Economy
Heritage Bank Is Not In Distress—CBN
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has come out to defend Heritage Bank following a report that the financial institution was in distress.
The apex bank, in a press statement issued on Tuesday by its Acting Director of Corporate Communications, Mr Isaac Okorafor, disclosed that the bank “is not in distress” as being speculated and urged its depositors to “go about their transactions without fear.”
CBN said it is also not true that Heritage Bank was “unable to discharge its obligations to its depositors” and insists “no Nigerian Bank is in distress.”
“The CBN, as the industry regulator, has a duty to depositors, in particular, and the economy, in general, to ensure the soundness of all financial institutions.
“We therefore wish to assure all depositors of the safety of their deposits.
“The CBN also wishes to state that it will remain alive to its responsibility of ensuring banking system stability and soundness through constant monitoring and supervision of all licensed institutions.
“The Central Bank of Nigeria wishes to reiterate that the banking system remains resilient enough to weather the current economic storm,” Mr Okorafor said in the statement.
Sahara Reporters had claimed Heritage Bank was in distress and further alleged that the CBN was only covering things up for the bank.
Though Business Post had made efforts on Tuesday to hear from Heritage Bank from its PR agency, Power Light Nigeria, but as at press time, the agency was yet to respond to our enquiry about the issues raised in the story being peddled by the online media.
Below is the controversial report by Sahara Reporters:
Heritage Bank Plc is currently stuck in a debilitating liquidity situation; SaharaReporters has learned.
Our sources disclosed on Monday that the bank is unable to meet customers’ immediate withdrawal requests and has wiped out all foreign currency domiciliary accounts through physical theft of cash by the bank’s directors.
First Bank Plc, which handles Heritage Bank’s universal clearing activities, has threatened to blacklist the bank and stop further clearing transactions if its outstanding deficit of over N5billion is not cleared.
At the weekend, at a meeting held at a secret location between the Managing Director and some top management staff, it was resolved that the Managing Director and two Executive Directors should resign their appointment for their role in throwing the institution into distress.
Sources said the bank’s operations in the Northern part of the country region are sustained by one customer, Rano Oil Limited, which maintains a deposit with Heritage Bank because its Chairman is unaware of the severity of the situation in the bank has slipped into.
Among others, the Managing Director is alleged to have been involved in the laundering of about N12.8billion. Two insurance firms: IEI Insurance Plc, and the National Insurance Commission of Nigeria, are said to be connected to the matter.
SaharaReporters gathered that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) was prepared to charge the Managing Director to court, but did not, following the intervention of Senate President Bukola Saraki, who is a part-owner of the bank. The EFCC, whose chairman is awaiting confirmation by the Senate, stepped back.
Customers with foreign currency deposits are facing severe difficulties because they no longer have access to those funds.
Because of the magnitude of the bank’s problems and the possibility of prosecution, the Managing Director is said to have taken ill.
Out of about 500 Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) of the bank in the Lagos metropolis, only 138 are currently dispensing cash, the bank lacking money to feed the others.
Bank sources said a sum of N140million is required to supply all the ATM locations, and Heritage struggles to provide N10million for these ATM locations, which is why its machines rarely dispense cash.
The bank’s situation is further worsened by boardroom intrigues, tribal politics and ownership tussle.
The Managing Director and one Executive Director are said to run the bank like sole proprietors. The Managing Director and another Executive Director, Mary Akpobomen, who has been promised the position of the Deputy Managing Director by December, are in the same camp. The Yoruba interest in the bank, with Board Chairman, Mr. Seyi Akinfenwa, also has Mr. Tayo Ayeni and two Executive Directors, Mr. Niyi Adeseun and Mr. Ola Olabimjo on another side. On yet another side are Mr. Godwin Emefiele, Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), who is the main pusher of Delta State/Agbor interest. The battle axes are said to be two other Executive Directors, Mrs. Ada Eze and Mr. Jude.
The three-dimensional feuds have ensured that positions, postings or deployments are made on lines of group loyalty, with competence plainly ignored. The bank’s Treasurer, Mr. Abidemi Shonaiki, was eased out of the bank when the Managing Director was on leave.
Insiders revealed that the bank has been turned into a compost heap by its top management staff, who among other misdeeds, use customers’ naira deposits to finance the acquisition of private properties in Lagos, Abuja, and Port Harcourt. They are also said to award contracts at inflated costs to the Managing Director, relatives, and friends of executive directors; employ top management staff without clearance from the CBN; bribe CBN staff on banking inspection with dollars; and cover up the bank’s liquidity problems by buying cash from other banks without the required documents or due diligence.
The Heritage Bank management portfolio of misdeeds is also said to include paying N100million bribe to pension funds officials for patronage retention; illegal warehousing of N1.2billion that should be in the Treasury Savings Account; as well as illegal clearance of customers’ deposits via issuance and payments of questionable ‘PRs’ in hundreds of millions.
The CBN Governor has ensured that these misdemeanors are kept hidden due to political pressure by the owners of the bank, and because the CBN doesn’t want to give the appearance of further distress in the banking sector following the recent crisis at Skye Bank.
The bank’s ailments have also manifested in the practice of debiting customers’ accounts for transfers without crediting the beneficiaries for days, blaming it on network failure; arbitrary sacking of staff who insist on standards; sacking of staff who exposed the fraud involving the Nigeria Ports Authority through which N7billion was illegally warehoused and diverted in clear violation of TSA directives; and refusal to report fraudulent activities involving relatives and cronies of the Managing and Executive Directors.
Other symptoms of poor corporate governance include the transfer to Abuja, but not sanction, of an Executive Director and General Manager from Lagos for committing fraud; promoting Managing Director’s relatives without appraisal; fraudulent conversion of bank properties by the Managing Director and top management staff; and the procurement of N2billion worth of furniture items and N3billion Toyota cars without passing through tender procedure.
Also, the bank awarded all cleaning contracts to one Mrs. Akpobome, who used different names for contracts, which cover North, South, West, East and Abuja outlets of the bank. The Managing Director and other top management staff also award contracts to their wives and children without due diligence.
The bank, the sources added, employed school certificate holders as officers, assistant managers, deputy managers or managers, even without experience.
http://saharareporters.com/2016/11/14/distress-hits-heritage-bank-cbn-cover-mode
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The Stanbic IBTC Bank Nigeria Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for the Nigerian private sector in July 2026 contracted to 52.5 points from 53.4 points in June 2026, a statement made available to Business Post has shown.
This occurred despite the business environment sustaining its growth last month, with an increase in new orders experienced, as inflationary pressures softened, and output and employment modestly rising.
The Head of Equity Research West Africa at Stanbic IBTC Bank, Mr Muyiwa Oni, said the PMI indicated that the private sector recorded its slowest since March 2026, as businesses also increased their input purchasing activity to keep up with current demand requirements and prepare for future workloads.
“Nigerian businesses reported improved customer demand in July while better pricing and new product launches also helped them to capture new orders arising from the increase in demand. These factors helped to keep the private sector activity in an expansionary territory, although this moderated when compared to June,” he was quoted as saying.
It was stated that while input costs increased at their slowest pace in five months, panellists reported higher costs for fuel and raw materials. Selling prices also softened in line with the picture for input costs in July.
Headline inflation eased slightly to 15.91 per cent y/y in June from 15.93 per cent y/y in May, snapping three consecutive months of price increases.
Although July inflation is likely to be higher m/m, it is expected to print lower, likely at 15.72 per cent y/y, primarily driven by favourable base effects from the corresponding period of last year, because there are no expectations of the magnitude of m/m inflation witnessed in July 2025 (1.99 per cent) to materialise this year.
“We retain our 2026 growth forecasts at 4.1 per cent as we see the oil sector growing by 3.45 per cent y/y in 2026, from 8.50 per cent y/y in 2025, while the non-oil sector is likely to grow by 4.11 per cent y/y, from 3.71 per cent y/y in 2025.
“The risks to our outlook include country-wide insecurity which may constrain food production, exchange rate pressures resurfacing, extreme-weather related conditions and higher fertiliser prices impacting crop yield, and a volatile global environment which may affect sentiment and constrain capital flows,” Mr Oni noted.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Sahara Upstream, a Nigeria-focused crude producer, has deployed a new 380,000-barrel tanker to boost exports from the OML 18 block as part of a wider push by domestic operators to invest in infrastructure and lift output and exports for Africa’s biggest oil producer.
The MT D Adesanya, which can hold more than 62,000 cubic metres of crude, will operate alongside the MT D Bayero, receiving crude from shuttle vessels at Bonny Anchorage, one of Nigeria’s main crude export hubs, before transferring it to the FSO Cawthorne storage facility.
Sahara said the tanker would help cut turnaround times, currently about 30 to 48 hours, and support a planned 50 per cent increase in exports from the block’s current level of about 950,000 barrels per month.
The block currently produces about 36,000 barrels per day, according to data from the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), with Sahara targeting output of 60,000 barrels per day.
OML 18 is one of the Niger Delta’s oldest producing assets. It began production in 1970 and contains an estimated 1.5 billion barrels of oil equivalent in reserves.
Shell, Total and Eni sold their combined interests to Eroton in 2015 as part of a broader shift toward domestic ownership in Nigeria’s upstream sector.
This development comes as Sahara Upstream is deepening its exploration and production footprint through Asharami Energy Limited (AEL), its upstream E&P business, which says it is targeting 350,000 barrels of oil per day by 2030 through its subsidiary, Enageed Resources Limited (ERL).
The growth target comes as AEL also marks a major safety milestone, achieving 6 million Lost Time Injury (LTI)-free man-hours in its OML-148 operations — reinforcing the company’s commitment to operational excellence and safety leadership.
According to Asharami Energy, the milestone reflects its ability to execute complex operations safely, in line with Sahara’s Beyond XXX vision, which builds on the group’s 30-year legacy of responsible enterprise while marking its next chapter of impact, innovation, and sustainable growth.
The developments position Sahara Upstream and its subsidiaries among the domestic operators driving increased investment in Nigeria’s oil and gas infrastructure, as the group works to scale up production and exports for Africa’s biggest oil producer.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
One of the leading energy firms in Nigeria, Aradel Holdings Plc, has expressed its desire to optimise its enlarged portfolio and improve operational efficiency in the second half of 2026.
The company is planning to build on the success it recorded in the first half of the year, where it grew its revenue by 577 per cent to N2.5 trillion from N368.1 billion in H1 2025.
The significant rise in earnings was driven by higher production volumes together with stronger realised crude oil and gas prices, with the average at $90.4/bbl and $2.08/mmscf, respectively.
In the period under review, the Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization (EBITDA) increased by 688 per cent to N1.4 trillion from N176.4 billion in the corresponding period of last year, while the operating profit surged by 789 per cent to N1.1 trillion from N118.6 billion due to higher revenue and crude handling income at N149.8 billion, partly offset by underlift cost and general and administrative costs.
The net cash generated from operations was N975.6 billion between January and June 2026 versus N140.8 billion in the same period of 2025, reflecting the cash generation of the enlarged organisation.
The net debt contracted by 70 per cent on a year-to-date basis to N46.5 billion from N475.1 billion as of December 31, 2025.
Aradel, in the period under consideration, improved its post-tax profit by 30 per cent to N191.0 billion from N146.4 billion, a development that impressed its chief executive, Mr Adegbite Falade, who said, “A firmer price environment supported performance, generating net cash from operating activities of N975.6 billion and a closing cash balance of N1.7 trillion.”
“Our enlarged portfolio provides more opportunities to generate stronger cash flow and returns for shareholders and unlocking that potential is our main focus.
“We reaffirm our full year production guidance of 110 – 140 kboepd and remain committed to operating responsibly in a changing energy landscape and to delivering lasting value for our stakeholders,” he stated.
