Business
AUDA-NEPAD Flag-Off of Smallholder Farmers Initiative in Kaduna: Governor Reaffirms Commitment to Agriculture
By Joel Ajayi
The African Union Development Agency-New Partnership for Africa’s Development (AUDA-NEPAD) has officially launched its Smallholder Farmers Initiative in Kaduna State, with a strong call for local ownership and sustainable agricultural practices.
Speaking at the flag-off ceremony held at Arewa House, Kaduna, on Monday, October 10, 2025, the National Coordinator and CEO of AUDA-NEPAD Nigeria, Hon. Jabiru Salisu Abdullahi, urged the 345 selected beneficiaries to take full responsibility for the success of the project. He encouraged them to embrace modern farming techniques and make effective use of the agricultural inputs provided.
Hon. Abdullahi emphasized that the initiative supports both President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda and the African Union’s Agenda 2063, which prioritize inclusive, climate-smart agriculture and food security.
The event also highlighted strong support from the Kaduna State Government. Representing Governor Uba Sani, the Chief of Staff, Hon. Sani Kila, reaffirmed the administration’s commitment to agricultural development.
He noted the government’s continued investment in feeder roads, storage facilities, farmer training, and access to markets as key components of its agricultural strategy.
Hon. Kila commended AUDA-NEPAD Nigeria for implementing a grassroots-driven program that directly empowers smallholder farmers across the state.
As part of the support package, beneficiaries received improved seedlings—maize, cowpea, soybean, pepper, and tomato—along with fertilizers, agrochemicals, compost manure, and irrigation water tanks.
Kaduna is the fifth of seven pilot states benefiting from the AUDA-NEPAD Nigeria Smallholder Farmers Initiative, aimed at boosting food production and strengthening rural livelihoods across the country.
Business
TAJBank Emerges Nigeria’s Biggest Non-Interest Bank
Cyril Ogar
After five years of operations in Nigeria’s rapidly evolving non-interest banking (NIB) space, TAJBank Limited has become the biggest player in the NIB subsector based on its total assets and gross earnings values.
Disclosing this during his paper presentation on the key performance indices in the non-interest banking space over the past few years at a seminar organized by Leaders Corporate Services with the theme “Roles of Non-Interest Banks In SMEs’ Financing” for SME entrepreneurs yesterday in Abuja, an investment expert, Mr. Olabode Akeredolu-Ale, maintained that based on the non-interest banks’ approved financial statements for the half year 2025, TAJBank currently remained the biggest in terms of its total assets.
The expert, a chartered stockbroker, specifically confirmed that his recent investment researches on the NIBs and their financial performances showed that TAJBank, with its total assets rising to N1.017 trillion in half year 2025 up from N953.098 billion as of December 2024, which is about N53 billion higher than the nearest NIB’s assets, now ranked top in the banking subsector.
According to him, TAJBank’s gross earnings for H1 2025 also surged to N53.752 billion from N32.86 billion as of December 2024, representing a 64% growth, and higher than the nearest NIB’s gross earnings in the period under review.
This is even as he disclosed that on the NIBs’ earnings per share during the half year, TAJBank reported N61.36 kobo earnings per share, about 92% higher than the earnings per share of the next NIB during the period.
Akeredolu-Ale, who is also a chartered accountant, clarified: “The figures I am reeling out here on the NIBs are sourced from the banking and capital market regulatory institutions’ platforms, which anyone can access to verify.
“I am part of this event because of my research interest in non-interest banking and how the players in the subsector in Nigeria can help to leverage their competencies in innovation and ethical banking to support our MSMEs.
“Today, the MSMEs cannot access DMBs’ loans due to high lending rates and other inclement macroeconomic factors. This is where I think the NIBs have become very crucial to Nigeria’s economic growth.
“Overall, my findings on the NIBs indicated that they are all trying their best with non-interest loans to support entrepreneurs, particularly the MSMEs owners. I have advised those of them at this seminar to explore the cost-friendly financing options of the NIBs to grow their businesses by opening accounts with the NIBs”, the expert added.
Another speaker at the event, Benjamin Chukwudi, also commended the NIBs for their “catalytic roles in helping SMEs to access interest-free loans and providing them the needed financial management advisory, which have been helping them in sustaining their operations in the face of rising cost of doing business in the country.”
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