Dupe Olusola, Managing Director/CEO of Transcorp Hotels Plc, Joins Save the Children UK’s Africa Advisory Board

AJAGBE ADEYEMI TESLIM

SPONSORED BY: H&H

Supe Olusola, Managing Director and CEO of Transcorp Hotels Plc has been appointed to Save the Children UK’s Africa Advisory Board.

She brings to the philanthropy a wealth of experience in leadership, strategic development, and community engagement.

Under her visionary leadership, Transcorp Hotels Plc has achieved impressive milestones and contributed significantly to its parent company.

Transcorp Group’s purpose of improving lives and transforming Africa.

Dupe Olusola’s commitment to excellence and passion for transformative change aligns perfectly with Save the Children’s core values and objectives.

Her extensive expertise and deep insights will be invaluable as the organisation continues its mission to create a sustainable impact for children across the continent.

Save the Children is the world’s leading independent organisation for children, dedicated to ensuring that every child has the opportunity to thrive. With a presence in over 100 countries, Save the Children works to provide access to quality education, healthcare, protection from harm, and emergency response services.

As a member of the Africa Advisory Board, Dupe Olusola will provide strategic guidance and support to Save the Children UK, helping to shape initiatives that drive positive outcomes for children.

Dupe Olusola is also a member of the advisory board of the Africa Hospitality Investment Forum and a member of the Board of Directors, United Capital Microfinance Ban

AJAGBE ADEYEMI TESLIM

SPONSORED BY: H&H

The Abdul Samad Rabiu Africa Initiative (ASR Africa) has commenced the construction of a world-class research laboratory for the Federal University Lokoja, Kogi State.

L-R: Prof. Ibeleye Gbenga Solomon (Provost, College Postgraduate School), Prof. M. S. Audu (Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Academic), Dr Ubon Udoh (MD/CEO ASR Africa), Prof. Olayemi Akinwunmi (Vice-Chancellor), Abubakar Abdu (Ag. Registrar), Dr. Mutalib Bankole Adeowu (Director, Physical Planning & Development) during the groundbreaking ceremony of the ASR Central Research Laboratory at the Federal University of Lokoja.

This is in continuation of ASR Africa’s various strategic commitments to the nation’s tertiary education interventions.

The world-class research laboratory is one of its many interventions under its Tertiary Education Grants Scheme (TEGS), drawn from ASR Africa’s US$100 million Fund for Social Development and Renewal.

Speaking at the groundbreaking event for the project, the Vice Chancellor of the University, Prof. Olayemi Akinwumi, expressed his gratitude to the Chairman of ASR Africa, for his kind benevolence towards the University.

He stressed that the project would address the challenge of infrastructure deficit, especially in the area of research, facing the institution and provide a learning platform for discoveries, innovations, and scientific advances in physical and life sciences.

In his response speech, the MD/CEO of ASR Africa, Dr Ubon Udoh, thanked the management and students of the University for the warm reception accorded to him and his team.

He reiterated the commitment of the Chairman to supporting quality education within tertiary institutions in Nigeria.

He encouraged the management and students to ensure proper use and maintenance of the facility as a show of appreciation for the grant.

The ASR Africa grant and award process began in December 2022 and the confirmation of the university’s nomination was met with great joy by the university community.

At that time, the Vice-Chancellor described the gesture as a Christmas/New Year gift from God to him and the University.

The Tertiary Education Grant Scheme of the ASR Africa is a personal commitment of the Chairman of ASR Africa and BUA Group, Abdul Samad Rabiu, to give back to the African continent and to make an enduring impact in education as a means of uplifting and restoring the dignity and lives of Africans.

About ASR Africa
ASR Africa is the brainchild of African Industrialist, Philanthropist and Chairman of BUA Group, Abdul Samad Rabiu, the Abdul Samad Rabiu Africa Initiative (ASR Africa) was established in 2021 to provide sustainable, impact-based, homegrown solutions to developmental issues affecting Health, Education and Social Development within Africa. 

AJAGBE ADEYEMI TESLIM

SPONSORED BY: H&H

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has directed Federal Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) in the country to patronise technologies and products of the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) to support Made-in-Nigeria goods and reduce importation.

From right: President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio representing President Bola Tinubu flanked by the Executive Vice Chairman, National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI), Khalil Suleiman Halilu, cutting the tape to commission the NASENI CNG Reverse Engineering Centre, Utako, Abuja on Friday May 31, 2024.  

The President represented by President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio made the declaration while commissioning NASENI-Portland Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) Conversion, Filling, Reverse Engineering and Training Centre in Utako Abuja on Friday, May 31, 2024.

From right: Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris Malagi; President of the Senate, Goodswill Akpabio and Executive Vice Chairman, National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI), Khalil Suleiman Halilu explaining a point on CNG vehicle during the commissioning  of NASENI CNG Reverse Engineering Centre, Utako, Abuja on Friday May 31, 2024.  

President Bola Tinubu who doubles as Chairman, NASENI Governing Board, said he is aware that the Agency is in collaboration with private sector players in the commercialisation of its products, noting that the Presidential CNG Initiative (PCNGi), which NASENI has keyed into is the way to tap into Nigeria’s abundant gas resources and to also attain cleaner energy.

Furthermore, he said the use of CNG-powered transportation would reduce pressure on foreign exchange, save money for vehicle owners by converting fuel-emitting vehicles to CNG. He equally lauded the Agency for working with private sector collaborators in the effort to establish lithium ore processing plant in the country to produce lithium battery for electric vehicles.  

L-R: Folajimi Mohammed, Managing Director, Portland Gas Limited; Chairman Senate Committee on NASENI, Sen. Senator Ezenwa Francis Onyewuchi; Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Uche Nnaji; President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio; Executive Vice Chairman, National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI), Khalil Suleiman Halilu; Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris Malagi; and House Committee Chairman on NASENI, Hon. Taofik Ajilesoro listening with rapt attention during the commissioning  of NASENI CNG Reverse Engineering Centre, Utako, Abuja on Friday May 31, 2024.    

Earlier in his welcome address, the Executive Vice Chairman/CEO of NASENI, Khalil Suleiman Halilu, said the NASENI-Portland CNG Conversion and Training Centre, a partnership between NASENI and Portland Gas Limited, is a state-of-the-art facility for the conversion of fossil fuel vehicles to CNG, a cleaner and more cost-effective alternative.

He said this facility can convert 15 cars every two hours, translating into an output of 2,700 conversions every month.  “Mr. President, by our calculations, if Nigeria is able to have 10 of this kind of facility in each of the 36 States and the FCT, we will be able to convert every vehicle in the country to CNG within one year”, he said.

He urged the President to give NASENI approval to convert all the vehicles in the State House fleet to CNG. “We are asking for your approval to do this, and showcase our capabilities. Second, we are offering to carry out CNG conversions for every Ministry, Department and Agency of the Federal Government at a cost.

Equally, to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Halilu said NASENI is willing to make available to its contractors NASENI’S CNG generators, for the purpose of test-running the lighting project on Bill Clinton Drive (the highway leading to the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport) to encourage them to purchase the Agency’s streetlights for the project.

Good will messages poured in from the Minister of Petroleum (Gas), Epkerikpo Ekpo; Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris Malagi; Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Uche Nnaji; Chairman, Senate Committee on NASENI, Senator Ezenwa Francis Onyewuchi; and Chairman, House Committee on NASENI, Hon. Taofik Ajilesoro.

 The NASENI-Portland CNG Conversion and Training Centre equipped with the latest technology and staffed with  trained professionals to ensure efficient and safe conversions, is aimed at building local capacity and domestication of CNG technology.

 It offers comprehensive training programmes for technicians, engineers, and other stakeholders, fostering domestication of expertise in CNG systems and promoting the adoption of green energy solutions across the nation.

 The NASENI initiative is expected to significantly reduce vehicular emissions, contributing to cleaner air and a healthier environment. Additionally, the adoption of CNG will offer economic benefits by reducing fuel costs for consumers and creating new job opportunities and technical expertise in the Nigeria’s green energy sector.