News
Badejo-Okusanya Recieves Kwame Nkrumah Leadership Award
Mr. Yomi Badejo-Okusanya, president of the African Public Relations Association (APRA) has been honoured with the Dr. Kwame Nkrumah Leadership Award of Integrity and Transparency as the Most Outstanding African Personality of the Year.
Badejo-Okusanya who is also the managing director of CMC Connect Group,was conferred with the award in Lagos recently by the ECOWAS Youth Parliament (EYP).
He surpassed other nominees from Liberia, Ghana and Cape Verde to clinch the award after being nominated by the Nigerian Youth Forum.
He was commended for promoting African Image, exemplary leadership, distinct reputation throughout his business career.
The award, titled “Championing the Course of the African Next Generation”, has made him a Grand Commander of the ECOWAS Youth Parliament.
Presenting the award, Hon. Mensah Fred, speaker of ECOWAS Youth Parliament, noted that he was honoured with the award for his national recognition, his selfless service towards promoting Africa’s image, his good leadership qualities, integrity and transparent style of leadership, impactful nature towards the betterment of African citizens, educational development and advancement towards eradicating illiteracy in Nigeria.
Mensah said, “When others are standing, you are outstanding, we are so much happy about your disciplined personality towards making the youths and Nigerian communities better for good”.
“I was unable to read anything negative about you. I was so happy that this young personality has been leading a vibrant PR consulting firm for a long time and you have been doing well. In our last conference in Liberia, some of the Youth leaders from Nigeria nominated you to be decorated with the EYP Honour, when we were deliberating on who to award this year, and to the glory of God we made a reasonable and outstanding selection. It is wonderful that this award will be coming to Nigeria this time around”. Mensah noted.
Receiving the award, Okusanya stated that he accepted the award because it has no monetary value attached. He commended the organisation for its commitment towards socio-economic development and charged them to set more goals in order to create a better future for ECOWAS.
“The future of this continent lies in the hands of young people like you and you need to have that vision for a better tomorrow. I am going to ask your organisation to please set a vision, communicate that vision, let all of us know about that vision, let us work with that vision. We don’t have to be in your organisation before we can support that vision and I believe that you can become the vehicle by which we can see a better ECOWAS”. Okusanya noted.
Speaking further, he applauded the organisation for appreciating his efforts, and urged them to continue on the path of integrity. He called on the ECOWAS Youth Parliament to join African Public Relations Association (APRA) in its quest to change the narrative of Africa in order to realise the full potentials of the continent.
Badejo – Okusanya is a perception manager who made his way into the Public Relations industry about 24 years ago and is successfully leading one of the top perception Public Relations firms in Nigeria, CMC Connect Burson –Marsteller. He is the current President of APRA, an umbrella body of PR practitioners in Africa and was a past Chairman of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), Lagos State Chapter.
He has consulted for many organisations and governments including the first female President in Africa, Ellen Sirleaf Johnson of Liberia.
The ECOWAS Youth Parliament, formerly the West Africa Youth Parliament, promotes youth empowerment, defending people’s rights, improvement of equity, democratization and equal access to education at all levels, and the fostering of academic freedom, freedom of research, and the promotion of democratic culture amongst various peoples.
EYP plays an integral role in advancing the youth development agenda and co-ordination of activities and policies of the ECOWAS in the field of youth.
The council works for and represents the voice of all young people within the 16 ECOWAS nations.
DataPro Rating Agency has upgraded the long-term credit rating of Dangote Cement Plc to AA+ from AA, citing the company’s strong financial performance, market leadership and ability to meet its financial obligations despite Nigeria’s challenging economic environment.
In its latest rating report, the technology-driven credit rating agency also affirmed Dangote Cement’s short-term rating at A1, with a Stable Outlook. The ratings are valid until June 16, 2027.
DataPro said the upgrade reflects the cement maker’s sustained financial strength, resilient operating performance and dominant position in Nigeria and across Africa.
According to the agency, the assessment followed a comprehensive review of the company’s capital base, earnings, liquidity, corporate governance, regulatory compliance and the sustainability of its financial performance over the medium to long term.
It noted that Dangote Cement’s strong brand, leading market share, solid earnings, robust asset base and experienced management continue to strengthen its ability to meet financial commitments on time.
The agency also highlighted the company’s outstanding financial performance in 2025.
According to the report, Dangote Cement posted N4.31 trillion in revenue during the year, representing a 20 per cent increase from the previous year. Profit before tax more than doubled, rising 109 per cent to N1.53 trillion, driven by higher sales, improved operating efficiency, lower finance costs and a stronger capital structure.
DataPro said the AA+ long-term rating indicates low credit risk and reflects excellent financial strength, business profile and operating performance relative to its rating benchmarks.
It added that the A1 short-term rating signifies good credit quality and shows that the company has a strong capacity to meet its short-term financial obligations as they fall due.
The rating agency, however, noted that the credit rating has a maximum shelf life of 12 calendar months in line with international best practice and should be used only as a reference, not as an offer to trade in securities or as a substitute for investors’ independent judgement.
Xora Finance has announced it will no longer consider job applicants from Nigeria.
Xora Finance is a digital bank founded by Joren Lundgren, in February 2026 and allows users to deposit and earn interest on their XRP cryptocurrency.
Lundgren, founder, in an announcement on X (formerly Twitter), cited an ongoing pattern of misconduct, such as dishonesty and theft, from previous Nigerian hires as the reason for the decision.
This sudden blanket ban came just days after the company’s official career page was aggressively recruiting remote workers for marketing and content roles.
The announcement generated heavy backlash online, with many people upset that a blanket rule punishes honest job seekers.
Some lawyers have said that victims of Ponzi schemes have legal remedies, although recovering lost funds and prosecuting perpetrators remain major challenges.
A Ponzi scheme is an investment fraud that pays existing investors with funds collected from new participants rather than from actual profits.
Operators lure victims by promising high returns with little to no risk.
The scheme inevitably collapses when the flow of new investors slows down.
Some lawyers who spoke to News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) separate interviews with on Sunday, said that victims could pursue civil actions to recover their money.
Mr Chibuikem Opara, a lawyer at Justification Chambers, Ikeja,said many Nigerians continued to fall victim to Ponzi schemes in spite of repeated warnings.
Opara said it was wrong to attribute participation in Ponzi schemes to a lack of investment opportunities, noting that promoters often exploit investors’ greed through promises of unrealistic returns.
“What you cannot take away is the fact that many Nigerians have fallen and continue to fall victim to these schemes every time,” he said.
According to him, victims may individually or collectively institute civil actions against the beneficiary company for breach of contract or refund arising from failure of consideration.
Opara said victims could also unite to seek an order from the Federal High Court to wind up the beneficiary company.
He, however, noted that such efforts might yield little benefit if perpetrators had already siphoned the funds and left behind an empty shell.
The lawyer said available remedies largely depended on the actions of relevant authorities, adding that recipient accounts could be frozen to facilitate fund recovery and support winding-up proceedings.
Opara said regulators and law enforcement agencies often became aware of Ponzi schemes only after substantial losses had occurred.
According to him, victims frequently failed to report suspicious schemes early enough to enable timely intervention.
He added that funds are sometimes moved outside the country before authorities become aware of the fraud.
Opara also cited inadequate information and the deceptive nature of the schemes as major obstacles to investigation and prosecution.
“Most times, everything about the schemes is made to appear elusive, just like the profits promised to victims,” he said.
Also speaking, Mr Vincent Aminu of A.F. Aminu and Co. advised that victims of investment scams should report such cases to appropriate law enforcement agencies on time.
Aminu said victims could petition the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) or file reports with the police.
He said that after investigation, prosecutors could bring charges against suspects under relevant fraud-related laws, including provisions of the Criminal Code and the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act.
Beyond criminal prosecution, Aminu said .victims could pursue civil actions to recover their money
According to him, such actions may be based on breach of contract, unjust enrichment, or fraudulent misrepresentation, depending on the circumstances.
He added that victims could petition the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which could investigate illegal operators, shut down unauthorised platforms, and freeze assets.
He identified the anonymity of online fraudsters as one of the biggest challenges confronting investigators.
According to him, many operators concealed their identities through fake digital profiles and technologies that made tracking them difficult.
Aminu also noted that victims who delayed taking legal action risked losing opportunities for redress.
He added that prolonged court proceedings often delayed justice for victims.
“Many fraud-related cases take years before the court reaches a verdict, thereby delaying justice for victims,” he said.
Also, Mr Chris Ayiyi of Ayiyi Chambers, Apapa, described Ponzi schemes as a gamble that benefited early participants at the expense of later investors.
Ayiyi said some early entrants received returns on their investments, thereby encouraging others to join the schemes.
He said the schemes eventually collapsed, leaving late investors to bear the losses
The lawyer called for a complete ban on Ponzi schemes or sustained public enlightenment campaigns against them.
He urged the National Assembly to enact laws that would strengthen regulation and provide greater protection for investors.
According to him, stronger legal safeguards are necessary in a country operating a capital-based economy.
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