Banking
Gbajabiamila Urges Banks to Set Realistic Targets for Marketers
By Dipo Olowookere
Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) operating in Nigeria have been advised by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr Femi Gbajabiamila, to set realistic targets for their marketers.
The number four citizen of the country gave this advice when he received the board and management of Standard Chartered Bank, led by the Chief Executive Officer, Mr Lamin Manjang, in his office in Abuja recently.
The lawmaker from Lagos State lamented the current situation where commercial banks send out their employees to get new customers who must deposit a huge among of money within a specific period of time.
In some cases, these banks workers, especially the females, end up having romantic affairs with potential customers in order to meet their targets. This has made several people view female bankers, especially marketers, as corporate prostitutes.
Business Post recalls that some years ago, Mr Gbajabiamila sponsored a bill to put an end to corporate prostitution but it did not see the light of the day.
So, when he received the executives of Standard Chartered Bank in his office a few days ago, he used the opportunity to appeal to the lender and others in the sector to come up with creative ways of selling their products and services and not be exploitative with their marketing styles.
“You have corporations in the UK and other parts of the world. What is obtained here in banking, in terms of marketing, sending people to go and knock at people’s offices and all that; does it obtain in those places?
“If it doesn’t obtain in those countries, it is not international best practice; why should it obtain here?” the Speaker queried.
He advised that, “We have to set realistic targets for the marketers. We have the responsibility to protect Nigerians and we also have the responsibility not to kill your business. So, it is a delicate situation. We need to know the kind of marketing that takes place. Is it digital marketing?”
Also, Mr Gbajabiamila pointed out another issue in the banking sector in Nigeria, bank charges, noting that there have been allegations of hidden charges.
“We have issues that come up in your industry, so this visit is a welcome development.
“One of the issues at stake is the rate at which banks charge customers.
“There are claims that banks have hidden charges. This has come up a couple of times on the floor of the House. This is something that we should look into,” he said.
According to him, this situation has made many bank customers helpless, urging players in the industry to quickly address the issue.
“We are here to support you. Whatever we need to do, we should do it to support you,” he assured.
In his remarks, Mr Manjang assured that the issues raised by the Speaker would be looked into, noting that for the marketing point, “It is not peculiar to Nigeria, but it has to be ethical.”
“Teams usually go round, but the ethical conduct has to be there. You need to market your products for people to know what you offer. If there are any abuses or conducts that are not ideal, they should be called out and addressed,” he noted.
He stated that Standard Chartered Bank operates in Nigeria in line with international best practices, noting that the bank will also carry out its operations to make all stakeholders happy.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The six edition of the Hackaholics of Wema Bank Plc has produced 20 top finalists shared equally between two streams, Ideathon and Hackathon.
The Hackathon finalists are Rapid DEV, Secure IT, Neurafeed, Trust Lock Babcock, Pulse Track, IlluminiTrust, Trust Lock FUTA, Fix Fraud AI, KASH Flow and VOC AI.
The Ideathon finalists include PLOY, Fertitude, VarsityScape, Mama ALERT, StockMed, Chao, All Arbitrate, FarmSlate, Sane AI and Cycle X.
They emerged after a two-day pre-pitch held on December 16 and 17, 2025, for the grand finale slated for Friday, December 19, 2025.
They grand finale of Hackaholics 6.0 will convene the top players in Africa’s tech and innovation ecosystem, creating an avenue for these finalists to not only put their creativity to the ultimate test but also give their solutions visibility to potential investors for additional funding opportunities beyond the prizes to be won.
The prizes to be won for the Ideathon include N25 million for the winner, N20 million for the first runner-up, N15 million for the second runner-up and N5 million each for two women-led teams.
In the Hackathon category, the first to fourth-place winners will receive N20 million, N15 million, N10 million and N5 million, respectively.
The pre-pitch saw the top 43 contenders battle in a game of innovation and problem solving, presenting compelling pitches for a chance to make it to top 10 in their respective streams.
After a rigorous stretch of pitches and presentations, the top 20 emerged, securing their spot in the grand finale of Hackaholics 6.0.
“Hackaholics started off as a hackathon and morphed into an ideation. For Hackaholics 6.0, the sixth edition, we decided to give both the builders of new solutions and the refiners of existing ones, an opportunity to make meaningful impact.
“For us at Wema Bank, we understand that innovation isn’t just building from scratch. Sometimes, it’s looking at what exists and developing new ways to optimise that and create more efficiency. This is the idea behind our two-stream Ideathon-Hackathon structure.
“Every year, Hackaholics shows us just how eager and motivated Nigerian youth are when it comes to exploring creativity and innovation, and we are honoured to be the institution that provides them with the platform and resources to put this drive to good use.
“We toured seven cities, indulged 1,460 participants and discovered hundreds of remarkable ideas; some of which needed some refining and some of which deserved to move to the next stage.
“For those who needed to go back to the drawing board, we provided useful guidance and for the top contenders, we were able to shortlist to the top 43, who proceeded to the pre-pitch. To every participant, Wema Bank is proud of you. This is just the beginning,” the chief executive of Wema Bank, Mr Moruf Oseni, said.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) says it will enforce penalties against designated banks that delay the remittance of customs revenue, in a move aimed at strengthening transparency and safeguarding government earnings.
This was disclosed in a statement on the NCS official account on X, formerly known as Twitter and signed by its spokesman, Mr Abdullahi Maiwada, who said the delays undermine the efficiency, transparency, and integrity of government revenue administration.
“The Nigeria Customs Service has noted instances of delayed remittance of customs revenue by some designated banks following reconciliation of collections processed through the B’odogwu platform,” the statement read.
“Such delays constitute a breach of remittance obligations and negatively impact the efficiency, transparency, and integrity of government revenue administration.
“In line with the provisions of the Service Level Agreement executed between the Nigeria Customs Service and designated banks, the Service hereby notifies stakeholders of the commencement of enforcement actions against banks found to be in default of agreed remittance timelines.”
Mr Maiwada disclosed that any bank that fails to remit collected Customs revenue within the prescribed timeline will be liable to penalty interest calculated at three per cent above the prevailing Nigerian Interbank Offered Rate for the period of the delay.
He added that affected banks would be formally notified of the delayed amounts, the applicable penalty, and the deadline for settlement.
“Accordingly, any designated bank that fails to remit collected Customs revenue within the prescribed period shall be liable to penalty interest calculated at three per cent above the prevailing Nigerian Interbank Offered Rate for the duration of the delay.
“Affected banks will receive formal notifications indicating the delayed amount, applicable penalty, and the timeline for settlement,” the statement read.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The deputy managing director of First Bank of Nigeria (FBN) Limited, Mr Ini Ebong, has offloaded some shares of FBN Holdings Plc, the parent firm of the banking institution.
A regulatory notice from the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited confirmed the development on Thursday.
It was disclosed that the transaction occurred on Friday, December 12, 2025, on the floor of the stock exchange.
The sale involved about 11.8 million shares, precisely 11,783,333 units traded at N31.14 per share, amounting to about N366.9 million.
Mr Ebong, who studied Architecture from University of Ife and obtained Bachelor and Master of Science degrees, became the DMD of First Bank in June 2024. Prior to this appointment, he was Executive Director, Treasury and International Banking since January 2022.
He was previously the Group Executive, Treasury and International Banking, a position he held since 2016 after serving as the bank’s Treasurer from 2011 to 2016.
Before joining First Bank, he was the Head of African Fixed Income and Local Markets Trading, Renaissance Securities Nigeria Limited, the Nigerian registered subsidiary of Renaissance Capital. He also worked with Citigroup for 14 years as Country Treasurer and Sales and Trading Business Head.
He has a passion for market development and has worked actively to drive change and internationalisation of the Nigerian financial markets: foreign exchange, fixed income and securities.
He has worked closely with regulatory bodies such as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Debt Management Office (DMO) in assisting with the development of fresh monetary and foreign exchange policies, to broaden and deepen markets and open them up to international practices.
At various times he has facilitated and delivered courses and seminars on a wide variety of subjects covering Money Markets, Securities and Foreign exchange trading and market risk management subjects to regulators, corporate customers, banks and market participants.
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