NIBSS, Banks, Telcos Relaunch mCash in Lagos

By Adedapo Adesanya President Bola Tinubu has thrown his full weight behind the plan by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to increase the capital base of banks in the country. The President expressed his views on this move, which last occurred in 2005, through his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Mr Bayo Onanuga, in his message at the 40th anniversary of The Guardian Newspapers in Lagos on Tuesday. He said bank recapitalisation was crucial to Nigeria achieving a $1 trillion economy. “Amidst the general lull in a global economy, our ambition to attain a $1 trillion economy appears

By Adedapo Adesanya The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has directed banks across the country to continue issuing and accepting old as well as the redesigned Naira banknotes following the order of the Supreme Court. Business Post reported on Wednesday morning that the apex court granted the prayer of the Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation to extend the use of old Naira banknotes ad infinitum, scrapping a previous deadline of December 31. In a statement after the judgement, the central bank “directed all its branches to continue to issue and accept all denominations of Nigerian banknotes, old

By Aduragbemi Omiyale Zenith Bank Plc has taken a huge step to establish a subsidiary in France, and to make this a reality, it has sealed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the French government. The Chairman of the company, Mr Jim Ovia, confirmed that the lender may commence operations in the European nation next year, though it is working hard to secure a banking licence. This will add to other countries Zenith Bank has presence in, including Ghana, Sierra Leone, The Gambia, and a Representative Office in China. Speaking at a signing ceremony on Friday, November 24, 2023, Mr

By Adedapo Adesanya The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has alerted Nigerians of unauthorised bank withdrawals linked to Automated Teller Machine (ATM) card swap fraud. The commission issued the alert on Monday in a statement by the Head of Media and Publicity, Mr Dele Oyewale. According to the EFCC, fraudsters engaged in this activity typically keep a debit card from the same bank and, under the guise of assisting a confused bank customer at an ATM point, swiftly swap the card while memorising the PIN used with fake cards. “These cards get stuck in the machine due to a

By Dipo Olowookere For a long time, foreign portfolio investors had taken the driver’s seat in the Nigerian capital market, dictating the direction the market should go. However, that may soon be a thing of the past as federal government is putting heads together to change the narratives for good. Minister of Finance, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, at a recent gathering in Abuja, said government wants to make domestic investors to take full control of the local capital market. Speaking during a meeting with members of the Capital Market Master Plan Implementation Council in Abuja, Mrs Ahmed said government will most

By Adedapo Adesanya Nigerian startup, truQ, an on-demand logistics platform that leverages technology to connect anyone who needs to move anything with the closest available vehicle, has lauded its strong performance within 10 months of operations. truQ allows users to choose between different sizes of vehicles ranging from minivans to big trucks, connects them to the closest available driver in minutes, and provides real-time tracking. Founded in February by Williams Fatayo, Foluso Ojo and Isaac Chikutukutu, the company was borne out of frustrating experiences in moving large items in Lagos. “We witnessed first hand the challenges that people go through

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The eventual listing of MTN Nigeria shares on the premium board of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) on Thursday caused a rebound of the market indicators to the positive territory. The equity market, which had been in the dungeon for over a week, appreciated by 0.54 percent yesterday to reduce the year-to-date loss to 9.52 percent. At the close of business, the All-Share Index (ASI) increased by 152.11 points to finish at 28,438.19 points, while the market capitalisation significantly rose by N1.9 trillion as a result of the listing of 20.4 billion units of MTN shares at

By Kester Kenn Klomegah Early December, Rossiyskaya Gazeta and Tass News Agency, both published interviews with Professor Irina Abramova, Director of the Institute of African Studies under the Russian Academy of Sciences, focusing on the economic cooperation with Africa. In these interviews, Abramova reiterated explicitly that Russians have to do away with negative perceptions and attitudes toward Africa. The attitudinal change has to reflect in all aspects of the relationship with Africa. “In Russians’ minds, Africa is synonymous with backwardness, poverty and hunger, which is not true at all. It is currently one of the most promising regions for foreign

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The much-awaited £4.2 million (N2.3 billion) loot recovered from the former Governor of Delta State, Mr James Ibori, by the United Kingdom government, has been received by the Nigeria government. The £4.2 million Ibori loot was received by the federal government on Tuesday morning, according to reports. Recall that recently, the Minister of Justice and the Attorney-General of the Federation, Mr Abubakar Malami, disclosed that the country was expecting the fund very soon as the paper works for the transfer of the money was almost concluded. Today, Leadership Newspaper claimed a senior official in the office of

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The Nigerian subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell, the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC) Limited, has declared a force majeure on Forcados exports. A statement from the firm, according to Reuters, explained that the action was taken as a result of an obstruction of a tanker path by a malfunctioning barge. The unfortunate incident left the company with no other option than to declare a force majeure on exports of Nigerian Forcados crude oil. SPDC stated that efforts were ongoing to lift the force majeure to resume crude oil lifting from the terminal. However, it stated

By Adedapo Adesanya Following the decision by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies (OPEC+) to maintain its production increases by 400,000 barrels per day per month on Monday, oil prices have been bullish. On Tuesday, the price of the Brent crude rose by 1.51 per cent or $1.86 to sell at $82.77 per barrel, while the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) appreciated by 2.0 per cent or $1.55 to trade at $79.17 per barrel. The market has stayed bullish since on Monday when oil producers had the October OPEC+ Ministerial Meeting and agreed to keep plans for

By Modupe Gbadeyanka About R6 billion ($499.3 million) has been contributed to the South African economy by the Cape Town Film studios, the chief executive has Mr Nico Dekker. Mr Dekker made this disclosure during a site visit to the Cape Film Studios in Cape Town by the Portfolio Committee on Trade and Industry. The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) invited the Portfolio Committee to the set of the Warrior television series which is currently shooting at the Cape Town Film Studios in an effort to showcase their high-profile project. Mr Dekker said since December 2010 the direct investment