Economy
University Press Sees Future in e-Book Publishing, But Identifies Key Threats
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The book publishing business in Nigeria has not been profitable lately and the reason for this has been identified by the Managing Director of University Press Plc, Mr Samuel Kolawole.
University Press is one of the major publishers in the country. It commenced operations in Nigeria as an arm of the British Oxford University Press in 1949 with the name Oxford University Press (OUP) Nigeria.
At the 42nd Annual General Meeting (AGM) University Press in Ibadan, Oyo State last week, Mr Kolawole, blamed activities of amateurs for the bastardisation of the publishing sector in Nigeria.
He also knocked the Nigeria Educational, Research and Development Council (NERDC) for not putting systems in place to checkmate the industry, saying it has now become an all-comer affair.
“The rules are there, when you produce a book in Nigeria you’re supposed to get a certification from the Nigeria Educational, Research and Development Council (NERDC) but not many so called publishers would do it.
“It is the responsibility of the NERDC to monitor the books in circulation to ensure that books that have not gone into certification are not allowed in the market.
“So, the regulatory authorities have the responsibility to certify good quality books and should also be able to enforce the good quality books in schools so that books that have not gone through their process of certification and met the standards are not allowed to be sold in schools,” the University Press boss lamented.
Mr Kolawole expressed confidence that if the regulatory bodies and state governments ensure that only quality books are in circulation in Nigeria through adherence to standards and certification, amateurs, who do not care about standards, would be chased out of the ecosystem.
He, however, called on the state ministries of education to scrutinise the books they recommend to schools, noting that the Nigeria Publishers Association was making efforts to ensure that its members meet the minimum requirements for good quality books.
Speaking on the performance of the company in the 2019 fiscal year, Mr Kolawole informed shareholders that although the sales of primary and secondary schools dropped in the course of the year below what they were before, they were still higher than the books it sold for the tertiary level.
“This shows us that there is an opportunity in that area and we will continue to explore it, while we also improve on the primary and secondary schools segment which have been our major backbone in terms of turnover and performance,” he added.
He noted that the future is in e-book publishing as shown by the COVID-19 pandemic, but stressed that the major challenge of infrastructure amongst other uncertainties in the future would remain.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has brought to the fore the need to diversify but challenges such as infrastructure, among other things, would remain into the post COVID era and also leveraging on technology so that the sector is better positioned whenever such occasions arise,” he said.
By Dipo Olowookere
A cryptocurrency investor and owner of Polyfarm, Mr Bamu Gift Wandji, is currently cooling off in the custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
He was handed over to the anti-money laundering agency by the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) on Friday, January 30, 2026, after his arrest on Monday, January 12, 2026.
A statement from the EFCC yesterday disclosed that the suspect was apprehended by the NSCDC in Gwagwalada, Abuja for running an investment scheme without the authorisation of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which is the apex capital market regulator in Nigeria.
It was claimed that Mr Wandji created a fraudulent crypto investment platform called Polyfarm, where he allegedly lured innocent Nigerians to invest in Polygon, a crypto token that attracts high returns.
Investigation further revealed that he also deceived the public that his project, Polyfarm, has its native token called “polyfarm coin” which he sold to the public.
In his bid to promote the scheme, the suspect posted about this on social media platforms, including WhatsApp, X (formally Twitter) and Telegram. He also conducted seminars in some major cities in Nigeria including Kaduna, Lagos, Port Harcourt and Abuja where he described the scheme as a life-changing programme.
Further investigation revealed that in October, 2025, subscribers who could not access their funds were informed by the suspect that the site was attacked by Lazarus group, a cyber attacking group linked to North Korea.
Further investigations showed that Polyfarm is not registered and not licensed with SEC to carry out crypto transactions in Nigeria. Also, no investment happened with subscribers’ funds and that the suspect used funds paid by subscribers to pay others in the name of profit.
Investigation also revealed that native coin, polyfarm coin was never listed on coin market cap and that the suspect sold worthless coins to the general public.
Contrary to the claim of the suspect that his platform was attacked, EFCC’s investigations revealed that the platform was never attacked or hacked by anyone and that the suspect withdrew investors’ funds and utilized the same for his personal gains.
The EFCC, in the statement, disclosed that Mr Wandji would be charged to court upon conclusion of investigations.
By Dipo Olowookere
Profit-takers pounced on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited on Friday, weakening it by 0.09 per cent at the close of transactions.
Investors toned down on their hunger for Nigerian stocks during the last trading session of the week, with selling pressure mainly on the banking space, which shed 0.78 per cent.
The bourse crumbled despite the other sectors closing green, with the consumer goods up by 0.10 per cent, and the energy index up by 0.02 per cent, while the industrial index closed flat.
Livestock Feeds depreciated by 10.00 per cent to sell for N6.30, Learn Africa declined by 10.00 per cent to N8.10, Living Trust Mortgage Bank also slipped by 10.00 per cent to N4.05, Deap Capital gave up 9.97 per cent to trade at N9.39, and Industrial and Medical Gases lost 9.61 per cent to finish at N31.50.
On the flip side, Zichis appreciated by 9.97 per cent to N4.19, Abbey Mortgage Bank gained 9.94 per cent to quote at N9.40, RT Briscoe jumped by 9.93 per cent to N7.86, Haldane McCall grew by 9.90 per cent to N4.33, and Omatek increased by 9.87 per cent to N3.00.
Business Post reports that the market breadth index was positive despite the poor outcome, recording 33 price gainers and 31 price losers, representing strong investor sentiment.
The All-Share Index was down by 156.91 points during the session to 165,370.40 points from the 165,527.31 points achieved a day earlier, and the market capitalisation depleted by N184 billion to N106.153 trillion from N105.969 trillion.
Trading data showed that 687.4 million equities valued at N15.0 billion exchanged hands in 41,553 deals yesterday compared with the 691.4 million equities worth N15.4 billion traded in 38,665 deals on Thursday, implying a jump in the number of deals by 7.47 per cent, and a slip in the trading volume and value by 2.60 per cent, respectively.
The busiest stock on Friday was Veritas Kapital with 80.5 million units worth N197.0 million, Secure Electronic Technology transacted 79.3 million units valued at N87.5 million, Deap capital transacted 33.3 million units for N340.5 million, Access Holdings sold 31.0 million units valued at N703.0 million, and Zenith Bank exchanged 30.6 million units worth N2.2 billion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange appreciated by 0.20 per cent on Friday, January 30, supported by the gains achieved by two securities on the platform.
During the session, Okitipupa Plc went up by N15.70 to finish at N234.60 per share versus the previous day’s N218.90 per share and Paintcomm Investment Plc expanded by 5 Kobo to close at N11.05 per unit compared with the previous day’s N11.00 per unit.
It was observed that yesterday, there were three price losers led by Geo-Fluids Plc, which dropped 60 Kobo to sell at N5.75 per share versus N6.35 per share, Afriland Properties Plc declined by 35 Kobo to close at N13.65 per unit compared with Thursday’s closing price of N14.00 per unit, and Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc depreciated by 3 Kobo to 66 Kobo per share from 69 Kobo per share.
At the close of business, the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) rose by 7.34 points to 3,630.11 points from 3,622.77 points and the market capitalisation grew by N4.39 billion to N2.171 trillion from N2.167 trillion.
A total of 287,618 units of securities exchanged hands on Friday compared with the previous day’s 1.9 million units of securities, indicating a decline in the volume of trades by 85.6 per cent.
The value of transactions, according to data, was down by 77.2 per cent to N3.1 million from N13.4 million, but the number of deals increased by 31.3 per cent to 21 deals from 16 deals.
Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc remained the most traded stock by value (year-to-date) with 15.4 million units exchanged for N623.0 million, followed by FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc with 1.6 million units traded for N108.5 million, and Geo-Fluids Plc with 9.1 million units valued at N61.1 million.
CSCS Plc also ended the session as the most active stock by volume (year-to-date) with 15.4 million units sold for N623.0 million, followed by Mass Telecom Innovation Plc with 10.1 million units worth N4.1 million, and Geo-Fluids Plc with 9.1 million units valued at N61.1 million.
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