By Adedapo Adesanya

President Bola Tinubu has signed a Presidential Executive Order on Virtual Assets Coordination, establishing a new framework to coordinate the regulation of virtual assets across government agencies as Nigeria seeks to curb fraud while supporting innovation in the digital economy.

The Executive Order, which takes immediate effect, creates a Virtual Asset Council chaired by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to harmonise oversight of cryptocurrencies, tokenised assets, stablecoins, and other digital assets without creating a new regulator.

As part of the new framework, the CBN will establish a regulatory sandbox that will allow eligible firms to test virtual asset products, blockchain solutions, and related services under regulatory supervision before they are introduced to the wider market.

The development was disclosed in a statement issued on Friday by the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Mr Bayo Onanuga.

According to the presidency, the Executive Order responds to the growing complexity of virtual assets, which increasingly cut across the traditional boundaries of currencies, securities, commodities, and payment systems.

The fragmented regulatory environment has left gaps that have exposed Nigeria to money laundering, terrorism financing, cybersecurity and data privacy risks, fraud, and revenue losses.

The government said some unregistered operators have exploited these regulatory gaps to defraud unsuspecting Nigerians, resulting in significant financial losses.

“The Order is designed to close these gaps through supervisory coordination, without introducing new layers of regulation or displacing the mandates of existing agencies,” the statement read.

Under the new framework, the Virtual Asset Council will be chaired by the CBN, with the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) serving as vice chairs. Other members include the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) and the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA).

The Council will provide policy direction, improve cooperation among participating agencies, and work with the Attorney General of the Federation to develop a harmonised legal and institutional framework for the sector.

The Executive Order also establishes a Virtual Asset Office, which will serve as the Council’s operational arm. The office will be domiciled at the CBN and will coordinate information sharing, applications, and reporting among the participating agencies through a shared supervisory technology platform.

The presidency stressed that the Executive Order does not create a new regulator or transfer statutory powers from existing agencies, clarifying that instead, each institution will continue to exercise its existing mandate while working within a coordinated framework.

Under the arrangement, registration of virtual asset businesses will depend on the nature of the service being offered.

Activities classified as securities will continue to be regulated by the SEC, while payment, settlement, custody, and other services involving non-security virtual assets will fall under the CBN.

Where there is uncertainty over regulatory jurisdiction, the Virtual Asset Council will determine the appropriate supervising agency.

“The sandbox will provide a controlled environment in which eligible operators can test and operate virtual asset products, services, and blockchain-based solutions under close supervision, enabling the participating agencies to assess the implications for monetary sovereignty, financial stability, market integrity, consumer protection, financial inclusion, and revenue administration before products reach the wider market,” the statement added.

According to the presidency, the sandbox will enable regulators to evaluate the implications of emerging products for financial stability, monetary sovereignty, consumer protection, financial inclusion, market integrity, and revenue administration.

The central bank is expected to announce further details of the sandbox.

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has warned that Nigeria’s economic recovery could come under renewed pressure from persistently high borrowing costs and inflation despite stronger crude oil production and ongoing economic reforms.

In its July Monthly Oil Market Report, OPEC said Nigeria’s near-term economic outlook remains positive, supported by higher oil production, improving macroeconomic stability, stronger business activity and continued reform efforts, but cautioned that inflationary pressures and expensive credit continue to pose significant risks to sustained growth.

According to the report, Nigeria’s economy expanded by 3.9 per cent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2026, marginally below the 4.0 per cent recorded in the final quarter of 2025, indicating that growth has remained close to recent highs.

“Overall, Nigeria’s near-term outlook remains positive, supported by oil production, reform progress, infrastructure investment and stronger business activity, but high inflation, elevated borrowing costs and the need to preserve exchange-rate stability remain important challenges,” OPEC stated.

The organisation noted that the non-oil sector remained the principal driver of economic expansion, with agriculture, manufacturing, construction, trade, finance and insurance contributing significantly to growth.

It added that improved crude oil production had strengthened government revenues, boosted foreign exchange inflows and reinforced the country’s external reserves.

“The non-oil economy continues to provide the main support, with activity driven by agriculture, manufacturing, construction, trade, and finance and insurance, while higher oil output has improved fiscal revenues, foreign-exchange inflows and external buffers. Survey indicators also point to continued near-term momentum,” the report added.

OPEC also pointed to private sector data showing continued expansion in business activity. It said the Stanbic IBTC Bank Nigeria Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) moderated slightly to 53.4 in June from 54.1 in May but remained above the 50-point threshold, indicating sustained growth in economic activity.

According to the report, stronger output, increased new orders and resilient consumer demand continued to support business expansion, although manufacturing activity softened slightly during the review period.

The oil producers’ group further noted that increased domestic refining capacity, particularly the improved fuel supply from the Dangote Refinery, is expected to strengthen energy availability and ease pressure on imports.

“Higher domestic refining capacity, including improved fuel supply from the Dangote refinery, should continue to support energy availability and reduce some import-related pressures,” OPEC said.

Despite the positive outlook, the organisation expressed concern over rising consumer prices, noting that Nigeria’s inflation rate increased to 15.9 per cent in May from 15.7 per cent in April as food prices continued to weaken household purchasing power.

“Inflation rose further to 15.9 per cent year-on-year in May, up from 15.7 per cent in April, with food prices still putting pressure on household purchasing power. This means that monetary policy is likely to remain cautious, despite improved exchange-rate stability and stronger oil-related inflows,” the report stated.

OPEC said the persistence of inflation is likely to keep monetary policy tight, meaning borrowing costs may remain elevated even as improved oil earnings continue to strengthen Nigeria’s fiscal position and external reserves, adding that balancing price stability with economic growth will remain a key challenge for policymakers in the months ahead.

By Adedapo Adesanya

Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc bested three price decliners to lift the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 0.05 per cent on Thursday, July 16.

The securities depository company gained N2.29 during the trading day to close at N92.64 per share compared with the previous day’s price of N90.35 per share.

As a result, the market capitalisation of the bourse grew by N1.42 billion to N2.592 trillion from N2.590 trillion, while the NASD Security Index (NSI) improved by 2.36 points to 4,318.87 points from 4,316.51 points.

The three price losers yesterday were led by 11 Plc, which shed N10.00 to end at N240.00 per unit versus Wednesday’s closing value of N250.00 per unit, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc lost N2.34 to finish at N147.66 per share compared with the N150.00 per share it closed at midweek, and Food Concepts Plc depleted by 7 Kobo to settle at N2.42 per unit, in contrast to the preceding day’s N2.49 per unit.

A look at the activity chart showed that during the session, the value of transactions soared by 43.3 per cent to N104.1 million from the preceding session’s N65.2 million, and the number of deals jumped by 39.3 per cent to 39 deals from the 28 deals completed a day earlier, while the volume of trades contracted by 75.7 per cent to 1.2 million units from 4.8 million units.

When trading activities ended for the day, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc led the activity chart as the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units valued at N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 74.9 million units exchanged for N5.3 billion.

GNI Plc also closed the session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units traded for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units transacted for N415.7 million.