Banking

Okada/Keke Ban: Lagos to Flood Roads With Buses in April

Published

6 years ago

12/03/2020

Lagos State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr Gbenga Omotoso, has disclosed that from next month, the state government would be assuaging the pain being felt by residents by injecting buses of different sizes and capacities into the public transportation space to serve as alternative to Okada and Keke.

“We are using this opportunity to inform Lagosians that the palliatives promised by the Government will be coming very soon, most likely in April,” the Commissioner said after a security meeting held at the State House in Marina on Wednesday.

The meeting was chaired by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, who chaired the gathering was attended by Commanders of all security formations in the state.

Mr Omotoso said the government was not resting on its oars in providing required infrastructure that would improve traffic situation and transportation across the state.

He disclosed that the government would be holding a ground-breaking ceremony on the long-awaited Red Line rail project, which, he said, would be held on March 25. He added that updates would also be shared on the ongoing Blue Line rail project handling by Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA).

On the closure of Eko Bridge, the Commissioner said the government would work assiduously to lessen the pain of commuters plying the route. He, however, noted that the closure of the bridge was a necessary precautionary measure taken to avert an incident that may result into loss of lives.

The commissioner urged residents to continue to support the government’s efforts at securing the state, stressing that the Mr Sanwo-Olu administration would deploy all resources to ensure safety of lives and property in Lagos.

“About security, Lagosians should be rest assured that Government is on top of the situation and that all is well. Every action we take is to show that we put the interest of Lagosians at heart and their welfare is on the front burner at all times,” Mr Omotoso said.

Also, the Commissioner said the state government has warned uniform men, especially those in the police and the military, to desist from flouting the Lagos State Transport Sector Reform Laws.

He emphasised that it is illegal for any security operative in mufti to ride commercial motorcycles on routes where Okada and tricycles have been restricted, noting that the enforcement of the restriction order would be executed with more force to completely keep Okada and tricycles away from the restricted routes.

Members of the Security Council, the Commissioner said, frowned at a situation in which uniform men flouted the State’s Transport Sector Reform Laws, warning security operatives, especially police officers and military personnel, to stop taking passengers on their motorcycles on restricted routes.

Mr Omotoso said, “We have just concluded the State Security Council meeting, where we reviewed the ongoing enforcement of Okada and Keke restriction order in the six Local Government Areas. Matters concerning uniform men engaging in commercial motorcycle operation came up in our discussion and there has been an order restricting them from doing that.

“Only a uniform man who is fully kitted and who rides motorcycle as his own personal mode of transportation is allowed. If any uniform man ventures into commercial motorcycle operation or Keke, the action of such a person is illegal and such persons are going to be arrested if they are caught.”

The Commissioner reiterated that the State would not relax the laws restricting Okada and tricycles on the highways, praising Lagosians for standing firm behind the Government in the ongoing enforcement of the restriction order.

Banking

Secure IT, StockMed, 18 Others Make Wema Bank Hackaholics 6.0 Top 20 List

Published

19 hours ago

18/12/2025

Modupe Gbadeyanka

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.

Banking

Customs to Penalise Banks for Delayed Revenue Remittance

Published

1 day ago

18/12/2025

Adedapo Adesanya

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.

Banking

First Bank Deputy MD Sells Off 11.8m First Holdco Shares Worth N366.9m

Published

1 day ago

18/12/2025

Aduragbemi Omiyale

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.