Bank frauds and telecommunication companies
Olufemi Ajayi When Rita Markenny Egba publicly alleged that approximately ₦3 million was withdrawn from her Access Bank account through USSD transactions between October and December 2025 while she was…
Category: Banking & Finance
Did Tinubu Float the Naira or Drown it?
by Mohammed Bello Doka The mathematics of national suicide is rarely this precise. On May 29, 2023, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu stood before the nation and delivered two blows to…
Frauds in Financial Services Industry: What Banks are Doing; What Customers Should Do
By ETIM ETIM In April, the Central Bank of Nigeria raised an alarm over a surge in fraudulent messages, emails and online communications flooding the social media, warning that cybercriminals…
Important milestones of the Tinubu reforms
Minister of Finance, Taiwo Oyedele, today gave a detailed account of the financial impacts of President Tinubu’s economic reforms since 2023. The presentation contains important indices like where the money…
Access Drives Nigeria’s Largest Pipeline of Future CFA Charterholders, Strengthening the Financial Sector’s Talent Base
New data released by CFA Society Nigeria has highlighted Access as the country’s number one developer of future Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) professionals, reinforcing the institution’s role in building the…
Why the fake agency was not paid money despite budgetary allocation
By Tanimu Yakubu The public argument has often begun at the wrong point. The National Assembly appropriated funds for the Presidential Economic Advisory Council/Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, known as…
Coronation names Ohiwerei CEO
Coronation Merchant Bank has appointed Obeahon Ohiwerei as its Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer following the receipt of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s No Objection approval. Ohiwerei succeeds Paul…
Access Holdings vests over 200 million shares in 77 employees, Agbede emerges largest beneficiary
Access Holdings Plc has vested more than 200 million shares in 77 employees across its group, with former Executive Director, Business Support, Bolaji Agbede emerging as the largest beneficiary with…
FG denies spending N8tn outside budget, says IMF report misrepresented
Isaac Samuel The Federal Government has dismissed claims that it spent more than N8 trillion outside the approved budget, insisting that Nigeria does not operate a “shadow budget” and that…
The CBN’s Exposure Draft on Holding Companies of Banks: Matters Arising
By Marcel Okeke A seemingly innocuous document—an exposure draft—recently issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on the new structure and operations of holding companies of banks, is already…
Court grants El-Rufai N100m bail, imposes strict conditions
Isaac Samuel The Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday granted bail to former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, in the sum of N100 million with one surety in like…
Nestoil: when a bad debt is too big
By ETIM ETIM One of the first lessons I leant in my banking career is that when a debt is too big, the lender is at the mercy…
Tinubu signs 2026 Budget Bill and 2025 Budget Extension Bill into Law
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has assented to the 2026 Appropriation Bill, which provides for an aggregate expenditure of ₦68.32 trillion. He has also signed the bill extending the implementation period…
Why Recapitalized Banks May Not Boost Nigeria’s Economy
By Marcel Okeke It is really worth celebrating that the bank recapitalization exercise of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) came to a successful conclusion on March 31, 2026, twenty-four…
President Tinubu nominates Lamido Abubakar Yuguda as CBN Deputy Governor
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved the appointment of Lamido Abubakar Yuguda as Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, subject to confirmation by the Senate. The appointment is…
Has Budget Failures Become a Hallmark of Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda?
By Marcel Okeke Without any technical jargons or the blame games currently ongoing in the Presidency and topmost echelon of the officialdom, the stark reality is that the President Bola…
Providus-Unity Bank merger stalled over insider credits
By ETIM ETIM Negotiations over the proposed merger of Providus Bank and Unity Bank have been stalled over the huge amount of insider credits owed by the directors of Unity…
Are CBN Policies Crippling Banks, Private Businesses in Nigeria?
By Marcel Okeke The popular idiom: “The chicken has come home to roost,” seems to be playing out in the Nigerian financial services industry where the policies of the Central…
Paul Usoro retires from Access Bank
After 12 years of meritorious service as a director of Access Bank PLC, Paul Usoro, SAN, retired last week, ending one of the most glorious eras in the history of…
Nigeria’s New Tax Regime: A Counterpoise to Cashless Economy and Financial Inclusion?
By Marcel Okeke For upwards of a decade-and-half, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has been implementing the financial inclusion and cashless economy initiative. Introduced in 2011, the policy aimed…
Analysis: Nigeria’s 2026 budget exposes misplaced priorities by Tinubu’s administration
Isaac Samuel Nigeria’s 2026 federal budget, a N51.59 trillion blueprint spanning nearly 2,800 pages, reads less like a roadmap for national development and more like a catalogue of misplaced priorities.…
Tinubunomics and the Arithmetics of illusion
By Tanimu Yakubu A striking feature of Nigeria’s current economic debate is the enthusiasm with which huge numbers are circulated—and the casualness with which they are assembled. Tax collections are…
Remarkable milestones in the financial services industry
By ETIM ETIM The annual dinner of the Chartered Institute of Bankers is one of the most enduring events in Nigeria’s corporate calendar. It brings together industry chiefs and senior…
Access Holdings to raise N40 billion ‘’to cure regulatory deficiency’’
By ETIM ETIM Less than a year after meeting the N500 billion minimum capital requirement, Access Holdings, the parent company of Access bank Plc, is raising additional N40 billion through…
Reforms Shape State Budgets: Akwa Ibom’s ₦1.39tn Bold Plan Despite Revenue Risks
By Akpandem James Every year, about this time, governments across Nigeria, both states and federal, shift attention to fiscal proposals for the coming financial cycle. By then, the Medium-Term Sector…
Akwa Ibom’s N1.39 trillion budget
By ETIM ETIM While I wait for the Commissioners for Budget and Finance to give further details on the N1.39 trillion budget presented to the House of the Assembly by…
Tax Policy Swings: Whither Nigeria?
By Marcel Okeke The number and variety of taxes proposed, or already imposed by the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration in its 30-month of existence have begun to generate a…
Unlocking Africa’s financial capital
By ETIM ETIM When in 2013 Aliko Dangote dreamt of establishing the first privately –owned refinery in his country, he turned to syndicate of 13 Nigeria’s banks to raise the…
Africa’s $4 trillion capital: the pipes and plumbers
By Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede At the 2025 Africa Financial Industry Summit, I reminded my colleagues in finance that Africa’s capital challenge is not one of scarcity, it is one of…
Is Nigeria’s Exit from FATF’s Grey List Final?
By Marcel Okeke Palpable jubilation has been going on in Nigeria, especially in the officialdom and the financial sector in the past few days owing to the country’s removal from…
Innocent Ike: A warrior that returned home
By ETIM ETIM When it was apparent that the tenure of Bolaji Agbede as the acting Group CEO of Access Holdings was coming to an end early this year, the…
Observation and Policy Advice on the Global Shift from U.S. Treasuries to Gold
By Prof. James Chinedu Ihemeje The recent report by The New Diplomat (October 8, 2025) that “Central Banks Now Hold More Gold Than U.S. Treasuries” is both significant and instructive.…
Yemi Cardoso: Two years after…
By ETIM ETIM Olayemi Michael Cardoso was named Nigeria’s twelfth Central Bank Governor on September 15, 2023 by President Tinubu; and after a rigorous senate confirmation hearing, he and…
Executive movements at Access Holdings
By ETIM ETIM Access Holdings on Thursday announced the appointment of Mr. Innocent Ike as the substantive Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the Company, effective August 29, 2025, following…
CBN Retains MPR at 27.5
The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) at its meeting on July 21 and 22, 2025 to decided to maintain the current monetary policy stance…
IMF Commends FIRS Role in Nigeria’s Tax Administration, Reforms
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has commended the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) for the significant progress it has made in tax administration and Reforms in Nigeria. A Senior Economist…
NESG: 2025 Tax Reform Acts to Birth Transparent Tax System if Implemented Well
The Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) has declared that the 2025 Tax Reform Acts, would deliver “a more equitable, efficient, and transparent tax system provided its implementation is timely, inclusive,…
FG Pegs Public Interest Entities Annual Dues at ₦25 million
The federal government has directed the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria (FRC) to peg the annual dues payable by private sector’s Public Interest Entities (PIEs) at ₦25 million. The federal…
FITC: ESG is Central Lever of Economic Competitiveness, Institutional Resilience, National Transformation
The Managing Director/CEO, Financial Institution Training Centre (FITC) Dr. Chizor Malize, has said that Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) is central to economic competitiveness, institutional resilience, and national transformation. Malize…
Reps give Customs seven-day ultimatum to halt illegal levies
Isaac Samuel The House of Representatives Committee on Customs and Excise has issued a seven-day ultimatum to the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) to stop the collection of the one per…
Reps uncover N9.4trn debt in oil sector, recover N86.5bn
Isaac Samuel The House of Representatives Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has uncovered over N9.4 trillion in unpaid financial obligations owed to the Federation Account by several oil and gas companies…
CBN Affirms Strength of Banking Sector, Issues Routine Transitional Guidelines for Select Institutions
As part of its ongoing efforts to strengthen the banking system, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) introduced time-bound measures for a small number of banks still completing their transition…
Fayemi Alleges Delay over Implementation of 2025 National Budget
Fayemi Alleges Delay over Implementation of 2025 National Budget Former Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, has alleged that the administration of President Bola Tinubu has not released funds to…
BudgIT Reveals National Assembly’s Crazy Insertions in 2025 Budget
The BudgIT has itemized some of the crazy Insertions in the 2025 federal government’s budget, which revealed that the National Assembly 1,477 streetlights for N393.29 billion. It said that with…
United Capital Rolls Out N1bn Children Investment Fund
The United Capital Asset Management Limited (UCAM) will roll out its N1 billion Children Investment Fund (CIF) today at a minimum of N5 million per subscriber through Initial Public Offer…
Tinubu seeks NASS approval for fresh $21.5bn, €2.2bn loans
Isaac Samuel President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Tuesday asked the National Assembly to approve $21.5 billion and €2.2 billion in fresh external loans to finance key infrastructure projects across Nigeria…
Investors Lost N7.893bn as Market Capitalisation Declined by N68.945 trillion
The NGX equity market capitalization dropped by N7.893 billion on Monday, May 19. The market opened at N68.953 trillion but closed at N68.945 trillion. Also, the NGX All-Share Index (NGX-ASI)…
2025 Budget: BudgIT Alleges N6.93trn Inserted Via 11,122 Projects by National Assembly
The BudgIT has alleged that 11,122 projects valued at N6.93 trillion were inserted by the National Assembly into the 2025 federal government’s budget. The BudgIT’s breakdown of the alleged insertions…
Reps caution CBN on unintended consequences of high interest rates
Isaac Samuel The House of Representatives Committee on National Planning and Economic Development has cautioned the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) against the unintended consequences of maintaining high interest rates…
2024: Nigerian Leasing Industry Hits N5.16trn Transactions, Records 23.2%
The Equipment Leasing Association of Nigerian (ELAN) has announced that the Nigerian leasing industry recorded N5.16 trillion transactions in 2024, which represented a growth of 23.2 per cent against N4.19…