Economy
Nigerians Defy Central Bank, Flock to Bitcoin
By: Gerelyn Terzo of Sharemoney
Bitcoin, the leading cryptocurrency, has seen its value balloon by more than 100% year-to-date, soaring to an all-time high of more than USD 60,000.
Nigerians, many of whom are battling poverty, would be hard-pressed to miss out on those gains. This is especially true considering that the unemployment rate in the most populous African nation was 33.3% as of last quarter, with more than 23 million Nigerians out of work.
Enter bitcoin, which has been a safe-haven investment as well as a faster and cheaper payment method for the growing segment of the population that is catching on.
In fact, Nigeria last year rose to the top of the heap for bitcoin trading at $400 million in volume, surpassing transactional volume in nearly every other jurisdiction — with the exception of the United States and Russia — as traditional asset classes lose their appeal in comparison and the local currency, the naira, remains under pressure.
Nearly one-third of Nigerians who participated in a Statista poll said that they used or owned cryptocurrencies, more than any other country represented in the survey.
Source: Statista
Nigeria also stands out in all of Africa, as the top peer-to-peer bitcoin trading nation on the continent based on bitcoin trading volume.
Nigeria’s P2P BTC trading volume surpassed USD 99 million in the first quarter of 2021. Kenya is a distant second at $34.8 million followed by Ghana and South Africa at $27.4 million and $25.8 million, respectively.
Source: Business Insider/Useful Tulips
The robust bitcoin trading activity in Nigeria has earned the country the title of Africa’s Bitcoin Nation. A 27-year-old Nigerian office worker who was spotlighted by the AFP, Chigoziri Okeke, described how he first invested in cryptocurrencies five years ago with the intention of just making a payment.
When his crypto wallet’s value increased by 10% in a few short days, however, he was hooked and started directing a percentage of his salary toward the market. Today, this investor’s crypto portfolio is worth USD 50,000, comprising various digital assets.
In addition, Google searches of bitcoin in Nigeria surpass that of any other jurisdiction, according to Nairametrics.com. Bitcoin appeals especially to the West African nation’s millennial generation, who are looking to the flagship cryptocurrency as a store-of-value asset as well as a way to circumvent the hoops they must jump through to open a traditional investment account.
With the bitcoin price most recently hovering at USD 60,000, Nigerians have reason to be excited. At this price, one bitcoin could reportedly buy someone a three-bedroom apartment in Lagos’ Ajah neighbourhood.
Unstable Fiat Currency
A big part of bitcoin’s popularity is due to Nigeria’s unstable naira. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has drawn a line in the sand, stating that Nigeria’s fiat currency is “overvalued” by more than 18%. The IMF wants Nigeria to devalue its fiat currency, but the African nation’s government has said no way.
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari blames “global outflows” triggered by COVID-19 for the unstable naira and believes that devaluing it further after doing so twice in 2020 would only exacerbate the already sky-high inflation rate, which is currently in the double-digits at more than 17%. This would weaken Nigerians’ purchasing power even more. Nigeria’s central bank slashed the naira’s value by close to one-quarter last year.
Meanwhile, not only has bitcoin been generating returns hand over fist, but it has also been thrust into the global spotlight amid the SARS-related protests in Nigeria.
According to reports, Nigeria thwarted financial payments toward police brutality protests, which only led the supporters to donate bitcoin instead. Twitter and Square CEO Jack Dorsey backed this movement, which only brought more attention to the country and cryptocurrencies.
Source: CoinGecko/TradingView
Mixed Signals
Nigeria’s central bank has been highly critical of bitcoin, warning as recently as February that “cryptocurrencies are largely speculative, anonymous and untraceable.”
Nonetheless, the Central Bank of Nigeria can’t stop the population from accessing the flagship cryptocurrency, thanks to the peer-to-peer nature of bitcoin, which was inherently designed to circumvent third-party service providers like banks.
Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto, whose real identity remains a mystery, defined the first cryptocurrency in the whitepaper, which was published in 2008, saying:
“A purely peer-to-peer version of electronic cash would allow online payments to be sent directly from one party to another without going through a financial institution.”
The Central Bank of Nigeria has since backtracked from its remarks slightly, maintaining that it has not placed a blanket ban on cryptocurrency trading. It is a tangled web, however. The central bank instead said that it is doubling down on a 2017 law that bans institutions supporting cryptocurrency transactions.
Even though institutions might be banned from supporting cryptocurrency trading, individuals are still free to trade them. The central bank is sending mixed signals, to say the least, as local banks were instructed by the central bank to refrain from doing business with customers who transact in cryptocurrencies.
“The CBN did not place restrictions from use of…cryptocurrencies and we are not discouraging people from trading in it. What we have just done was to prohibit transactions on cryptocurrencies in the banking sector,” stated Adamu Lamtek, according to Decrypt, citing Today NG.
Since the restrictions were imposed on Nigeria’s crypto trading industry, rather than disappearing, the industry has flexed its muscle for its nimble nature. In a few short months, they have been quick to build P2P exchanges that circumvent the crypto ban on financial institutions.
The restrictions have funnelled more activity to over-the-counter (OTC) venues while a makeshift P2P market is similarly expanding. Danny Oyekan, the founder of global social payments application Coins App, is cited by Decrypt as saying,
“So basically, the ban only forced the fiat channels underground.”
Source: Twitter
In Nigeria, cryptocurrencies are regulated by the country’s own Securities and Exchange Commission, which last year stated that it would classify cryptocurrencies as securities unless they are proven otherwise by the asset’s issuer or sponsor. In February, Nigeria’s SEC said that crypto regulation was going to be placed on the back-burner amid the central bank’s crypto crackdown.
Despite the uncertainty, Nigerians are showing no signs of relenting in their pursuit to own bitcoin and are increasingly relying on P2P trading platforms to do just that.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The Governor of Rivers State, Mr Siminalayi Fubara, has presented the 2026 Appropriation Bill to the Rivers State House of Assembly.
The 2026 budget estimate of N1.85 trillion, christened Budget of Resilience for Growth and Development, was presented to the state parliament on Friday.
Mr Fubara stated that the proposed spending for the 2026 fiscal year represents a 24.49 per cent increase over the adjusted 2025 budget, driven by anticipated growth in Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) allocations, derivation revenue and internally generated revenue.
He informed the lawmakers that the state hopes to earn N487.61 billion from internally generated revenue, N936.05 billion from FAAC allocations, derivation funds, Value Added Tax (VAT) and exchange gains, and N382.48 billion from capital receipts, including loans, grants and asset sales.
According to him, N413.11 billion is for recurrent expenditure and N1.405 trillion for capital projects, underscoring his administration’s commitment to accelerating development across the state.
He added that personnel costs would gulp N154.77 billion, while N15.22 billion would fund new recruitments, stating that the budget also provides for pensions, gratuities, death benefits and debt servicing.
Governor Fubara further proposed a 50 per cent increase in overhead expenditure for Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to strengthen their operational capacity immediately after the budget is signed into law.
He also stated that the largest allocation under the capital budget is the Works and Infrastructure sector with N533.32 billion, followed by Education with N315 billion and Healthcare with N105.43 billion.
In addition, N41.44 billion is for the Rivers State House of Assembly, N30 billion for the Judiciary, N19.26 billion for Agriculture, N15 billion for Power, N8.5 billion for Chieftaincy and Community Development, N7.98 billion for Sports, N7 billion for Youth Development, N6.5 billion for Women Affairs, and N6.61 billion for Environment and Sustainable Development.
The Governor noted that the budget was designed to sustain economic growth, expand critical infrastructure and improve the welfare of residents, pointing out that it builds on the achievements of his administration despite the challenges experienced by the state.
According to him, the budget prioritises the completion of ongoing road projects, new infrastructure investments, improved education and healthcare services, job creation and expanded economic opportunities for residents.
Describing the proposal as a people-centred budget, he assured Rivers people that every public fund would be judiciously utilised to deliver quality services, attract investment and stimulate inclusive development.
Mr Fubara acknowledged the delayed presentation of the budget and appealed to members of the House of Assembly to give the appropriation bill speedy consideration and passage to facilitate timely implementation.
In his remarks, the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Mr Martin Amaewhule, acknowledged that the 2026 Appropriation Bill was presented later than expected but assured the Governor that the legislature would expedite its consideration in the interest of the people of Rivers State.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has unveiled plans to make sustainability reporting mandatory for large public interest entities from 2027.
This comes as Nigeria moves to align its corporate disclosure framework with global environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting standards.
The phased implementation will begin with voluntary adoption by early adopters and large public interest entities before becoming mandatory in 2027. The requirement will extend to other public interest entities in 2028 and small and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) by 2030.
The Director-General of the SEC, Mr Emomotimi Agama, disclosed this at the 2026 Financial Institutions Training Centre (FITC) Sustainability and ESG Conference 3.0, themed ‘Building a Sustainable Africa: Integrating Environmental Stewardship, Social Investment, and Strong Governance for a Prosperous Future’ in Lagos.
Mr Agama said Nigeria’s sustainability disclosure regime is being aligned with the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) framework, including IFRS S1 and IFRS S2, which have emerged as the global benchmark for sustainability reporting.
He said that institutional investors increasingly consider ESG performance a key determinant of capital allocation rather than a peripheral corporate responsibility issue, noting that the price of entry is disclosure.
He said the reforms would strengthen investor confidence and position Nigerian businesses to access global capital markets, where sustainability disclosures are becoming an essential investment requirement.
According to him, Nigeria’s capital market has recorded significant expansion, with market capitalisation growing from about N130 trillion to nearly N160 trillion following recent market reforms, while assets under management have surpassed N9 trillion.
To deepen sustainable finance, Agama said the commission was promoting infrastructure, green and municipal bonds, alongside infrastructure-focused investment funds, to mobilise long-term capital for critical national projects.
He added that the commission would also encourage investments in the blue economy and support financing for the power sector through green energy bonds, project bonds and public-private investment structures.
The SEC chief cited the recent launch of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Impact Board as another milestone in advancing sustainable finance and urged companies, regulators and investors to move beyond commitments by embedding sustainability into governance, operations and investment decisions.
Economy
International Breweries Plans Share Capital Reduction to Remove N191bn Losses, Enable Dividend Payout
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The board of International Breweries Plc is proposing a share capital reduction exercise to enable it to pay dividends from future profits.
The brewery firm has been unable to give shareholders a cash reward despite bouncing back into profitability because of accumulated losses of up to N191 billion.
To resolve this issue, which is becoming worrisome to the company’s investors, the board is planning to apply a portion of the balance in the Share Premium Account to eliminate the accumulated losses.
In a notice signed by its scribe, Temitope Oluwatosin, International Breweries informed the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited and the investing public that the share capital reduction should restore distributable reserves and re-establish its capacity to pay dividends to shareholders.
It was disclosed that the transaction would be “executed pursuant to the provisions of Section 131 of the Companies and Allied Matters Act, 2020 (as amended), subject to the appropriate regulatory approval and confirmation by the Federal High Court.”
“Following the elimination of accumulated losses, the company proposes a further reduction of the Share Premium Account to enable the return of capital to shareholders.
“The amount payable per ordinary share will be distributed on a pro rata basis, determined with reference to the total amount approved by the board for distribution from the Share Premium Account,” a part of the disclosure stated.
International Breweries noted that shareholders would be required to vote on the proposed share capital reduction at the forthcoming Annual General Meeting (AGM) scheduled for the Grand Ballroom of the Federal Palace Hotel, Lagos, on Thursday, July 30, 2026, at 11.00 am.
