simply producing raw materials to processing, packaging, branding and exporting value-added products. We must build enterprise not only for markets within Ondo State, but other parts of Nigeria and ultimately to the world,” Aiyedatiwa stated.

He said ONDEA has become a strategic platform for opening opportunities for entrepreneurs through business formalisation, training, equipment support and enterprise development.
The governor noted that the number of beneficiaries under the ONDEA My IDEA programme was increased from 10 to 20 to accommodate more innovative entrepreneurs.

On the Lucky Light Initiative, Aiyedatiwa said the programme would provide clean and affordable energy to small businesses to enhance productivity and reduce operating costs.

“Lucky Light is an initiative designed specifically to support 1,000 small businesses with reliable, clean and affordable power. It is not a household electrification programme; it is an economic intervention designed to power businesses across all 18 Local Government Areas of Ondo State,” he said.

While speaking during the summit, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr Taiwo Oyedele, represented by his Special Adviser, Toba Oyedele, said entrepreneurs would be central to the Federal Government’s ambition of building a $1 trillion economy by 2030.

He urged entrepreneurs to take advantage of emerging opportunities created by economic reforms, innovation and investment initiatives.

Speaking on the impact of the summit, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Investment, Dr Summy Smart Francis, said the event demonstrated the state’s commitment to entrepreneurship and innovation.

“We received over 2,703 applications. We have three levels of screenings and they get to the final judges where we identify the 20 ideas that have the strategy to be able to add economic impact to the state. Each of them was given N4 million and they are entitled to a business trip outside the country,” Francis said.

Also speaking, media entrepreneur and former Managing Director of TVC Entertainment, Morayo Afolabi-Brown, called for increased investment in the Southwest, saying the region possesses vast opportunities beyond Lagos and should attract greater economic attention.

Domestic pricing of refined petroleum products in Nigeria is strictly controlled by market forces under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021.

The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) made the clarification in a statement citing Section 205(1) of the PIA, which provides that wholesale and retail prices of petroleum products shall be based on unrestricted free-market pricing conditions.

The Authority also quoted Sections 205(2)–(4) of the Act, which restrict government intervention in pricing strictly to exceptional circumstances.

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However, it added that Section 216 empowers the Authority to prevent anti-competitive practices, price-fixing and the abuse of market dominance.

While acknowledging the financial strain and difficulties many Nigerians are experiencing following the recent rise in Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) pump prices, the Authority expressed concern over the increase in fuel prices and its effect on households, transport workers and businesses across the country.

The statement, which provided clarity on the statutory framework governing its operations and the active steps being taken to protect consumers, stated:

“Pursuant to the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021, Section 205(1) provides that wholesale and retail prices of petroleum products shall be based on unrestricted free-market pricing conditions. The Authority does not fix pump prices or issue administrative price templates.

“Sections 205(2)–(4) restrict government intervention in pricing strictly to exceptional circumstances where there is formal evidence of declared market failure. No such market failure has been declared. Section 216 empowers the Authority to prevent anti-competitive practices, price-fixing and the abuse of market dominance.

“To address supply stability and curb illegal cross-border product diversion, the Authority is conducting a joint security effort with the Nigeria Customs Service and other relevant security agencies to intensify surveillance along border corridors and prevent product smuggling.

“Deregulation does not exempt operators from regulatory compliance or fair trade standards. Under its formal Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), both agencies maintain rigorous joint surveillance to monitor against price-gouging, collusion, under-dispensing and compromised product quality.

“Public Reporting Channels: The Authority is opening dedicated feedback and reporting channels to enable members of the public and industry stakeholders to report irregular pricing or exploitative trade practices directly for immediate regulatory investigation and enforcement.”

The Authority said it remains steadfast in fulfilling its statutory mandate to ensure energy security, foster fair competition and protect consumers within the PIA’s legal framework.

Efforts to attract more foreign participation in Nigeria’s oil industry has seen Pertamina, Indonesia’s state-owned oil company, show strong interest in investing in the 2026 Oil Licensing Round.

Biztellers reports that this has seen strategic meetings between the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) and Indonesia’s Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, Arif Oegroseno, and Pertamina’s Vice-President, Upstream Business Development, Toriq Abdat.

A statement by the NUPRC Head of Corporate Communications and Media, Eniola Akinkuotu, on Sunday, revealed that the NUPRC Chief Executive, Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan represented Nigeria at the meeting, where investment opportunities in Nigeria and broader cooperation between the two countries as they seek to strengthen energy security and increase domestic oil production were top on the agenda.

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According to the statement, Eyesan said Nigeria and Indonesia had similar priorities, particularly in energy security, resource utilisation and attracting investment.

The discussions also came against the backdrop of efforts by both countries to increase oil production. Nigeria is targeting three million barrels per day by 2030, compared with current output of about 1.6 million to 1.7 million barrels per day.

Indonesia, which produces about 600,000 barrels per day, is also seeking to increase output and has acknowledged the need to look beyond its domestic fields to meet its energy requirements.

The statement read, “The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission has opened discussions with Indonesia on petroleum investments even as the Indonesian national oil company Pertamina signalled an interest in the upcoming 2026 licensing round.”

Explaining Pertamina’s international expansion strategy, Abdat said the company was already seeking opportunities in several countries as declining domestic production and the changing nature of discoveries pushed it to expand abroad.

“We have been given a mandate to expand our business internationally; we are now in other countries outside Indonesia. In Indonesia, we are producing only around 600,000 barrels. We are working on exploration towards deepwater, but we found more gas than oil. That is why we go outside Indonesia, Malaysia, then the Middle East, Iraq and Nigeria,” he said.

Abdat said Pertamina was particularly interested in assets that could deliver production relatively quickly, including existing producing fields and projects close to production.

“We would like to be in projects with governments. Producing assets, or near production, or before FID. Now we are looking at how we can help you reach the 3 million, and also help us provide more energy for our own consumption,” he said.

Responding, Eyesan said Nigeria also had an ambitious production target and was using regular licensing rounds as one of the measures to expand investment and increase output.

“We have very aggressive targets, 3 million barrels per day by 2030, and today we are at 1.6, 1.7. We are committed to the objective and the licensing round is one of the strategies we are utilising,” she said.

The Indonesian delegation noted that it is exploring other opportunities outside crude oil and gas. The national oil company is building a fertiliser plant to reduce its dependence on Middle Eastern supply, and disruptions during the current global conflict.

Food security relates to oil and gas because phosphate and the elements that make fertilizer, the Indonesian delegation said. Nigeria, for its part, is diversifying its own phosphate sourcing, including a long-term transatlantic pipeline project with Morocco to serve West Africa. Nigeria has also simplified fertiliser distribution rules that once ran to about 160 layers of regulation.

Both sides thus agreed to keep the commercial and diplomatic tracks running in parallel.