Visblog

Nigeria’s Cement Industry Faces Fresh Economic and Production Challenges in 2026 Nigeria's cement sector faces a perfect storm of high energy costs, weak consumer demand, and import competition. Here's what industry players are doing to stay afloat. Nigeria's cement industry, once celebrated as one of the country's most resilient manufacturing sectors, is under growing pressure. A combination of soaring energy costs, weakening consumer purchasing power, and creeping import competition has left major producers scrambling to protect margins and maintain market share. The sector, which employs tens of thousands of Nigerians directly and indirectly, generated significant optimism through the mid-2010s when domestic capacity expanded rapidly and Nigeria achieved near self-sufficiency in cement production. But 2025 and 2026 have brought a sharp reversal of fortunes, exposing structural vulnerabilities that industry insiders say were long ignored. Energy C...

Meet Muhammad Sadis Buba: The 30-Year-Old APC Aspirant Seeking to Represent Sabon-Gari Zaria In a political environment where older and more established figures often dominate the conversation, the emergence of Muhammad Sadis Buba as a House of Representatives aspirant under the All Progressives Congress (APC) has sparked fresh conversations among political observers and residents of Sabon-Gari Zaria. At just 30 years old, Buba represents a younger generation of Nigerians attempting to break into mainstream politics with promises of development, inclusion, and a stronger connection with ordinary citizens. His decision to contest for the Sabon-Gari Zaria Federal Constituency seat has generated attention not only because of his age, but also because many young Nigerians increasingly believe the country’s political future depends on greater youth participation. A New Face in the Political Conversation For y...

Nigeria is intensifying efforts to diversify exports beyond crude oil. Here's how non-oil sectors like agriculture, solid minerals, and manufacturing are performing. For decades, Nigeria's economy has leaned heavily on crude oil — a resource that accounts for the overwhelming majority of the country's foreign exchange earnings and government revenue. But with global oil demand facing long-term uncertainty, volatile prices repeatedly exposing the fragility of that dependence, and the naira under sustained pressure, Nigerian policymakers and private sector players are now intensifying a push to grow and diversify the country's non-oil export base. The question is no longer whether Nigeria should diversify — everyone agrees it must. The real question is whether the structures, investments, and political will required to make that happen are finally falling into place. Why Diversification Has Always Been Urgent Nigeria's over-reliance on oil ...

Fani-Kayode Breaks Silence on South Africa Posting, Denies Germany Rejection Claims Fani-Kayode Confirms South Africa Posting, Denies Germany Rejection Rumor and Threatens Legal Action Former Nigerian Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode , has officially confirmed that he has been redeployed as Nigeria’s Ambassador-Designate to South Africa, putting an end to growing speculation surrounding his diplomatic appointment. The former minister explained that the redeployment was made at his own request and was approved by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu after consultations within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. According to him, his preference for South Africa was based on personal reasons, strategic diplomatic interests, and his long-standing belief in pan-African cooperation. Fani-Kayode also used the opportunity to strongly deny viral reports alleging that the German government rejected his nomination as Nigeria’s ambassador ...

A new Quartus Economics report confirms Nigeria's economy grew 8.34% over 2024–2025, the highest two-year expansion in over a decade, with per capita GDP rising 19.5%. Nigeria's economy is firmly back on a growth trajectory, and fresh data is making it hard to argue otherwise. A new report by Quartus Economics, a Lagos-based research house, has confirmed that the country recorded cumulative GDP growth of 8.34 percent between 2024 and 2025 — the highest two-year expansion in more than a decade. For a nation that watched its per capita GDP shrink by 21 percent between 2020 and 2023, this turnaround is significant. The report, titled The Journey to a Trillion-Dollar Economy: Nigeria on the Rise Again , drew data from the Central Bank of Nigeria, the National Bureau of Statistics, the International Monetary Fund, and the World Bank. Its conclusion was pointed: Nigeria is rising — and the numbers back it up. Per Capita Income Makes a Sharp Reversal Perhaps the most strik...

Nigeria bears the world's heaviest malaria burden. As the 2030 elimination goal approaches, funding cuts and climate change are making it harder to reach. Nigeria carries the heaviest malaria burden of any country on earth. It accounts for approximately 24.3 percent of global malaria cases and 30.3 percent of global deaths from the disease — figures that put the country at the centre of every international conversation about malaria elimination. As the global 2030 target for dramatic reductions in malaria mortality draws closer, health experts and community advocates are raising pointed questions about whether Nigeria is on track — or falling dangerously behind. A Disease Still Close to Home For millions of Nigerians, malaria is not a statistic. An estimated 97 percent of the country's population is at risk, making exposure almost universal. In urban centres, flooding and poor drainage create year-round breeding sites for mosquitoes. In rural areas, shifting rainfall pa...

NNPC has signed an MoU with two Chinese firms to restart and expand the long-idle Warri and Port Harcourt refineries under a new technical equity deal. The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with two Chinese firms to rehabilitate and expand the long-dormant Port Harcourt and Warri refineries, marking what the company describes as a major step toward restoring Nigeria’s domestic refining capacity. The agreement was signed in Jiaxing City, China, by NNPC Group Chief Executive Officer Bashir Bayo Ojulari, alongside Guan Jianzhong, Chairman of Sanjiang Chemical Company Limited, and Bill Bi, Chairman of Xingcheng (Fuzhou) Industrial Park Operation and Management Co. Ltd. Scope of the Agreement According to the reports seen By Visblog, NNPC, the MoU lays the groundwork for a Technical Equity Partnership that will focus on completing outstanding rehabilitation work, improving operational efficiency, and supporting...