By Felix Umande, Makurdi

The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, governorship candidate for Benue State in the 2027 election, Michael Kaase Aondoakaa, SAN, has picked a 38-year-old Dr. Oyije Ochaekiti Ogbenjuwa as his running mate.

Aondoakaa announced the selection on Sunday during the party’s congress in Makurdi, the state capital, presenting the ticket as a blend of experience and generational renewal.

Addressing party delegates and supporters, the PDP flag bearer said his administration would prioritize ending persistent attacks and killings in rural communities and guaranteeing the safety of lives and property across the state. He described security as the foundation for any meaningful development agenda.

If elected, Aondoakaa pledged to revive agriculture and accelerate rural development, reaffirming Benue’s role as the “Food Basket of the Nation.”

He said his government would invest in modern farming systems, improve market access, and support smallholder farmers to boost productivity and rural incomes.

Youth and women empowerment also featured prominently in his outline. The senior lawyer said his administration would focus on job creation and enterprise support to expand opportunities for young people and women, positioning them at the center of the state’s economic revival.

Beyond agriculture, Aondoakaa listed improved infrastructure, quality healthcare, and better education as core priorities. He added that his government would work to create an enabling environment for industrial growth and broader economic expansion.

“Our administration will be anchored on justice, transparency, and accountability in governance,” he said, stressing that public trust would guide decision-making and resource management.

The candidate also pledged to pursue unity and reconciliation across political, ethnic, and sectional lines, noting that sustainable progress would require a united Benue.

The choice of Ogbenjuwa, a 38-year-old professional, has drawn widespread reaction across the state, with many party faithful and observers describing it as a strategic move toward youth inclusion.

Supporters say the nomination signals a deliberate effort to bring younger voices into the corridors of power and address long-standing demands for generational representation in government.

Africa, including Nigeria, imported most of its shell fuel like a country without crude oil. Now, Nigerian billionaire, Aliko Dangote, has changed that reality with his 650,000-barrels-per-day refinery, Africa’s largest.

This development, according to Femi Otedola, Africa’s “Economic slavery is over: changing Africa’s energy future

Otedola described Aliko Dangote’s refinery as one of the most important industrial projects in Africa’s history.

His comments come as the Dangote refinery transforms regional fuel trade, cuts imports and deepens a fierce battle over market dominance.
The remarks also reopen debate over Nigeria’s failed state refineries and years of policy reversals that scared away industrial investment.

“What you’ve done is you’ve delivered us from economic slavery in Africa,” Otedola told Dangote.

The remark goes beyond praise between two billionaires.

It reflects a deeper shift underway in Nigeria’s economy as Africa’s largest refinery begins altering fuel trade patterns, foreign exchange demand and industrial power dynamics across the continent.

For years, Nigeria’s fuel dependence symbolised one of the biggest contradictions in global energy markets: a major crude exporter spending billions of dollars importing petrol because its state-owned refineries barely functioned.

Successive governments spent enormous sums attempting to revive refineries in Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna, yet the facilities remained largely dormant.

Lawmakers have repeatedly launched probes into billions of dollars spent on refinery rehabilitation with little visible output.

That failure created a massive import market controlled by traders, middlemen and fuel importers for decades.

Dangote’s refinery is now disrupting that structure, changing Africa’s fuel market

The refinery, estimated to have cost around $20 billion, began large-scale operations in 2024 after years of delays and financing pressure.

Since its inception, Nigeria’s petrol imports have dropped sharply, while exports of refined products to African countries have increased.

Dangote has also expanded exports to countries across West, Central and East Africa amid global supply disruptions linked to Middle East tensions.

The refinery’s growing influence is now so significant that it is increasingly shaping pricing conversations, import policies and competition across Nigeria’s downstream oil sector.

Otedola suggested the project represented the type of industrial ambition Nigeria repeatedly failed to protect.

“In Nigeria today, we should be watching CNN and saying the largest refinery in the world is in Nigeria,” he said.

He also described the refinery, the Dangote fertiliser plant and Eko Atlantic as projects capable of redefining Nigeria’s global image.

“Visionless people destroyed it”

Otedola also revisited one of Nigeria’s most controversial privatisation reversals disclosing that he partnered with Dangote in 2007 to acquire government-owned refinery assets before the deal was later cancelled.

“In 2007, I teamed up with Aliko and we acquired the refineries. I had a 20 per cent stake.

“Unfortunately, a team of visionless people destroyed it.”

The deal, initially approved under former President Olusegun Obasanjo, was later reversed during the administration of late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua after resistance from labour unions and political groups.

Nearly 20 years later, the same refineries remain among Nigeria’s most expensive industrial failures.

The contrast between those collapsed state assets and Dangote’s privately financed refinery has become central to Nigeria’s broader economic debate: whether Africa’s largest economy should aggressively protect local industrial champions or prioritise open competition regardless of scale.

That debate has intensified in recent months.

Monopoly fears grow as refinery gains power

As Dangote refinery expands, so have concerns about market concentration.

The refinery has repeatedly pushed regulators to restrict fuel imports and prioritise locally refined petroleum products. Dangote argues that continued import licences undermine domestic refining and discourage investment.

But the position has triggered backlash from fuel marketers, importers and even the state-owned oil company, NNPC.

In court filings this week, NNPC accused the refinery of attempting to dominate Nigeria’s fuel market through legal action aimed at challenging import licences issued to rival marketers.

Fuel marketers have also warned that limiting imports could weaken competition and create supply risks if the market becomes too dependent on a single supplier.

Still, supporters of the refinery argue that Nigeria cannot industrialise while relying heavily on imported refined products despite its vast crude oil reserves.

That argument increasingly resonates beyond Nigeria.

Dangote recently revealed that investor demand for the refinery’s planned public listing has already crossed billions of dollars, underscoring growing confidence in the project’s long-term influence on African energy markets.

For many investors and policymakers, the refinery is no longer just a business story.

It has become a test case for whether Africa can finally build, and sustain, industrial projects powerful enough to reshape global trade flows instead of merely exporting raw materials.

The University of South Africa has become the first African university to own an airport.

The 20-hectare facility will support practical training in aviation and advanced technologies.
Vice-Chancellor Puleng LenkaBula says the move strengthens innovation and job-ready skills.

The milestone aligns with UNISA’s global growth in research and technical education.
Vice-Chancellor Puleng LenkaBula confirmed the acquisition of the 20-hectare facility, describing it as a strategic investment to strengthen real-world training for students.

The announcement was made during a press briefing highlighting the university’s recent academic progress and rising global rankings.
LenkaBula said the airport would serve as a “launchpad for future innovators”, enabling the institution to move beyond its traditional distance-learning model and expand into hands-on technical training.

The facility is expected to support specialised programmes in aviation, drone technology, and advanced digital systems, areas seen as critical to Africa’s industrial growth.

The move reflects a broader trend among global universities seeking to align education more closely with labour market demands, particularly in high-skill sectors where practical experience is essential.

Boitumelo Senokoane, an associate professor in the College of Human Sciences, said the airport would provide students with a rare opportunity to translate theory into practice.

“This 20-hectare airport will give our students a unique opportunity to apply their studies in practice and gain skills that are in high demand in the aviation and engineering industries,” she said.

Founded in 1873, UNISA serves more than 400,000 students worldwide and is widely regarded as one of the largest universities globally.

The airport acquisition aligns with its expanding research focus in digitalisation, biotechnology, renewable energy, and space science, positioning the institution at the forefront of innovation on the continent.