Economy
Foreign Loans: World Bank Denies Disagreeing with Adeosun
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The World Bank Group has refuted reports in Nigeria claiming it frowned at the decision of the Federal Government to continue to borrow from international bodies to fund critical projects in the country.
In a statement issued by Oluyinka Akintunde, the Special Adviser on Media & Communications to the Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun, the World Bank said the media in Nigeria misrepresented and quoted comments made by its Senior Economist for Nigeria, Gloria Joseph-Raji, at an event in Abuja out of context.
The World Bank expressed its full commitment to help the Nigerian government restore macroeconomic resilience as well as strengthen the ongoing economic recovery and achieve sustainable inclusive growth.
In a mail to the Minister by the Senior Communications Officer of the World Bank, Mr Rachid Benmessaoud, the bank explained that, “On October 11, during the launch of Africa’s Pulse, the World Bank’s biannual analysis of African economies, World Bank Senior Economist for Nigeria, Gloria Joseph-Raji, was asked by a reporter to share her views on the Federal Government’s plan to increase external borrowing.
“At no point did she mention that the World Bank and the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) disagree on the need to rebalance the country’s debt portfolio. Where expenditures exceed revenue, governments will need to borrow.
“In doing so, the Federal Government is trying to rebalance its portfolio towards more external borrowing with lower interest rates and longer maturities.”
The World Bank Senior Economist was quoted by Mr Benmessaoud to have commended the Nigerian Government’s effort to rebalance its portfolio in order to lower the cost of its borrowing, as outlined in its 2016-2019 medium term debt management strategy released last year.
“The use of IDA concessional financing, among others, is supportive of the FGN’s effort in this regard, with the added focus on poverty alleviation and building shared prosperity in Nigeria.
“The latest issue of Africa’s Pulse points out that growth is Nigeria is projected to pick up from 1.0 per cent in 2017 to 2.5 per cent in 2018 and 2.8 per cent in 2019. While Government debt in 2017 is projected to rise, it remains low in Nigeria,” Joseph-Raji was further quoted to have stated.
Business Post recalls that the Finance Minister, Mrs Kemi Adeosun, who led the Nigerian delegation to the 2017 Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank Group, had in Washington on Sunday, said the Federal Government would be prudent in the management of its foreign borrowings.
She noted that the government adopted an expansionary fiscal policy with an enlarged budget in order to deliver a fundamental structural change to the economy, thereby reducing the country’s exposure to crude oil.
“Why are we borrowing? Mobilising revenue aggressively was not advisable, nor indeed possible, in a recessed economy. But as Nigeria now reverts to growth, our revenue strategy will be accelerated.
“This is being complimented by a medium-term debt strategy that is focusing more on external borrowings to avoid crowding out the private sector.
“This would also reduce the cost of debt servicing and shift the balance of our debt portfolio from short-term to longer-term instruments. This government will be very prudent around debt. We won’t borrow irresponsibly,” Mrs Adeosun had explained.
The foreign borrowings, which are at lower interest rates, according to her, will also prevent job losses.
“With Nigeria’s source of revenue dropping by nearly 85 per cent, the country had no option but to borrow. The option before the country was to either cut public services massively, which should have led to massive job losses, or borrow in the short-term, until it begins to generate sufficient revenues, she said.
“We felt that laying-off thousands of persons was not the best way to stimulate growth. Also, when we came into office, about 27 states could not pay salary. If we had allowed that situation to persist, we would have been in depression by now.
“So, we took the view as a government that the best thing to do was to stimulate growth and spend our way out of trouble, get the state governments to pay salaries, making sure that the federal government pays and invests in capital infrastructure,” said Mrs Adeosun.
While the NFT hype from 2021 has passed, the NFT market is still very much active, attracting creators, brands, collectors, and investors who want to capitalize on this new technology.
In this step-by-step guide, we’ll discuss how you can buy your first NFT in Nigeria. For this guide, we’ll walk you through the Magic Eden platform and how you can use it to buy an NFT on Ethereum.
What You Need to Get Started
To buy your first NFT in Nigeria using Magic Eden, you will need three things: an NFT wallet, ETH, and an NFT marketplace.
- A crypto wallet that supports NFTs: A crypto wallet is a software program that stores your digital assets, such as NFTs. For this guide, we’ll demonstrate how to buy your first NFT in Nigeria using the Magic Eden Wallet.
- ETH: Once you have set up your wallet, you will need to buy some ETH tokens if you don’t already have some to buy the NFT and pay for transaction fees.
- NFT marketplace: Last but not least, you will need access to a suitable NFT marketplace, such as Magic Eden, a leading NFT marketplace that supports multiple blockchains.
Step-by-Step Guide to Buying an NFT on Magic Eden
Now that you know what you need, let’s take a look at the step-by-step guide on how you can buy an NFT on the Ethereum blockchain using the Magic Eden platform.
Set Up a Crypto Wallet
When looking to buy NFT, choosing a good crypto wallet is vital. For this guide, we’ll use the Magic Eden Wallet.
Visit MagicEden.io and click the ‘Wallet’ button, then ‘Install on Chrome’ to install the wallet on your browser.
The Magic Eden Wallet is available as a browser extension and mobile app for Android and iOS. For this step-by-step guide, we’ll install the wallet on the Chrome browser.
Next, click the ‘Add to Chrome’ button to install the wallet on your Chrome browser.
Once installed, click ‘Create New Wallet’ and follow the prompts to set up your Magic Eden Wallet. If you already have a Magic Eden Wallet, select the ‘I Have A Wallet’ option.
Next, create a strong password to prevent people from accessing your wallet.
Once you have successfully created and confirmed your password, you will be redirected to the below page.
Click ‘Go to Magic Eden’ to open the Magic Eden marketplace in another tab.
Next, you will need to secure your wallet by backing it up. Click ‘Back Up Now’, enter your password, write down your 12-word seed recovery phrase, and follow the prompts to back up your wallet.
Remember to keep your seed recovery phrase secure as that’s the only way you can recover your wallet and funds in case you lose access to your device.
And that’s it.
That’s how to create and set up your Magic Eden NFT Wallet as a Chrome browser extension.
Buy and Transfer ETH Tokens
With your crypto wallet set up, the next step will be to buy ETH tokens and transfer them to your wallet.
There are various platforms that you can use to buy ETH in Nigeria. Some platforms you can consider include Binance, KuCoin, Remitano, and other local exchanges.
For instance, you can buy ETH on Binance in Nigeria by creating a Binance account, verifying your identity, navigating to the ‘Buy Crypto’ segment, selecting ETH, keying in the amount you want to purchase, choosing your preferred payment method, and following the on-screen prompts to finalize the purchase.
Once you acquire the ETH tokens, transfer them to your wallet by clicking on the ‘Withdraw’ button, select ETH, confirm the network, enter your Magic Eden Wallet address, and follow the on-screen prompts to withdraw your ETH tokens.
Connect Your Wallet to Magic Eden
Visit the Magic Eden platform, click ‘Log In, ’ and choose ‘View all wallets’ to log in or sign up via your crypto wallet.
Select Magic Eden Wallet from the list.
Next, choose the chain you’d like to connect to as shown below. Proceed to choose EVM.
Next, you will receive a pop-up from Magic Eden Wallet requesting you to accept the connection with the Magic Eden marketplace. Click ‘Continue with Magic Eden.’
Click ‘Connect’ to link your Magic Eden Wallet to the Magic Eden marketplace.
Finally, confirm the signature request message on your wallet to connect your Magic Eden Wallet and the Magic Eden platform.
Find the Right NFT Collection
Now that you have successfully connected your crypto wallet to Magic Eden, the next step is to find the right Ethereum NFT collection.
You can search for trending Ethereum NFTs on Magic Eden by clicking on ‘Discover’ on the menu bar and then ‘Collections.’
You can also browse the provided NFT list and use the filter functionality to narrow your search results. Using the filter functionality, you can filter the different NFT collections by floor price, sales, verified collections, volume, and volume change.
Additionally, you can check the project details, community engagement, and roadmap before buying.
Buy Your First NFT
Once you have found the right NFT, it’s now time to buy your first NFT. There are two ways to buy an NFT on Magic Eden: ‘Buy Now’ for immediate purchase based on the listed price, or ‘Make an Offer,’ which allows you to bid and wait.
If your preferred NFT is available to buy immediately, click the ‘Buy Now’ option and follow the prompts to complete the purchase.
By clicking ‘Approve’ in your Magic Eden Wallet, a pop-up message will confirm the successful purchase of your NFT.
To view your NFT, navigate to the ‘Portfolio’ tab in your Magic Eden Wallet and click ‘Collectibles’ to see your NFTs.
And that’s it!
That’s how to buy your first NFT in Nigeria using the Magic Eden platform.
You can view your NFT purchase in your Magic Eden Wallet by going to your wallet, click on ‘Portfolio’ then ‘Collectibles’.
Conclusion
Getting started with NFTs can seem daunting but it becomes easier with time if you have the right guides, information, and platforms. Just remember to find and use a secure crypto wallet and a prominent NFT marketplace when buying NFTs in Nigeria.
Also, you can join various NFT community groups on Discord and Telegram to grow your knowledge and explore the NFT ecosystem.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The oil market shrank on Tuesday as traders braced for reciprocal tariffs that the US President, Mr Donald Trump, is due to announce.
Brent futures went down by 28 cents or 0.37 per cent to close at $74.49 a barrel and the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell by 28 cents or 0.39 per cent to $71.20 per barrel.
The American President is set to unveil new tariffs targeting specific countries that have trade surpluses with the US on Wednesday, April 2, pledging to roll back unfair trade practices.
This could be on European Union (EU) countries or even Japan, adding volatility to this week’s trading.
According to the US government, the new duties are due to take effect immediately after President Trump announces them, while a separate 25 per cent global tariff on auto imports will take effect on April 3.
In just over 10 weeks in office, the US President has implemented new 20 per cent tariffs on all Chinese imports over fentanyl concerns and reinstated the 25 per cent tariffs on steel and aluminum, expanding them to nearly $150 billion in downstream products.
Additionally, a month-long exemption for most Canadian and Mexican goods from his 25 per cent fentanyl-related tariffs is set to expire on Wednesday.
However, President Trump’s threats to impose secondary tariffs on Russian oil and to attack Iran fueled supply worries, limited losses.
He said on Sunday he would impose secondary tariffs of 25 per cent to 50 per cent on Russian oil buyers if Russia tried to block efforts to end the war in Ukraine.
Tariffs on buyers of oil from Russia, the world’s second largest oil exporter, would disrupt global supply and hurt Russia’s biggest customers, China and India.
Mr Trump threatened Iran with similar tariffs and also with bombings if Tehran did not reach an agreement with the White House over its nuclear programme.
Also, the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+) began unwinding the production cuts by adding about 138,000 barrels per day from Tuesday.
Prices also found some support after Russia ordered Kazakhstan’s main oil export terminal to close two of its three moorings amid a standoff between Kazakhstan and OPEC+ over excess production.
As a result, Kazakhstan will have to start cutting oil output.
The American Petroleum Institute (API) estimated that crude oil inventories in the United States rose by 6.037 million barrels for the week ending March 28, after a 4.6 million barrel drop in the prior week.
So far this year, crude oil inventories have climbed nearly 23 million barrels.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigerians, after facing respite with reduced price of premium motor spirit (PMS), known as petrol, in recent weeks, are now faced with a new challenge as the product retails for as high as N930 per litre in Lagos and higher in other parts of the country.
While Business Post gathered in Lagos that it retails for N930 per litre, it is selling as high between N950 and N970 per litre, depending on the filling stations in Abuja and northern parts of the country.
Our correspondents gathered from three filling stations, including Mobil, AP, and Northwest, that prices were around N930 per litre.
The new price regime followed an announcement by Dangote Refinery temporarily halting the sale of petroleum products in Naira, which is a result of a price war brought on by the deregulation of the downstream sector.
The $20 billion refinery based in Lagos said the sales of its products in Naira have exceeded the value of Naira-denominated crude it has received from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited.
“This decision is necessary to avoid a mismatch between our sales proceeds and our crude oil purchase obligations, which are currently denominated in US Dollars,” the company said in a statement earlier in March 2025
“As a result, we must temporarily adjust our sales currency to align with our crude procurement currency,” the company explained.
Over the last few months, the price war between the NNPC and Dangote reduce prices to as low as N830 per litre— easing pressure on Nigerians.
However, with oil prices rising in the international market, the landing cost of imported petrol has increased to a high of N885 per litre last week.
On February 26, 2025, the $20 billion refinery owned by Africa’s richest man and industrialist Aliko Dangote slashed the ex-depot price of petrol from N890 to N825 per litre.
Under the new arrangement, customers purchased the petrol at N860 per litre at selected outlets in Lagos, N870 in the South-West, N880 in the North, and N890 in the South-South and South-East.
Almost immediately, the NNPC reduced its retail price from N945 to N860 in Lagos, with a similar price reduction reflected at NNPCL outlets in other states of the Federation.
Now, with the cost of landing cost increasing imported petrol costs, Dangote Refinery will be seeking to play its card to cover its margins.
Recall that last month, the NNPC suspended the Naira-for-crude deal with private refiners, including Dangote Refinery, fuelling its suspension of the sale of petrol in local currency.
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