News
President Jonathan Tasks Mordi’s NCCN on Investment
President Goodluck Jonathan said Nigeria’s business competitiveness and ability to attract local and international investment will be significantly enhanced with the appointment of ex-banker Chika Mordi as the first chief executive of the National Competitiveness Council of Nigeria (NCCN).
President Jonathan, who recently launched the NCCN, said, “This important step, by the National Competitiveness Council, underscores Nigeria’s commitment to rapidly transform the business environment and enhance productivity in Nigeria.”
President Jonathan inaugurated the council earlier this year, with Olusegun Aganga, Trade and Investment minister, as chairman; and Tony O. Elumelu, chairman of Heirs Holdings, representing the private sector as vice chairman.
Other members drawn from the Nigerian and international communities include Michael Porter, Aliko Dangote, Lynda Chalker, and Dr Juan E. Pardinas, director, Mexican Institute for Competitiveness.
Aganga, a leading member of the President’s transformation team, said, ”We are pleased to have Mr. Mordi at the helm of the Council’s affairs. His track record demonstrates that he possesses the intellect, ambition and experience to help Nigeria attain global economic prominence.”
Mordi will lead a strategically placed body, part of the Jonathan administration’s wider policy to dramatically improve the ability of local and international businesses to conduct and operate business in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country and home to one of the largest global consumer markets. Results of which will be measured by Nigeria’s rise in World Economic Forum’s Global Competitive Index and the World Bank’s Doing Business Index rankings – indices that are internationally acknowledged benchmarks for the openness of a nation’s economy.
Countries that successfully implement reforms and overhaul regulatory obstacles experience better economic outcomes, job creation and improved standards of living, according to the World Bank.
Elumelu, who is also the Founder of The Tony Elumelu Foundation, which has provided a take-off grant for the council, said, “Competitiveness is a prerequisite for a country’s development.
The NCCN is working to create an enabling environment for the private sector to flourish. This is the only sustainable solution for Nigeria’s and Africa’s development. Mr. Mordi brings a skill set and track record that makes me feel highly confident that our objectives will be realised.”
The Council selected Mordi through an internationally advertised recruitment process, which identified a series of extremely talented individuals. He is the founder of Accender Africa, a Washington, D.C.-based non-profit that seeks to use new media to increase transparency in government, with the objective of poverty reduction.
“I am honoured to have the opportunity to contribute in a significant way to Nigeria’s development and its global business profile. The private sector is instrumental in creating sustainable growth, reducing poverty and boosting collective prosperity for Nigerians. NCCN is intrinsic to ensuring the right conditions are in place to secure Nigeria’s strong future; I am looking forward to the challenge,” Mordi said.
Mordi, a professional banker, spent over two decades in the finance industry and was instrumental in the dramatic transformation of Nigeria’s financial services industry, including repositioning of the United Bank for Africa Plc into one of Africa’s leading financial institutions. He has also helped incubate several businesses in Nigeria and Ghana, and in his investment banking career managed landmark transactions in sub-Saharan Africa in equities, fixed income, corporate finance, debt conversion, and privatisation.
Mordi is a trained economist and holds degrees from the University of Ilorin, IESE Business School, Harvard Kennedy School, American University’s Graduate School of Communications and John Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. He also completed the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School.
Dr. Obiageli Amadiobi, director general, National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP), has expressed displeasure over the level of Intellectual Property Right (IPR) losses by Nigerian researchers due to insufficient knowledge of the benefits of IPR protection.
Speaking at a one-day Coordinator’s Forum organized by the Office in Uyo for the South-South geopolitical zone of the country, the Director General, represented by Mrs. Caroline Anie-Osuagwu, director of Technology Acquisition and Research Coordination (TARC) department, said that prior to the establishment of the Intellectual Property and Technology Transfer Offices (IPTTOs) in Nigerian knowledge establishments, Nigerian researchers had no deep knowledge of the importance of IP protection, hence losing their IP rights.
In a statement signed by Raymond Onyenezi Ogbu for the head, Public Relations and Protocol Unit of NOTAP, the DG advised researchers to always file for a patent each time they anticipate a breakthrough and avoid publishing before patenting, as any research work published in a paper is already in the public domain and can no longer be patented.
“IP rights are rights granted to a researcher or inventor by the government to have a monopoly over the financial exploitation of their inventions for a period of time to recoup the expenditure on their research undertaking”. the DG said.
She challenged patent owners to license or commercialize their inventions, adding that patents that cannot metamorphose into tangible products and services are not worth keeping, as they are liabilities to the owners.
The DG said that researchers with patented inventions can license their invention for royalty purposes or sell them outrightly to venture capitalists if they cannot commercialize.
“Over the years, the nation has depended on the consumption of products from foreign research, while Nigeria is blessed with skilled human resources but only needs to be strategic in their research understanding”.
“The aim of organizing the IPTTO coordinator’s forum was to interact with the coordinators, know their challenges and achievements, and encourage the centers that are not very progressive to strengthen their centers.” She added.
The DG stressed that while a number of centers are performing well, some are struggling to find their fit, occasioned by bureaucratic bottlenecks.
She expressed confidence in the ability of the research communities engaging in demand-driven and market-driven research to fast-track development adding that technology development is a product of research work, and knowledge institutions are duty-bound to engage in critical research to advance the IPR ecosystem in Nigeria.
Participants from the South-South Zone took turns to commend NOTAP for the impactful program and requested the Office to assist them with links to venture capitalists for the commercialization of their research results.
All the IPTTO coordinators presented their scorecards and were advised to get ready for the 2026 IPTTO ranking that would be organized by the Office.
A Nigerian tech enthusiast known online as the “tech queen,” Sapphire Egemasi, has been arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in connection with a massive fraud scheme targeting U.S. government agencies.
Egemasi, a programmer with an active Devpost profile, was apprehended around April 10, 2025, in the Bronx, New York, reports The Nation.
She was arrested alongside several alleged co-conspirators, including Ghanaian national Samuel Kwadwo Osei, believed to be the ringleader of the syndicate.
The arrests follow a federal grand jury indictment filed in 2024, which charged the group with multiple counts of internet fraud and money laundering. The crimes allegedly took place between September 2021 and February 2023.
According to prosecutors, the syndicate defrauded the city of Kentucky of millions of dollars by creating spoof websites that mimicked official U.S. government portals. These fraudulent platforms were used to harvest login credentials and redirect funds into accounts under the group’s control.
Investigators say Egemasi served as the technical lead of the operation. She allegedly designed the fake websites and managed the coordination of wire transfers.
Records show that in August 2022 alone, the group rerouted $965,000 into a PNC Bank account and funneled another $330,000 into a Bank of America account.
Before her arrest, Egemasi was reportedly based in Cambridge, United Kingdom, though authorities believe she previously lived in Ghana, where she may have forged ties with other members of the syndicate.
To mask the origin of her wealth, Egemasi claimed on social media and professional platforms to have held internships with multinational corporations such as British Petroleum, H&M, and Zara.
Her LinkedIn profile portrayed a polished image of a successful tech professional, while her social media accounts featured images of lavish vacations to destinations like Greece and Portugal —trips prosecutors allege were funded by illicit gains.
Egemasi and her co-defendants are currently in federal custody, awaiting trial in Lexington, Kentucky. If convicted, each faces up to 20 years in prison, hefty financial penalties, and likely deportation upon completing their sentences.
A former Executive Director at Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), Abbas Muhammed Jega, has shed light on the financial dealings between Arik Air and Union Bank, revealing that the airline’s debt to AMCON was over N100 billion as of 2015 and remained unpaid.
Testifying as the third prosecution witness in the ongoing trial of Ahmed Kuru, former AMCON MD/CEO, and four others, Jega disclosed that AMCON acquired Arik’s loans from Union Bank and Keystone Bank, but not Zenith Bank, which was purchased after his exit.
According to Jega, AMCON discovered in a London meeting that Union Bank had sold them a guarantee rather than a loan, which was meant to cover foreign lenders in case Arik defaulted.
“We invited Arik to resolve the issue with Union Bank, but the arrangement disclosed by me never existed,” Jega said.
Jega attributed Arik’s inability to repay to over-trading, which led to their inability to service existing debts. He revealed that AMCON attempted to restructure Arik’s debt and even offered additional loan facilities to help the airline with working capital problems.
However, Arik failed to meet repayment obligations, prompting AMCON to propose two solutions: a debt equity swap and management control. Both options were rejected or delayed by Arik.
Under cross-examination, Jega confirmed that Kamilu Omokide and Captain Roy Ilegbodu played no role in the loan purchase or London meeting.
The matter has been adjourned to June 30, July 1, and July 2, 2025, for further cross-examination.
The case involves alleged financial misappropriation amounting to N76 billion and $31.5 million, with Ahmed Kuru, Kamilu Omokide, Captain Roy Ilegbodu, Union Bank Ltd, and Super Bravo Ltd as defendants, presided over by Justice Mojisola Dada.
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