Economy
ECA Revs Efforts to Tackle Illicit Financial Flows From Africa

By Modupe Gbadeyanka
A two-day workshop aimed at stakeholders working to confront the challenge of stemming illicit financial flows (IFFs) from Africa opened in Nairobi Monday, with the Economic Commission for Africa’s (ECA) Head of Special Initiatives in the Office of the Executive Secretary, Ms Aida Opoku-Mensah calling for a coherent and coordinated approach on this agenda.
“Given the mosaic of actors and ongoing and prospective initiatives on the different dimensions of IFFs at national, regional and global levels, there is need for coherence, coordination and complementary partnerships,” said Ms Opoku-Mensah at the opening session.
The stakeholders attending the workshop comprise members of the Consortium to stem IIFs whose task will be to oversee the implementation of the recommendations of the report of the High Level Panel on IFFs, which was chaired by former South African President Thabo Mbeki.
Ms Opoku-Mensah stressed that while the continent is taking tangible steps towards a coherent approach to curb IFFs more still needs to be done.
“Agreeing upon the functions and applicability of the Consortium as well as the actionable implementation plan to counter IFFs will move this consortium into its immediate next step of implementation,” she added
She said implementing the recommendations of the Report of the High Level Panel has “always been underpinned by a big tent approach, thus widening the scope for complementary partnerships between leading institutions and actors.”
This, she added, is why the Consortium has been established, to not only leverage partnerships but also provide a platform for experience sharing and most importantly, to guide and engage in the concrete implementation efforts to stem IFFs from Africa.
Presenting the terms of reference for the Consortium, Advocate Monjaku Gumbi, Senior Advisor at the Thabo Mbeki Foundation, said Africa was a net exporter of capital, adding the continent will not apologize to anyone for its fight against IFFs.
She said there’s need for organizations working on stemming IFF on the continent to collaborate with one another on related activities at national and continental levels.
This, she said, includes collaboration in the generation and dissemination of knowledge on IFFs; strengthening of institutional, regulatory and human capacity to counter IFFs; resource mobilization; and monitoring of the implementation process.
The workshop seeks to, among other things, review and endorse the draft terms of reference of the Consortium; provide strategic oversight on the interventions to counter IFFs; build coherence in efforts to stem IFFs; and agree on joint work programmes and joint delivery of activities. Further, the Consortium will contribute to the annual report on curbing IFFs which would be submitted to the African Union Heads of States and Government (AU Summit).
Illicit financial flows out of Africa have become a matter of major concern because of the scale and negative impact of such flows on Africa’s development and governance agenda.
By some estimates, illicit flows from Africa could be as much as US $50 billion per annum. This is approximately double the official development assistance (ODA) that Africa receives.
The workshop is being attended by representatives from the African Union Commission (AUC), the ECA, the African Development Bank (AfDB), the African Capacity Building Foundation, Pan African Lawyers Union, the Thabo Mbeki Foundation, Open Society Foundation and the Tax Justice Network, among others.
Economy
BNB Price Reflects Changing Dynamics in the Digital Asset Market
Economy
NASD Unlisted Security Index Crosses 4,000-point Benchmark Again
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange achieved a milestone on Friday, April 24, 2026, after five securities on the platform helped with a 1.85 per cent growth.
Data showed that the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) again crossed the 4,000-point benchmark yesterday.
The index chalked up 73.64 points during the trading day to close at 4,052.59 points compared with the preceding session’s 3,978.95 points, while the market capitalisation added N5.38 billion to finish at N2.424 trillion versus Thursday’s closing value of N2.380 trillion.
The price gainers were led by Okitipupa Plc, which grew by N25.00 to sell at N305.00 per share compared with the previous price of N280.00 per share. Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc gained N6.92 to close at N76.26 per unit versus N69.34 per unit, Afriland Properties Plc appreciated by N1.00 to N17.00 per share from N18.00 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc improved by 55 Kobo to N99.55 per unit from N99.00 per unit, and Food Concepts Plc increased by 5 Kobo to N2.70 per share from N2.65 per share.
However, there was a price loser, MRS Oil, which dipped by N21.75 to N195.75 per unit from N217.50 per unit.
During the final session of the week, the value of securities jumped 75.2 per cent to N41.3 million from N23.6 million units, and the number of deals expanded by 62.9 per cent to 44 deals from 27 deals, while the volume of securities declined marginally by 0.9 per cent to 447,403 units from 451,522 units.
At the close of trades, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc was the most traded stock by volume (year-to-date) with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, trailed by Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units valued at N415.7 million, and Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc with 400 million units traded for N1.2 billion.
GNI was also the most active stock by value (year-to-date) with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, followed by CSCS Plc with 59.6 million units transacted for N4.0 billion, and Okitipupa Plc with 27.8 million units exchanged for N1.9 billion.
Economy
Naira Slips to N1,358/$1 as FX Reserves, Policy Uncertainty Concerns
By Adedapo Adesanya
It was not a good day for the Nigerian Naira in the currency market on Friday, April 24, as its value depreciated against the major foreign currencies at the close of transactions.
In the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX), it lost N4.53 or 0.33 per cent against the United States Dollar yesterday to trade at N1,358.44/$1, in contrast to the N1,353.91/$1 it was exchanged on Thursday.
Equally, the domestic currency slipped against the Pound Sterling in the official market during the session by N8.14 to close at N1,834.02/£1, compared with the previous rate of N1,825.88/£1 and dropped N8.01 against the Euro to sell at N1,590.73/€1 versus N1,582.72/€1.
Also, the Naira depreciated against the US Dollar at the GTBank FX desk on Friday by N4 to quote at N1,370/$1 compared with the previous session’s N1,366/$1, and at the parallel market, it depleted by N5 to settle at N1,380/$1 versus the preceding day’s N1,375/$1.
Data published by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) indicated that NFEM interbank turnover surged to N43.562 million across 68 deals, up from N28.117 million the previous day.
Despite the CBN’s reassurance that the recent drop in external reserves is not worrisome, the market remains unsettled by persistent concerns over liquidity constraints, policy transparency, and weakening confidence in Nigeria’s FX market as gross reserves continue to decline to $48.4 billion.
The outlook for the Dollar appears supported by broader macro risks, including elevated oil prices tied to the tanker traffic disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz and a continued US-Iran standoff over ceasefire negotiations.
A look at the digital currency market showed that investors are sitting on the edge as the US Dollar rebounded amid geopolitical and inflation risks despite continued inflows into US spot bitcoin Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs).
Solana (SOL) rose by 1.2 per cent to sell $86.45, Cardano (ADA) appreciated by 1.1 per cent to $0.2517, Dogecoin (DOGE) grew by 0.9 per cent to $0.0989, Ripple (XRP) improved by 0.3 per cent to $1.43, Ethereum (ETH) soared by 0.2 per cent to $2,316.83, and Binance Coin (BNB) chalked up 0.1 per cent to sell for $637.44.
However, TRON (TRX) depreciated by 1.3 per cent to $0.3235, and Bitcoin (BTC) lost 0.2 per cent to close at $77,562.27, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00 each.
-
Feature/OPED6 years agoDavos was Different this year
-
Travel/Tourism10 years ago
Lagos Seals Western Lodge Hotel In Ikorodu
-
Showbiz3 years agoEstranged Lover Releases Videos of Empress Njamah Bathing
-
Banking8 years agoSort Codes of GTBank Branches in Nigeria
-
Economy3 years agoSubsidy Removal: CNG at N130 Per Litre Cheaper Than Petrol—IPMAN
-
Banking3 years agoSort Codes of UBA Branches in Nigeria
-
Banking3 years agoFirst Bank Announces Planned Downtime
-
Sports3 years agoHighest Paid Nigerian Footballer – How Much Do Nigerian Footballers Earn
