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Economy

FG to Domicile Local Funding, Gets $500m for Digital Economy

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funds in Naira accounts

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, Mr Bosun Tijani, has disclosed that the federal government has secured a $500 million loan for a local funding programme.

According to the tech maven, the credit facility would be used to boost innovation and entrepreneurship within the country’s digital sector.

“So, we’ve got access to about half a billion dollars to start local funding,” the Minister said last Friday at a dinner organised in his honour by the ministry in partnership with the World Bank.

The occasion was also used to unveil an ambitious target to provide at least 148 million people of working age with a digital national ID by the middle of next year, marking a significant step towards inclusion and accessibility.

Mr Tijani outlined federal government’s plan to domicile local funding in Nigeria and ensure that it benefits true Nigerian businesses, adding that it will be collaborating with the Bank of Industry (BoI).

He also highlighted the importance of supporting and promoting Nigerian businesses.

“We want to ensure that those businesses that will benefit are true, real Nigerian businesses,” adding that by domiciling the funding locally, the government aims to foster the growth and development of homegrown enterprises, ultimately contributing to the country’s economic progress.

The minister assured the public that the initial $500 million announced for local funding is just the beginning. He stressed that more investors would be brought on board, to increase the funds available to support Nigerian innovators.

Mr Tijani also emphasised that the government’s goal is to leverage the fund to attract additional investment and expand resources for local entrepreneurs.

“Part of my responsibilities is working with BoI to ensure that we domicile that funding locally in Nigeria, work with firms who manage and invest in businesses to ensure that those businesses that will benefit are true, real Nigerian businesses.

“And what we are going to see is that the funding is available locally and in the coming months it is going to become larger and as these funds become larger, we want to leverage that money as well.

“So, the government is not just going to put half a billion and that’s it, it can actually bring more investors to heart as we have more money and more of our innovators can have access to resources.”

On his part, World Bank Country Director for Nigeria, Mr Shubham Chaudhuri, reaffirmed the organisation’s commitment to eradicating poverty, improving lives, and creating job opportunities for the country’s youth.

Mr Chaudhuri emphasised the potential of leveraging digital technologies to drive transformation and outlined two key areas of partnership with Nigeria to achieve these goals.

He said the World Bank is collaborating with the National Identity Management Commission to ensure the successful rollout and registration of digital national IDs for all Nigerians.

According to him, “Our main mission here in Nigeria is to eliminate poverty, make lives better, and create jobs, for all Nigerian youth. One of the areas that we think have the greatest potential is the area of using digital technologies to transform. Now to do that it begins with having this digital national ID.

“So, one of the main partnerships we have is working with NIMC to ensure the rollout of the registration so that all [estimated] 220 million Nigerians have a digital national ID, beginning of course with all people of working age and I think the target for that is at least 148 million people by the middle of next year.

“The second is helping Nigeria lead the broadband infrastructure for broadband connectivity because without broadband connectivity digital technologies will lead to a digital divide. So, their support has been for good kinds of policies and regulations that will help invite private investment into this space and then fibre optic cables.

“One thing, for example, working with states is to persuade states to reduce the right of way fees and fibre. Cable operators have to pay more when they’re getting the land to lay the cable. All that is like the foundations and real potential comes from once you have the national ID, all the technologies that apps that can be built on the weather to bring services to people, to people where they get people access to finance that all of that needs skills.”

Adedapo Adesanya is a journalist, polymath, and connoisseur of everything art. When he is not writing, he has his nose buried in one of the many books or articles he has bookmarked or simply listening to good music with a bottle of beer or wine. He supports the greatest club in the world, Manchester United F.C.

Economy

Petrol Supply up 55.4% as Daily Consumption Reaches 52.1 million Litres

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By Adedapo Adesanya

The supply of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), also known as petrol, increased by 55.4 per cent on a month-on-month basis to 71.5 million litres per day in November 2025 from 46 million litres per day in October.

This was contained in the November 2025 fact sheet of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) on Monday.

The data showed that the nation’s consumption also increased by 44.5 per cent or 37.4 million litres to 52.1 million litres per day in November 2025, against 28.9 million litres in October.

The significant increase in petrol supply last month was on account of the imports by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited into the Nigerian market from both the domestic and the international market.

Domestic refineries supplied in the period stood at 17.1 million litres per day, while the average daily consumption of PMS for the month was 52.9 million litres per day.

The NMDPRA noted that no production activities were recorded in all the state-owned refineries, which included Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna refineries, in the period, as the refineries remained shut down.

According to the report, the imports were aimed at building inventory and further guaranteeing supply during the peak demand period.

Other reasons for the increase, according to the NMDPRA, were due to “low supply recorded in September and October 2025, below the national demand threshold; the need for boosting national stock level to meet the peak demand period of end of year festivities, and twelve vessels programmed to discharge into October, which spilled into November.”

On gas, the average daily gas supply climbed to 4.684 billion standard cubic feet per day in November 2025, from the 3.94 bscf/d average processing level recorded in October.

The Nigeria LNG Trains 1-6 also maintained a stable processing output of 3.5 bscf/d in November 2025, but utilisation improved slightly to 73.7 per cent compared with 71.68 per cent in October.

The increase, according to the report, was driven by higher plant utilisation across processing hubs and steady export volumes from the Nigeria LNG plant in Bonny.

“As of November 2025, Nigeria’s major gas processing facilities recorded improved output and utilisation levels, with the Nigeria LNG Trains 1-6 processing 3.50 billion standard cubic feet per day at a utilisation rate of 73.70 per cent.

“Gbaran Ubie Gas Plant processed 1.250 bscf per day, operating at 71.21 per cent utilisation, while the MPNU Bonny River Terminal recorded a throughput of 0.690 bscf per day during the period. Processing activities at the Escravos Gas Plant stood at 0.680 bscf per day, representing a 62 per cent utilisation rate, whereas the Soku Gas Plant emerged as the top performer, processing 0.600 bscf per day at 96.84 per cent utilisation,” it stated.

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Economy

Secure Electronic Technology Suspends Share Reconstruction as Investors Pull Out

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Secure Electronic Technology

By Aduragbemi Omiyale

The proposed share reconstruction of a local gaming firm, Secure Electronic Technology (SET), has been suspended.

The Lagos-based company decided to shelve the exercise after negotiations with potential investors crumbled like a house of cards.

Secure Electronic Technology was earlier in talks with some foreign investors interested in the organisation.

Plans were underway to restructure the shares of the company, which are listed on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited.

However, things did not go as planned as the potential investors pulled out, leaving the board to consider others ways to move the firm forward.

Confirming this development, the company secretary, Ms Irene Attoe, in a statement, said the board would explore other means to keep the company running to deliver value to shareholders.

“This is to notify the NGX and the investing public that a meeting of the board of SET held on Tuesday, December 16, 2025, as scheduled, to consider the status of the proposed share reconstruction and recapitalisation as approved by the members at the Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) held on April 16, 2025.

“After due deliberations, the board wishes to announce that the proposed share reconstruction will not take place as anticipated due to the inability of the parties to reach a convergence on the best and mutually viable terms.

“Thus, following an impasse in the negotiations, and the investors’ withdrawal from the transaction, the board has, in the interest of all members, decided to accept these outcomes and move ahead in the overall interest of the business.

“The board is committed to driving the strategic objectives of SEC and to seeking viable opportunities for sustainable growth of the company,” the disclosure stated.

Business Post reports that the share price of SET crashed by 3.85 per cent on Tuesday on Customs Street on Tuesday to 75 Kobo. Its 52-week high remains N1.33 and its one-year low is 45 Kobo. Today, investors transacted 39,331,958 units.

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Economy

Clea to Streamline Cross-Border Payments for African Importers

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Clea Payment platform

By Adedapo Adesanya

Clea, a blockchain-powered platform that allows African importers to pay international suppliers in USD while settling locally, has officially launched.

During its pilot phase, Clea processed more than $4 million in cross-border transactions, demonstrating strong early demand from businesses navigating the complexities of global trade.

Clea addresses persistent challenges that African importers have long struggled with, including limited FX access, unpredictable exchange rates, high bank charges, fraudulent intermediaries, and payment delays that slow or halt shipments. The continent also faces a trade-finance gap estimated at over $120 billion annually, limiting importers’ ability to access the FX and financial infrastructure needed for timely international payments by offering fast, transparent, and direct USD settlements, completed without intermediaries or banking bottlenecks.

Founded by Mr Sheriff Adedokun, Mr Iyiola Osuagwu, and Mr Sidney Egwuatu, Clea was created from the team’s own experiences dealing with unreliable international payments. The platform currently serves Nigerian importers trading with suppliers in the United States, China, and the UAE, with plans to expand into additional trade corridors.

The platform will allow local payments in Naira with instant access to Dollars as well as instant, same-day, or next-day settlement options and transparent, traceable transactions that reduce fraud risk.

Speaking on the launch, Mr Adedokun said, “Importers face unnecessary stress when payments are delayed or rejected. Clea eliminates that uncertainty by offering reliable, secure, and traceable payments completed in the importer’s own name, strengthening supplier confidence from day one.”

Mr Osuagwu, co-founder & CTO, added, “Our goal is to make global trade feel as seamless as a local transfer. By connecting local currencies to global transactions through blockchain technology, we are removing long-standing barriers that have limited African importers for years.”

According to a statement shared with Business Post, Clea is already working with shipping operators who refer merchants to the platform and is also engaging trade associations and logistics networks in key import hubs. The company remains fully bootstrapped but is open to strategic investors aligned with its mission to build a trusted global payment network for African businesses.

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