Business
FG woos new automobile investors, promises fresh support
FG woos new automobile investors, promises fresh support
Nigeria has significant opportunities for investors in automotive industry as Africa’s largest market in the sector, Director General of the National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC), Mr. Jelani Aliyu, has said.
He said the council and by extension the Federal Government would give the needed support and the right environment for genuine investors to grow in the business going forward.
The DG stated this at the 17th Lagos Motor Fair incorporating 10th Autoparts Expo Africa & Motorcycle/Tricycle fair held at the Victoria Island, Lagos.
Represented by a Deputy Director in the council, Felicia Oyebolu, the DG stated that “the Council in a bid to develop and promote advanced technology in the Nigerian automotive industry, is rapidly shifting attention to cardonless transport system in Nigeria.
“This is because vehicle electrification is inevitable, it is the future of automotive industry worldwide and we are working assiduously towards achieving its comprehensive and sustainable adoption in Nigeria.”
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Jelani added that “as a pilot scheme project, the Council has established 100% solar powered EV charging stations at Usman Danfodio university Sokoto, University of Lagos, University of Nigeria, Nsukka and NADDC headquarters, Abuja, and also discussing with other stakeholders for collaboration in establishing more charging infrastructure all over the country.
Chairman of the event’s organizing committee, Managing Director, BKG Exhibitions Limited, Mr Ifeanyichukwu Agwu, said, “This edition of the all-inclusive Automotive Event is holding despite all odds, with the high hope and enthusiasm that the new administration in Nigeria, will give the industry the needed attention and action that will take us to the desired height. This it should do urgently so that we will not lose more ground in the industry to Ghana and other neighbouring countries.
“I urge the new government to ensure that the automotive sector of the Nigerian economy remains in the front burner of its economic policy and programmes from the onset; having in mind the way change of administration usually play out on ongoing policies of the preceding administration; as attested by what happened to the National Automotive Industry Development Policy/Programme [NAIDP], after the regime change in 2015.”
The four-day event witnessed the participation of both international and local players in the automotive industry.
FG woos new automobile investors, promises fresh support
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Business
Facebook, Instagram Global Outage: Over 130,000 Reports as Millions Logged Out
Facebook, Instagram Global Outage: Over 130,000 Reports as Millions Logged Out
NEW YORK/LONDON/SINGAPORE – Meta-owned social media platforms Facebook and Instagram experienced a widespread outage on Friday, June 12, 2026, leaving millions of users across the world unable to access their accounts as the disruption affected the entire ecosystem of Meta-owned services.
The disruption affected Facebook’s main website, mobile application and Messenger service, with many users reporting that they were automatically logged out of their accounts. The trouble appeared to begin on WhatsApp before spreading across Meta’s platforms. Users attempting to access Facebook received error messages including “an unexpected error occurred,” “sorry, something went wrong,” and “Query Error.”
Visitors to Facebook’s website were shown a notice stating that the company was working to resolve the issue. The disruption began at approximately 10:00 AM Eastern Time (2:00 PM GMT) , with users reporting being unable to load feeds or access core features on affected platforms.
According to outage-tracking platform Downdetector, the scale of the disruption was substantial. Facebook recorded over 130,000 user reports at its peak, while Instagram logged approximately 9,500 complaints. Reuters reported more than 62,000 complaints for Facebook and over 8,000 for Instagram during the peak of the disruption.
Reports of the outage quickly flooded social media platform X, formerly Twitter, as users turned to the site to confirm whether others were experiencing similar problems. While Facebook and Instagram were the most affected services, WhatsApp and Messenger also experienced significant disruptions.
The outage appeared to be global, with complaints emerging from multiple countries within a short period. The disruption affected users across the United States, United Kingdom, Singapore, Philippines, India, Australia, Canada, South Africa, Spain, Taiwan, Vietnam, and the United Arab Emirates. In Singapore, reports about Facebook spiked on Downdetector at approximately 1:00 PM GMT.
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According to outage-tracking website StatusGator, users in the Philippines, India, Australia, Canada, and the United States also reported issues with Meta’s various applications. In Vietnam, users began reporting problems at approximately 8:40 PM local time, and the issue was reported resolved by approximately 9:20 PM local time.
Meta communications director Andy Stone confirmed the company was aware of the issue. “We’re aware people are currently having trouble accessing our services. We’re working on it,” Stone wrote in a post on X.
The company’s internal status page logged “high disruptions” across its business products, including Facebook Ads Manager, the Messenger Platform, the Messenger API for Instagram, and the WhatsApp Business Platform. Advertisers reported being unable to create or edit ads during the disruption, and Meta apologized “for any inconvenience.”
Notably, while Facebook and Messenger experienced issues, some users reported that Instagram, Threads, and WhatsApp remained operational for certain regions or devices. However, many users still reported issues accessing these services depending on their location and device type.
The disruption was not limited to mobile applications. Users attempting to access Facebook and Instagram through web browsers also encountered error messages and were unable to load content normally. Some users reported that Facebook’s mobile app worked while the desktop site displayed errors, highlighting the uneven nature of the disruption.
Meta’s own status page, which is responsible for providing real-time information about platform responsiveness, failed to provide valuable data during the incident. Throughout the disruption period, the page displayed all services as having “no errors detected,” potentially leading users to believe the problem was on their end rather than the platform.
Downdetector’s own website experienced technical difficulties around the same time as the outage, though it was not immediately clear whether the two events were connected. Before becoming unavailable, the platform had logged tens of thousands of error reports within minutes.
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The disruption adds to a series of intermittent outages affecting Meta’s family of apps in recent years. In one major outage in March 2026, Facebook and Instagram users across several countries reported being unable to load feeds or access accounts for several hours. A separate disruption earlier that month also affected thousands of users globally.
Prior to 2026, Meta experienced major outages in March 2024, when the entire ecosystem including Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and Threads was down for over two hours, with Downdetector recording over 550,000 outage reports. Another similar incident occurred in December 2024, disrupting communication for millions of accounts worldwide.
Meta representatives have stated in both previous instances that the root cause stemmed from internal technical issues, emphasizing that these incidents were independent of each other and completely unrelated to external cyberattacks.
By midday Eastern Time (approximately two hours after the outage began), service was recovering unevenly, region by region. Meta marked some services, such as ad delivery, as resolved, while others remained “in the process of being restored.”
On the consumer side, Facebook was loading closer to normal and Downdetector reports were falling, though some users still saw empty Stories bars, stale feeds, or “Try Again” errors. In Vietnam, the issue was reported resolved by approximately 9:20 PM local time.
The scale of the disruption underscored the central role Meta’s platforms play in global communication and commerce. Even a few hours of downtime ripples through messaging services, business operations, and login authentication systems far beyond the social media feed.
Meta has not yet released an official statement regarding the specific cause of this latest outage as of the time of finalizing this report. The company has not provided an estimated timeline for when all services will be fully restored, though restoration efforts continue to proceed.
This is a developing story. Updates will follow as Meta provides official explanation of the cause and confirms full restoration of all services.
Facebook, Instagram Global Outage: Over 130,000 Reports as Millions Logged Out
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Business
Elon Musk Becomes World’s First Trillionaire After SpaceX IPO Valuation Surge
Elon Musk Becomes World’s First Trillionaire After SpaceX IPO Valuation Surge
Elon Musk has officially entered uncharted financial territory after becoming the first individual in history to reach a $1 trillion net worth, following the blockbuster initial public offering (IPO) of SpaceX, which was priced at $135 per share.
The milestone marks a dramatic reshaping of global wealth rankings, driven primarily by the surge in valuation of SpaceX, the aerospace and space exploration company at the center of Musk’s financial empire.
The SpaceX IPO has been described as one of the most significant private-to-public transitions in modern financial history. With shares debuting at $135, investor demand pushed the company’s valuation to unprecedented levels, instantly elevating Musk’s paper wealth. Before the IPO, Musk’s net worth was estimated at approximately $813 billion, already positioning him far ahead of other global billionaires, including Google co-founder Larry Page, whose estimated wealth stood at about $288 billion. Following the listing, Musk’s total fortune is now estimated at just over $1.005 trillion, making him the world’s first confirmed trillionaire on paper.
According to the IPO structure, Musk holds approximately 4.8 billion shares in SpaceX, representing about 42% ownership, along with around 350 million stock options exercisable at a significantly lower strike price of $8.39 per share. At the IPO valuation, his SpaceX equity stake alone is worth roughly $648 billion, while stock options contribute an additional $44.3 billion. Combined with his holdings in Tesla and other investments, Musk’s total net worth crosses the symbolic $1 trillion threshold.
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Despite the historic milestone, financial analysts emphasize that Musk’s trillion-dollar status remains highly dependent on market conditions. Once trading begins on the Nasdaq Composite, fluctuations in SpaceX share price could significantly impact his net worth. A strong opening could push his fortune higher, while a decline could bring it back below the trillion-dollar mark. This volatility underscores a key characteristic of ultra-high-net-worth wealth: it is largely paper-based and market-sensitive, rather than liquid cash.
Musk’s achievement places his personal wealth in the same category as the gross domestic product of some of the world’s largest economies. Only a small number of countries globally—fewer than 20—have economies exceeding $1 trillion GDP, highlighting the scale of the milestone. The development has also intensified discussions around wealth inequality. Advocacy group Oxfam America has previously warned that extreme wealth concentration reflects widening economic disparities between the ultra-rich and the rest of the world.
While Musk remains the primary beneficiary of the IPO, the listing is also expected to generate substantial wealth for employees and early investors. Reports suggest that approximately 4,400 SpaceX employees could become millionaires depending on post-IPO market performance, marking one of the largest employee wealth creation events in the tech and aerospace sectors.
Musk’s rise to trillionaire status highlights the extraordinary growth of privately developed space technology and the increasing financial power of high-growth innovation companies. However, analysts caution that such milestones remain fluid, as billionaire rankings and net worth estimates can change rapidly based on market sentiment and stock performance.
Elon Musk Becomes World’s First Trillionaire After SpaceX IPO Valuation Surge
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Auto
Toyota moves to ease vehicle ownership amid economic challenges
Toyota Nigeria unveils plans to ease vehicle ownership
As rising costs put car ownership beyond the reach of many Nigerians, Toyota Nigeria Limited says it is rolling out fresh measures to make buying and maintaining vehicles easier for customers.
Managing Director, Mr. Kunle Ade-Ojo, announced the plans at the company’s 2026 Awards and Customers’ Night in Lagos, where he reaffirmed Toyota’s commitment to expanding mobility solutions in the country.
A statement on Thursday quoted Ade-Ojo as saying Toyota Nigeria would continue to innovate and introduce strategies that would enable more Nigerians to own and maintain Toyota vehicles while enjoying quality after-sales support.
According to him, the company’s commitment goes beyond selling vehicles to ensuring customers enjoy a seamless ownership experience through a robust nationwide service network.
“We will continue to innovate, adapt and elevate our product offerings and service delivery. Our ambition remains clear: to sustain industry leadership while contributing meaningfully to Nigeria’s economic development as a responsible corporate citizen,” he said.
He added that the company’s future plans are aligned with Toyota’s global vision of enriching lives through mobility, with a strong focus on innovation, sustainability and value creation.
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Ade-Ojo noted that Toyota Nigeria’s success over the years had been driven by the loyalty of customers, support from dealers, suppliers, employees, financial institutions and strategic partners, as well as the guidance of the company’s board led by its founder and chairman, Chief Michael Ade-Ojo.
The highlight of the event was the presentation of the Evergreen Customer of the Year Award to Zenith Bank Plc, which retained the title as Toyota Nigeria’s highest-volume customer for 2025. In recognition of the achievement, Chief Michael Ade-Ojo presented the bank with the keys to a brand-new Toyota Starlet Cross.
AGL Motors emerged overall winner in the Customer of the Year category, while the Nigerian Army and Zenith Bank were named first and second runners-up respectively. The winners received office equipment valued at several millions of naira.
Toyota Nigeria also honoured excellence in automotive journalism. Theodore Opara of Vanguard was named Journalist of the Year, while Mike Ochonma of Transport World and Rasheed Bisiriyu of Newstrends received awards for their contributions to automotive reporting, mobility advocacy and industry analysis.
Speaking at the event, several dealers and business partners commended Toyota Nigeria’s investments in dealer development, technical training and workshop upgrades, describing the initiatives as critical to sustaining high service standards and customer satisfaction across the country.
Toyota Nigeria unveils plans to ease vehicle ownership
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