Nasarawa State Governor, Abdullahi Sule said the state, in collaboration with Silvex International, a leading rice processing company, will launch the Nasarawa State branded rice on Dec. 17.

Sule disclosed this at the State Executive Council Meeting on Monday in Lafia where the product was also presented by the company.

According to the governor, the state government is partnering with the company to buy rice paddy from the state-owned farm located in Jangwa and Agwatashi, boundary between Awe and Obi Local Government Areas, to process and market it.

He said that the company would brand the processed rice as NASACCO Gold, and sell it to consumers at a 10 per cent discount of the current market price of 50kg bag.

The State government had cultivated 3,300 hectares of the 10,000 hectares acquired land rice project in the areas and harvested 1.2 million bags during the 2025 farming season.

The governor disclosed that Manuel Nunes, the Governor of Benguela Province in Angola would be around to attend the the launch of the product on Dec. 17.

He noted that Nunes’ visit was a follow-up to the recent partnership with Nasarawa State during his visit to Angola.

The governor also announced that the governors of the 19 Northern States have agreed to contribute N228 billion within 12 months to tackle insecurity in the region.

He explained that each of the 19 Northern States would be contributing N1 billion monthly for 12 months, to be used for the purchase of high-tech equipment for security agencies and support intelligence gathering.

Sule also said that part of the governors’ resolution was the suspension of mining activities within the region for six months as part of security measures to carry out verification so as to allow only genuine miners to operate.

The governor assured the people of Nasarawa of his administration’s commitment to transform the state, tackle isolated security challenges and ensure that the state remained safe for people to go about their normal activities without any fear.

The Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) has ranked Plateau 7th in the country in Ease of Doing Business.

The Focal Person, Plateau Action on Enabling Reforms (SABER), Samari Modibbo disclosed this on Monday in Jos.

Modibbo spoke at the opening of a five-day training programme organised for 50 selected civil servants in the state on Public Private Partnership (PPP).

He said that at the inception of the current administration, Plateau was ranked 12th, adding that it moved to 10th position in 2024.

 “When this government came on board in 2023, Plateau was ranked 12th in ease of doing business.

 “By the end of 2024, it was ranked 10th and today, I’m glad to inform you that the state is ranked 7th.

 “This is a follow up to the commitment and political will of our governor who has the vision to make Plateau greater and better,”he said.

On the training, Modibbo explained that the move aimed at equipping the participants with the basic knowledge of enabling business environments in the state.

Modibbo, who said that the exercise was supported by the World Bank, also aimed at reorganising the PPP sector in the state towards optimal performance.

“The World Bank is interested in PPP being operational in every state, and we are doing this in Plateau to address two issues.

“First, the law establishing PPP in the state was passed in 2017, but has not been operational; the department has been ineffective.

“Secondly, we have lots of projects or facilities that we could enter into PPP with the private sector, but we are unable to do that simply because we have not addressed the issue of capacity.

“So we are doing this five-day training to address the shortfall in the capacity of our civil servants; we want to build their capacity to be able to handle PPP projects,” he said.

Declaring the training open, Jeremiah Satmak, the Chief of Staff to the governor of Plateau, described the training as timely.

He explained that the move was in line with the 2023-2026 strategic development framework of the state government.

“This framework places strong emphasis on leveraging partnerships, innovation and private capital as critical tools for delivering sustainable development.

“Aside the 670 kilometres of road approved by the governor, the administration has also initiated the redevelopment of the Hill Station Hotel under the PPP arrangements.

 “This iconic facility is being transformed into a modern hospitality and tourism hub, capable of attracting local and international visitors, creating jobs and strengthening Plateau’s position as Nigeria’s tourism capital.

 “These and many other projects demonstrate that PPPs are not theoretical concepts as they are already driving real and measurable progress under the current administration,” he said.

Satmak, who called on the participants to fully participate in the sessions, urged them to put the knowledge gained from the exercise towards boosting government businesses.

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The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has granted final licenses to 82 Bureau De Change (BDCs) to operate with effect from Nov. 27.

A statement issued in Abuja on Monday by Hakama Sidi-Ali, CBN’s Acting Director, Corporate Communications Department, stated that the exercise was in line with its powers conferred under the Bank and Other Financial Institutions Act (BOFIA) 2020.

According to Sidi-Ali, it is also an enforcement of the Regulatory and Supervisory Guidelines for BDC Operations in Nigeria 2024,

“By this notice, only BDCs listed on the Bank’s website are authorised to operate from the effective date.

“The CBN will continue to update the list of BDCs with valid operating licences for public verification on our website (www.cbn.gov.ng).

“The Bank advises the general public to avoid dealing with unlicensed foreign exchange operators,” she said.

She said that operating a BDC business without a valid licence was a punishable offence under Section 57(1) of the BOFIA 2020.

She advised members of the public to note and be guided accordingly.

Recall that at one point there were about 5,690 BDCs operating across Nigeria.

But on March 1, 2024, the CBN revoked the licences of 4,173 BDC operators for regulatory non-compliance. After that revocation, the number of licensed BDCs dropped to around 1,517.