General
MasterCard, Boost to Provide Digital Wallets for FMCG SMEs
By Adedapo Adesanya
Global payments technology company, Mastercard, has partnered with a B2B commerce platform, Boost, to provide digital payment wallets and embedded supply chain finance to empower and expand small businesses in the Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) sector in Africa.
According to a statement, the collaboration will provide support to distributors, wholesalers, and retailers in the FMCG sector, all of whom will be provided with Boost’s innovative platform as a service to access essential working capital and Mastercard’s acceptance solutions.
Mastercard will enable Boost to offer digital payment and credit solutions to their micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME) customers across their current and future markets, amplifying the company’s impact whilst contributing to Mastercard’s mission of fostering an inclusive digital economy.
The partnership aims to provide financial institutions with the capability to issue digital payment solutions and expand into the micro-retail space, whilst empowering merchants to digitise payments and access working capital.
Also, it will ensure a broader array of FMCG products for consumers with easier product payments through the availability of digital payment solutions.
This aligns with Mastercard’s plans of bringing a total of one billion people and 50 million micro and small businesses into the digital economy by 2025.
Speaking on the collaboration, Mr Mike Quinn, co-founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Boost said, “We are thrilled to enter into this scaling partnership with Mastercard in pursuit of Boost’s mission to enable small businesses to thrive in the digital economy, to create sustainable jobs and income.
“We have already proven that Boost’s model can scale widely across, and deeply within, emerging markets by building strong partnerships to digitize end-to-end supply chains between manufacturers and point-of-sale retailers.
“Mastercard will help us take our model to the next level to create transformative value for our customers and partners while fueling our global ambitions.”
For Mrs Folasade Femi-Lawal, Country Manager and Area Business Head, West Africa, Mastercard, the collaboration reiterates Mastercard’s commitment to including MSMEs in the digital ecosystem.
“We are excited to embark on this transformative journey with Boost, as we understand the challenges that small businesses face, By digitizing payments and creating a track record for their transactions, we will enable more MSMEs to access credit facilities and scale their businesses Through the delivery of integrated digital payment solutions and supply chain finance, we believe we are empowering MSMEs with essential tools to not only survive, but thrive.”
“This collaboration underscores our dedication to advance MSME growth in emerging markets and foster economic growth and financial inclusion through innovative digital solutions,” she added.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The United States government gave some terrorists in Nigeria a Christmas gift that sent many of them to the great beyond.
On Thursday, December 25, 2025, the United States President, Mr Donald Trump, directed his country’s military to launch air strikes on camps of members of the dreaded Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in Sokoto State.
According to Mr Trump, the military action, which he threatened to carry out a few weeks ago if the Nigerian government does not stop the killing of Christians in the country, occurred on Thursday night.
“Tonight, at my direction as Commander in Chief, the United States launched a powerful and deadly strike against ISIS Terrorist Scum in Northwest Nigeria, who have been targeting and viciously killing, primarily, innocent Christians, at levels not seen for many years, and even Centuries!
“I have previously warned these Terrorists that if they did not stop the slaughtering of Christians, there would be hell to pay, and tonight, there was.
“The Department of War executed numerous perfect strikes, as only the United States is capable of doing.
“Under my leadership, our country will not allow radical islamic terrorism to prosper. May God bless our military, and Merry Christmas to all, including the dead terrorists, of which there will be many more if their slaughter of Christians continues,” Mr Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
In a video on X, formerly known as Twitter, the Department of War of the United States posted the below video of the air strikes;
https://twitter.com/DeptofWar/status/2004351717131903272
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The presidency has reacted to speculations that Mr Femi Gbajabiamila has been removed as the Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu.
It was alleged that Mr Gbajabiamila has been replaced with the President’s Principal Private Secretary, Mr Hakeem Muri-Okunola.
Mr Muri-Okunola went to Abuja to take up this role after leaving as the Head of Service of the Lagos State Civil Service.
Reacting to the reports on social media on the purported removal of Mr Gbajabiamila, a former Speaker of the House of Representatives, the presidency said no such change has been made.
In a statement signed on Thursday by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Mr Bayo Onanuga, members of the public were advised to disregard the report as “there is absolutely no truth to this story.”
“The Chief of Staff remains in his position. The Principal Private Secretary likewise remains in his role. Hakeem Muri-Okunola has not replaced Femi Gbajabiamila as Chief of Staff.
“The viral claim is a fabrication by mischievous purveyors of fake news whose sole aim is to create disharmony within the government.
“We reiterate that news media should always verify their information before publishing or sharing on social media,” the statement said.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The new chief executive of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Mrs Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, has assumed office with a clear message to advance the country’s upstream oil and gas sector in line with the mandate of the commission as enshrined in the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021.
According to a statement signed by Mr Eniola Akinkuotu, the Head of Media & Strategic Communications at the upstream regulator, the NUPRC boss made this assertation during her first town hall meeting with management and staff on Tuesday December 23, 2025.
She further disclosed plans to make the commission a business enabler and re-ignite investments in the upstream sector.
Recall that President Tinubu nominated Mrs Eyesan to take over the NUPRC after the abrupt resignation of her predecessor, Mr Gbenga Komolafe as well as his counterpart in the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Mr Farouk Ahmed.
In her new capacity, Mrs Eyesan also set a firm production ambition of growing Nigeria’s output and increasing gas production.
“The goal is that we must enable the industry, we are regulators. We must enable the industry from our interactions with the stakeholders, from our interactions with everybody.
“My main objective is to ensure that we make a difference. I believe the NUPRC is at the Center of the industry,” she said.
The commission boss who has served for over three decades in the oil and gas sector, promised to entrench digitisation, transparency and efficiency in operations.
The NUPRC head said with the support of staff and management, the NUPRC will become the gold-standard regulator in Africa. She also promised capacity development, stronger technical depth and sustained engagement with stakeholders, unions and professional teams.
On leadership style, Mrs Eyesan promised an open-door policy and frequent staff engagement, while also soliciting for support and cooperation as the industry embarks on the next phase of transformation.
“If we work together we can unleash opportunities, I don’t see impediments only opportunities,” she added.
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