Banking
Reps Probe CBN’s Anchors’ Borrowers Programme, NIRSAL, BoI Schemes
By Adedapo Adesanya
The House of Representatives is investigating the N1.12 trillion spent on the Anchors’ Borrowers Programme (ABP) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) alongside the NIRSAL Microfinance Bank for N215 billion spent on agro-businesses, as well as the Bank of Industry (BoI) for disbursing N3 billion to 22,120 smallholder farmers through the Agriculture Value Chain Financing Programme.
The House Committee on Nutrition and Food Security led by its Chairman, Mr Chike Okafor, during an investigative hearing on the alleged misuse of government interventions and agricultural funding by departments, agencies, schemes, and programmes of the federal government, raised concerns that of the 24 participating financial institutions (PFIs) who disbursed the amount for the APB, only nine had indicated any interest in following up with the probe.
He said one of the key oversight mandates of the committee is to ensure proper implementation of intervention programmes by relevant government bodies related to food security and nutrition.
“We are probing how the CBN through the Anchors Borrowers Programme disbursed about N1.12 trillion to 4.67 million farmers involved in either maize, rice or wheat farming through 563 anchors.
“The CBN should note: we are aware that you have about 24 participating financial institutions (PFIs) through which you disburse these humongous amounts. I am also aware that you have written to 24 of them but we have evidence of only nine. So, please note. And also some of those PFIs have tried to make contact.
“Second point we are probing how NIRSAL disbursed N215, 066, 982, 074.50 so far to facilitate agriculture and agribusinesses, and also the Bank of Industry how you disbursed N3 billion to 22, 120 smallholder farmers through the agriculture value chain financing programme,” he said.
“One of the key oversight mandates of the Committee on Nutrition and Food Security is to ensure proper implementation of intervention programmes by relevant Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) and agencies of government related to food security and nutrition. Investigations, monitoring of resource allocation, advancement of new laws, and strengthening of existing ones among others, on matters related to nutrition and food security.
“These are comprehensively contained in the committee’s jurisdiction as captured in the standing order of the House. Please, note that nutrition and food security are twin issues that cannot be separated and have been on the front burner of the renewed hope agenda of the present administration.
“The creation of this committee on Nutrition and Food security is a legislative response to join forces with the executive arm of government and other stakeholders to tackle these issues and make Nigeria a food-secured and nourished populace,” he stated.
A representative of NIRSAL Microfinance Bank, Mr Charles Bassey, said insecurity was a major challenge to the successful implementation of their loan scheme, adding that in trying to determine who was qualified to benefit from the intervention, they paid attention very closely to laid down guidelines.
“It was based on those guidelines that we disbursed these funds. Some of the challenges that they have written about include insecurity challenges. A couple of them had pointed to the fact that after they had invested the funds in agricultural business, they were not able to go back to the farms because of the experience of banditry and herdsmen.
“These delayed their seasonal interventions and harvesting. Some also pointed to natural disasters such as flooding and drought which affected them. A few of them actually asked for restructuring of the loan facility to allow them time to repay accordingly,” Mr Bassey said.
On his part, Group Head, Agric Finance and Solid Minerals, Sterling Bank, Mr Olushola Obikanye, said they had repatriated N113,490,756,332.54 to the CBN and were not owing under the scheme.
“Therefore, the total fund repatriated to the Central Bank of Nigeria is the cumulative of the undisbursed funds that were returned and the disbursed funds that were returned. The total funds repatriated to the central bank stood at N113,490,756,332.54. It leaves Sterling Bank with an outstanding of zero Naira zero Kobo that we are owing under this scheme,” he said.
By Adedapo Adesanya
First Holdco Plc has commenced a public offer to raise about N1.4 trillion (approximately $1 billion) after securing approval from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
The offer, which opened on Monday, involves the sale of 10.4 billion ordinary shares, according to the chief executive of its banking subsidiary, First Bank of Nigeria Limited, Mr Olusegun Alebiosu.
The capital raise follows the company’s earlier plan to transfer about a quarter of its shares to RC Investment Management Ltd., which served as a bridge holder after Barbican Capital Limited exited its investment in the lender amid a prolonged ownership and leadership dispute.
First Holdco had previously indicated that the shares would eventually be offered to the investing public once the necessary regulatory approvals were obtained.
Speaking in an interview with Bloomberg, Mr Alebiosu said proceeds from the offer would strengthen the capital base of First Bank and support the holding company’s expansion strategy.
According to him, the group intends to diversify beyond banking by establishing an insurance underwriting business and a fintech services company.
“The sale is starting today — the reality here is that I am not sure it will stay more than one week based on the pressure we are getting,” Mr Alebiosu said, expressing confidence in strong investor demand.
Investors appeared to respond positively to the announcement, with First HoldCo’s shares climbing as much as 5.9 per cent to a record high during trading on Monday before easing to a 3.1 per cent gain at N133.60 by early afternoon in Lagos.
The lender has been one of the best-performing banking stocks on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited over the past year, with its share price rising more than fourfold since July 2025, when Barbican Capital’s stake was transferred to RC Investment Management.
The fresh capital injection comes as its largest shareholder, Mr Femi Otedola, continues to strengthen his stake in Nigeria’s oldest bank. With the billionaire holding around a 26 per cent stake in the company, analysts say he has his eyes set on full control once his equity crosses the 30 per cent mark.
By Adedapo Adesanya
One of Nigeria’s top digital banks, PalmPay, has appointed a former executive of the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS), Mr Samuel Oluyemi, as its chief operating officer.
In his new role, Mr Oluyemi will oversee the financial technology company’s operations in Nigeria, where it offers a broad range of digital financial services to individuals and businesses.
Mr Oluyemi will also engage with regulators to ensure the company’s expansion aligns with Nigeria’s financial, digital and social inclusion objectives.
Prior to joining the company, Mr Oluyemi spent more than two decades at NIBSS, where he served as business development lead.
During his tenure, he drove the development of several critical payment infrastructure projects, including the digital validation of Nigerian international passports, e-Dividend Mandate Management System (e-DMMS), and the Electronic Pensions Contribution Collection System (EPCCOS).
Also, he played a key role in the introduction and early adoption of the NIBSS Instant Payment (NIP) platform, Nigeria’s first real-time interbank transfer system launched in 2011, and later supported its extension to other financial institutions.
Mr Oluyemi obtained a master’s degree in Monetary Economics from the University of Ibadan and has participated in several local and international professional training programmes.
Commenting on the appointment, Managing Director of PalmPay Nigeria, Mr Chika Nwosu, said that the company was strengthening its leadership team to support its longterm vision.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Africa’s most valuable fintech, Flutterwave, has signalled that its long-anticipated initial public offering (IPO) remains firmly on the back burner as the company intensifies efforts to transform itself into a licensed financial institution across the continent.
The firm’s chief executive, Mr Olugbenga Agboola, said the firm is focused on building sustainable profitability, diversifying its revenue streams and expanding its banking footprint before considering a stock market listing.
Speaking to The Africa Report, Mr Agboola described an IPO as a future financing milestone rather than an immediate strategic objective.
“An IPO is a financing event, not a strategy,” he said. “We are not holding any pressure to go public. This gives us the flexibility to be patient and ensure when we do list, we’re doing so from a position of strength.”
The comments come as Flutterwave embarks on an acquisition-led expansion strategy aimed at securing banking licences and deeper regulatory access across Africa.
Mr Agboola revealed that the company is currently in the process of acquiring a bank in East Africa, though he declined to disclose the institution or country involved.
The planned acquisition is expected to provide Flutterwave with an established customer base, existing banking infrastructure and regulatory approvals, significantly shortening the time required to enter new financial services markets.
According to Mr Agboola, the company’s expansion priorities include Kenya, Ghana, Rwanda, Tanzania, South Africa and Egypt, while the Democratic Republic of Congo and Ethiopia remain under consideration for future growth.
Rather than building banks from scratch in every market, Flutterwave intends to adopt a mix of acquisitions, licences and strategic partnerships depending on local regulatory conditions.
“The vision is not to form a bank in every country but to ensure that every African business has access to more than financial services,” Mr Agboola said in the interview.
The banking push follows recent regulatory and corporate developments, including the Central Bank of Nigeria’s approval of Flutterwave’s banking licence and the acquisition of open banking startup Mono.
Together, the moves underscore a broader strategy to expand beyond payments and establish new revenue streams in lending, liquidity management and business banking services.
Flutterwave plans to focus on institutional deposits from businesses already using its platform rather than competing aggressively for retail deposits.
The company intends to leverage transaction data from its payments network to provide short-term working capital, merchant financing, invoice discounting and trade finance products for small and medium-sized enterprises.
Mr Agboola disclosed that the bulk of the capital earmarked for banking operations will be directed toward credit support and liquidity buffers, with additional allocations for lending and banking infrastructure.
The strategy reflects a growing trend among African fintech firms seeking banking licences to reduce dependence on traditional financial institutions and gain greater control over settlement, liquidity management and product development.
Despite speculation about a near-term public listing, Mr Agboola maintained that Flutterwave’s immediate focus remains execution and growth.
He noted that the company will only consider an IPO after achieving stronger profitability and establishing scale across its payments, banking and remittance businesses.
In February 2025, he told Bloomberg that Flutterwave would only pursue a public offering after becoming profitable. He also stated in late 2024 that the company was “not in the IPO race.”
Founded in 2016, Flutterwave has processed more than one billion transactions valued at over $40 billion across 35 African countries. The company recently secured fresh funding that lifted its valuation to $3.3 billion, with American blockchain firm Ripple leading the investment round.
For now, however, Flutterwave appears more interested in building the foundations of a pan-African financial institution than rushing to the public markets, positioning banking expansion as the next phase of its growth story while keeping an eventual IPO firmly on the long-term horizon.
