Economy
CBN Mulls Stringent Regulations to Address Fintech Security Challenges
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) says it will continue to implement more policies to tackle cybersecurity challenges and foster innovation to ensure the stability and integrity of the financial system, especially for fintech.
The Deputy Governor of Financial Systems Stability at CBN, Mr Philip Ikeazor, said this during a two-day Financial Institutions Training Centre (FITC) Fintech Conference held in Lagos themed Building Trust in the Digital Age: Balancing Performance with Compliance.
According to him, issues such as cybersecurity threats, data breaches, and digital fraud are persistent concerns that could erode consumer confidence in the system.
Mr. Ikeazor stated that the apex bank is developing new regulations to improve performance and compliance, in addition to existing measures.
He stated that the new regulations will concentrate on two critical areas: corporate governance and licencing requirements.
“The new regulation is crucial to mitigate the risks of the digital era,” he said.
He explained that the new regulation was aimed at improving the level of compliance and corporate governance practice by fintechs in the country.
Mr Ikeazor said the digital banking platforms have made financial services more accessible to millions of Nigerians, fostering greater financial inclusion and convenience.
He, however, said that digitalisation also brought challenges that could erode trust if not properly managed.
“Every organisation should conduct its business processes in compliance with the law and the various regulations. Financial institutions need to take the compliance function as extremely important.
“Corporate governance is also very critical. Organisations need to have the right structure and be effective transparent and accountable in the administration of their affairs,” he said.
On her part, the Chief Convener and Chief Executive Officer of FITC, Mrs Chizor Malize, said the emergence of fintech has revolutionised financial services, shifting consumer behaviour toward digital consumption and away from traditional brick-and-mortar establishments globally.
Mrs Malize said that the rise of companies such as PayPal and Square, alongside innovations like blockchain technology and mobile payment systems had demonstrated the immense potential of fintech to disrupt traditional banking models and enhance consumer convenience.
She noted that Africa stood at the forefront of this fintech revolution with companies like Interswitch, Flutterwave, Moniepoint, and others leading the charge, adding that traditional Nigerian banks such as Providus Bank, GTBank, Stanbic IBTC and others were embracing fintech innovations to meet evolving consumer demands.
“These initiatives showcase Africa’s potential to drive financial inclusion and economic growth through digital innovation.
“With the widespread mobile technology adoption and growing demand for financial services, these platforms have transformed digital payments, financial inclusion, and banking services, contributing significantly to Africa’s fintech revolution.
“As we strive for peak performance and efficiency, we must uphold the highest standards of compliance and integrity,” she said.
Mrs Malize added that strong regulation and compliance were essential for ensuring financial system stability, which was the focus of this conference.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale and Adedapo Adesanya
Crude oil feed into the Okordia–Rumuekpe pipeline in Rivers State has been suspended by Renaissance Africa Energy Company Limited.
This action was taken by the energy firm after a leak in the 14-inch pipeline in Ikata under the Ahoada East Local Government Area of Rivers State.
Before now, the oil facility was operated by Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), but Renaissance recently acquired all the oil assets of Shell in a deal finally approved by the federal government.
Business Post reports that Renaissance took over onshore oil and gas assets of Shell in Nigeria for about $2.4 billion.
The recent oil leak was the first major incident the facility was experiencing since the transaction was concluded a few months ago.
Confirming the shutdown in a statement on Tuesday, a spokesperson for Renaissance Africa Energy, Mr Michael Akande, explained that the action was taken to protect the environment.
“We have taken immediate steps to isolate and discontinue production into the pipeline to minimise any potential environmental impact,” Mr Adande stated.
He noted that the relevant regulatory authorities have been informed of the oil leak, assuring that the company will cooperate with the regulators to determine the cause and extent of the spill.
“Government regulators have been informed, and we are actively coordinating the statutory joint investigation visit, which will include their representatives and those from the local community,” he added.
As anticipation builds for the outcome of the JIV, environmental advocates and local leaders have called for transparency and immediate remediation.
Nigeria’s oil production have been affected over the years by a series of challenges. While efforts to curb them have yielded some results, the country is still far from hitting its 2.06 million barrels per day target to fund its 2025 budget.
Nigeria’s oil production peaked at 2.5 million barrels decades ago and despite ambitious 3-4 million barrels promises by subsequent governments, the highest actualisation in recent times have been 1.8 million barrels per day.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Telecommunications operators in Nigeria added about 3.39 million telephone lines in the first quarter of 2025, pushing active users to 172.7 million, amounting to 79.67 per cent teledensity, according to the latest data released by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) on Tuesday.
The industry regulator also said the number of active telephone users moved from 169.3 million as of January to 172.7 million by March ending.
The latest data showed that 4G technology remained most dominant in the country with 48.82 per cent penetration, followed by 2G at 40 per cent and 3G at 8.40 per cent.
The Fifth Generation (5G) offered by MTN, Mafab and Airtel leaped slightly by 0.16 per cent from 2.54 per cent as of the beginning of the year to 2.70 per cent by the end of March.
The 2.70 per cent means that of the 172.7 million active telephone users in the country, 4.66 million are using the 5G network.
Further analysis, however, showed a drop in the number of Internet users in the country. As of January, it was 142, 161,409 but dropped to 142,053, 537. But Broadband penetration rose to 47.73 per cent from 45.61 per cent. Interestingly, there are now 103.5 million broadband users in the country.
In terms of market dominance, MTN maintained the lead with 90 million users and 52. 4 per cent market reach. Airtel is second with 58.3 million customers and 33.8 per cent reach. Globacom came third with 12 per cent penetration and 20.7 million subscribers. 9mobile is fourth with 1.72 per cent nationwide penetration and 2.96 million customers.
This development comes amid rising complaint of worsening service offering by telcos in the past few days.
So far, only MTN has apologised for service glitch experienced by some subscribers yesterday.
Business Post reports that some MTN subscribers across Nigeria experienced a lengthy network downtime on Tuesday disrupting flow of work and communication.
As a result of the glitch, many users on the network were unable to access the internet and many social networking apps, except WhatsApp.
Speaking to this newspaper, a person identified as Albert Adeoye, said, “MTN really affected me yesterday. I heard people complaining but I didn’t know it was that bad.”
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange made a 0.02 per cent marginal slide on Tuesday, May 6, leaving the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) down by 0.66 per cent to 3,289.00 points from the previous session’s 3,289.66 points.
In the same vein, the market capitalisation fell by N390 million to close at N1.925 trillion compared with the preceding trading day’s N1.926 trillion.
Afriland Properties Plc dropped N1.10 to close at N14.90 per share compared with the previous day’s N16.00 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc lost N1.08 to settle at N38.92 per unit versus Monday’s closing price of N40.00 per unit, and UBN Property Plc went down by 22 Kobo to finish at N1.98 per share, in contrast to the previous day’s N2.20 per share.
On the flip side, the share price of Mixta Real Estate Plc increased by 45 Kobo to close at N5.00 per unit versus N4.55 per unit, and First Trust Microfinance Bank Plc expanded by 1 Kobo to trade at 63 Kobo per share compared with Monday’s closing price of 62 Kobo per share.
Yesterday, there was a 12,683.9 per cent rise in the volume of securities traded to 2.5 million units from the 19,920 units recorded in the previous trading day, there was also a 3,874.1 per cent increase in the value of securities transacted to N34.7 million from N872,687, and there was 320 per cent leap in the number of deals to 42 deals from 10 deals.
When the market closed for the day, Impresit Bakolori Plc remained the most traded stock by volume (year-to-date) with 533.9 million units worth N520.9 million, followed by Geo-Fluids Plc with 265.7 million units valued at N469.3 million, and Okitipupa Plc with 153.6 million units sold for N4.9 billion.
Also, Okitipupa Plc was the most traded stock by value (year-to-date) with 153.6 million sold for N4.9 billion, trailed by FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc with 18.8 million units valued at N721.1 million, and Impresit Bakolori Plc with 533.9 million units worth N520.9 million.
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