Business
World Bank pledges $1 billion to boost agriculture in Nigeria
……..As govt seeks close ties with Hungary
ABUJA: The World Bank has pledged to commit one billion dollars to support Nigeria’s agricultural sector in the next five years.
Its Country Director, Ms Marie-Francoise Marie- Nelly, said this Thursday at a workshop on Gender and Agriculture Technical Dialogue in Abuja.
“The World Bank is strongly engaged in agriculture, we are planning to commit almost one billion dollars in the next three to five years in agriculture.
“Not only on this aspect of strengthening the capacity of women but also in strengthening the tools of production; and one area that I want to strengthen is irrigation.
“We intend to help rehabilitate a number of these irrigation schemes, to have large irrigation land for farmers and we hope that in doing so, we are not going to forget the women.”
She said that the gesture was part of the outcome of the bank’s household survey on the impact of agriculture in the country’s rural areas.
According to her, the gesture is also in line with the Federal Government Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA), adding that bank would support the programme for its role in the economy
“We at the World Bank strongly support this programme (ATA) because it is widely recognized both in Africa and in the world; that improving agriculture translates to reduction of poverty.
“Agriculture plays a big role in Nigeria’s economy, it employs the 70 per cent of the labour force and 40 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product.’’
Marie-Nelly called for policies that would help to empower and support women farmers in the country.
The Minister of Agriculture and Rural development, Dr Akinwumi Adesina, said that women accounted for 75 per cent of farming population in Nigeria, both as farm managers, primary owners and suppliers of labour.
He stressed the need to invest more on women farmers and ensure that efforts were geared towards removing all constraints that hindered production for women farmers.
“Without women, there will be no food; therefore, we must ensure we remove all constraints that limit ability to raise their farm productivity and incomes.
“If we invest in women farmers, we invest in the nation and we invest in our children, women will secure our food supply, they will secure our nation.’’
The minister, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Mrs Ibukun Odusote, identified the critical areas that needed improvement in the sector to include women to access to finance; access to lands; insecurity of the tenure; and access to inputs.
Adesina said that the ministry in collaboration with the Central Bank of Nigeria would soon roll out a new credit facility for agro-based businesses, adding that special preference would be given to women.
He said that government would recapitalise the Bank of Agriculture and create a special credit facility for women
He said efforts were also being made to improve access to land for women, reduce the cost of registering land and review the land inheritance law.
The minister said that his ministry had projected that about one million women would benefit from its various strategies to boost the agriculture sector.
Meanwhile, Adeesina, has called on investors in Hungary to take advantage of Nigeria’s vast arable land, large population and huge market to invest in the agricultural sector.
The Permanent Secretary, Odusote, while receiving a three-man delegation from Hungary led by the Foreign Secretary of State, on behalf of the Minister in Abuja, said that Nigeria is currently diversifying her economy through the Agricultural Transformation Agenda for food security and industrialization.
She called on the investors to tap into the favorable investment climate offered by the government to promote foreign investment and improve bilateral relations between the two countries.
Odusote further appealed to the Hungarian Government to extent her foreign scholarship scheme to developing nations like Nigeria and explore ways of stimulating expertise exchange programs for mutual benefits of both countries.
She disclosed that the Federal Ministry of Agriculture has instituted a special information technology programme to encourage and build capacities among young agricultural champions involved in the propagation of agricultural focal value chain.
Earlier, the leader of the team, Dr Becsey Slowt, expressed the readiness of Hungarian government to partner with Nigeria in the agricultural sector development and trade through the provision of hybrid variety seeds and other farm inputs, where the country has comparative advantage.
She sought for Nigeria cooperation in the areas of agricultural research, crop genetic engineering, livestock production, irrigation as well as the establishment of Joint Economic Committee for Africa and other related Technological Transfer Programmes.
He further appealed for tax holidays for its prospective investors to Nigeria, who he said, are very keen at investing in the nation’s agricultural sector.
Also, Hungary has invited Nigeria to participate in the African forum scheduled for June 6 2013 in Budapest, which according to him, would help showcase Nigeria’s Agricultural Research Institute.
Business
Trade Tensions Hit Nokia As Q1 Ends In €68M Loss

Nokia has reported a net loss of €68 million for the first quarter of 2025, a sharp decline from the €438 million profit recorded during the same period last year.
The Finnish telecoms equipment maker attributed the downturn to global trade disruptions and recently imposed tariffs by the United States.
The company’s net sales dropped slightly to €4.4 billion, down by one percent year-on-year.
READ ALSO: Trade War: China Strikes Back Wth 125% Tariffs On U.S. Goods
Tariff-related challenges were highlighted by Nokia’s President and CEO, Justin Hotard, who acknowledged the broader economic pressures affecting the industry.
“We are not immune to the rapidly evolving global trade landscape,” Hotard stated. “However, based on early customer feedback, I believe our markets should prove to be relatively resilient.”
He also noted the potential short-term financial impact, saying, “Based on what we see today, we currently expect a EUR 20 to 30 million impact on our comparable operating profit in the second quarter from the current tariffs.”
Earlier this month, U.S. President Donald Trump introduced a 10 percent tariff on global imports, while pausing plans for steeper duties, including a proposed 20 percent levy on products from the European Union.
Despite the quarterly setback, Nokia expressed confidence in its growth prospects.
The company is looking to its Network Infrastructure, Cloud and Network Services, and Mobile Networks divisions to drive sales in the year ahead.
In a sign of continued momentum in the mobile segment, Nokia also announced on Thursday that it had extended its contract with T-Mobile US.
The company said it is continuing “to see positive signs of stabilization” in Mobile Networks.
Business
Marketers In Anguish, As Dangote, NNPC Ltd War Drag Price To N880/litre

The pull of market forces which moved the hands of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) to reduce the price of Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) to N880 per litre in Lagos and N935 in Abuja appears to be a source of torture to independent markets.
Biztellers reports that the latest price review on Easter Monday saw NNPC retail outlets in Lagos drop from N925 to N880, while those in Abuja adjusted from N950 to N935.
The NNPC Ltd’s price reduction came barely a week after the Dangote Refinery lowered its ex-depot price from N865 to N835 per litre.
ALSO READ: BREAKING: Again, Dangote Cuts Petrol Price To N835 per Litre
In addition, the $20bn refinery also directed its partners like MRS, Heyden, and Ardova to sell a litre of petrol at the rate of N890 instead of N920 in Lagos, N900 in the South West, N910 in the South-South, and N920 in the North East.
Consumers can smile because with the reaction, the NNPC Ltd’s new price in Lagos is N10 lower than what the Dangote Refinery is selling at, which might lead to another reaction, as the price war between the two companies.
Though some NNPC Ltd’s retail outlets were observed selling at the old rate in Lagos, it was gathered that they were given the liberty to exhaust old stock before adjusting to the new prices.
Market sources are of the view that the current price war was ignited by the Federal Government’s implementation of the Naira-for-crude policy.
Business
Gold Prices Hit Historic $3,500 Amid Trump Tariffs, Fed Tensions

Gold soared to a record high of $3,500 an ounce on Tuesday, as mounting fears over a potential U.S. recession and escalating tensions between President Donald Trump and the Federal Reserve drove investors toward the traditional safe-haven asset.
The precious metal briefly touched an all-time high of $3,500.10 an ounce before retreating slightly to trade at $3,467.87.
READ ALSO: JUST IN: Vatican Discloses Cause Of Pope Francis’ Death
The rally marks the latest in a string of record-breaking gains for gold, fueled by a weakening U.S. dollar, sharp declines across global stock markets, and growing concerns over the health of the world economy.
Market sentiment took another hit this week after President Trump ramped up his trade war with China, slapping fresh tariffs on the world’s second-largest economy and intensifying fears of prolonged economic disruption.
Gold has surged more than 30 percent since the start of the year as investors seek refuge from mounting market volatility.
“The rally reflects ongoing recession fears in the U.S. economy and heightened political tensions, especially as President Donald Trump continues to attack Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell,” said Rania Gule, senior market analyst at trading group XS.com.
Concerns about the Fed’s independence were further stoked Monday, when Trump publicly lashed out at Powell on social media, branding him a “major loser” for not cutting interest rates — a move the president has repeatedly demanded.
The sharp criticism follows Trump’s recent suggestion that he might attempt to remove Powell from his post.