General
88% of Lagos Tenants Want Monthly Rental Payment—Commissioner
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The decision of the Lagos State government to implement a monthly rental payment scheme from next year has continued to generate mixed reactions.
While some have commended the government for the policy, others have knocked the administration of Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, predicting that it will not succeed.
But the state government disagrees with this, noting that it is a policy many tenants in the city want, according to the Commissioner for Finance, Mr Rabiu Olowo.
The Commissioner stated that the initiative was part of the resilience policy of the current administration, noting that the state government did a rental survey and found out that 88 per cent of tenants would rather pay their rent monthly.
“We had to pursue this by working with different relevant stakeholders and we now have a model that will work and enable Lagosians to pay their rent monthly.
“Landlords have nothing to lose because they will continue to receive their rent yearly and their default risk is zero,” Mr Olowo was quoted as saying in a statement posted on the official Facebook page of the Lagos State government.
He said the scheme will commence with the formal sector to enable them to minimise risk, saying, “We as a Ministry are already looking into the informal sector to bring them into this programme but we need to first begin with the formal sector to enable us to minimise the risk level.”
“It is easier for us to verify how much those in the formal sector earn and for us to know what we will get and how we will get it. When we succeed in this, we will roll out to the informal sector. There is an insurance pack that helps us manage all of the risks. We have a data plan that will help us fish out defaulters,” the Commissioner stated
He averred that the government is working with stakeholders, especially financial institutions, noting that the platform for the scheme is a social investment for the benefit of Lagos citizens and residents and not a money-making venture.
Also speaking on the matter, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Housing, Mrs Toke Benson-Awoyinka, stated that all modalities for the commencement of the monthly rent payment system will commence soon.
She said at the just-concluded Second Lagos Real Estate Market Place Conference and Exhibitions that the new initiative will greatly ease the burden of yearly payment on residents, assuring that landlords will, however, get their annual payment of house rent upfront, while tenants will no longer have the burden of yearly payment of a huge amount of money.
“Tenants can therefore use the yearly payment for other forms of investments or for payment of school fees as the burden of payment of yearly rent is taken away from them completely. So it is a win-win social investment scheme, it is a good one and it is applaudable,” she said.
The Special Adviser explained that for tenants interested in the scheme, they must be able to meet some requirements which include the capacity to make the payments on a monthly basis, stressing that the scheme will begin with those in the formal sector with monthly income after which the informal sector will be brought on board.
“We thank the Lagos State Governor and the entire cabinet for this wonderful initiative and I pray the scheme will not only be successful but will become a reference point in Lagos,” she said.
The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Nobleserve Capital Management, Mr Korede Adeyemi, described the initiative as a market platform that speaks to social impact.
“With what we are doing, every landlord will get their rent annually and tenants at the same will have the capacity to pay their rent on a monthly basis. This platform will be demand-driven because of the convenience of payment. People will be able to log into the platform to search for houses,” he said.
According to him, the initiative is a robust system that takes care of everyone and is designed to sanitise the pricing of Lagos houses in terms of tenancy rate, noting that similar property in the same area within Lagos State can either go for the same price or lower.
Managing Partner of Charles Anthony LLP, Mr Charles Adeosun-Phillips, said it is a social welfare programme and it is a win-win for the landlords, government, financial institutions and all stakeholders concerned.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has explained why it initiated a move to freeze the bank account of the Osun State government.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Governor of Osun State, Mr Ademola Adeleke, claimed that the anti-money laundering agency asked one of its bankers, First Bank, not to release funds to the state government.
According to the Governor, this was part of the strategies to frustrate his administration ahead of the August 15, 2026, governorship election in the state.
Reacting to the issue on Wednesday night, the EFCC, in a statement, said it has been investigating the state government since March 2026 over an alleged “fraudulent handling of Ecology Funds, Intervention Funds and Federal Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) account to the tune of N11.0 billion.
The organisation noted that some officials of the state government, especially the Accountant General of the State, have had interview sessions with investigators of the EFCC.
“These ongoing investigations of the state government would not have warranted any placement of Post No Debit order on its account but for the precipitate and unwarranted movement of funds from the accounts to different suspicious accounts since August 2, 2026.
“The commission noticed huge transfers of funds into different corporate entities and had to swiftly halt the trend by freezing the accounts from which such heavy funds are being moved,” parts of the statement said.
In the disclosure, the agency noted that its preventive mandate is a public-inclined framework of safeguarding public funds, assets and resources, stressing that it cannot “watch idly while a state government’s account is being pillaged.”
“While the commission is fully aware of the impending governorship election in Osun State, it has a responsibility to act in defence of the sanctity of the funds of the state. It will be uncharitable for the commission to allow an excuse of an upcoming election to fold its arms to perform its legally-assigned functions,” it pointed out.
The EFCC disclosed that it is “keeping watch over the finances of other states like Osun State. Many of these states are on the investigative radar of the commission to ensure accountability and probity. The commission has always pointed out that it is non-partisan and non-sectarian but always working in the overall interests of Nigerians. The Osun State government account was frozen to save public funds from being looted.”
The organisation urged the public “to ignore false narratives and deliberate demonisation of the works of the EFCC. The interests of all Nigerians are greater and will always be protected by the commission.”
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has launched a mobile application designed to monitor fuel consumption patterns in real time across retail outlets nationwide.
The NMDPRA, established under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021, is responsible for the technical and commercial regulation of Nigeria’s midstream and downstream petroleum operations. The deployment of the mobile application aligns with the authority’s broader efforts to leverage technology to improve regulatory compliance and strengthen accountability.
The pilot phase of the project began on August 1 in Abuja and its six Area Councils, the authority said in a statement published on X.
As part of the rollout, the Executive Director for Distribution Systems, Storage and Retailing Infrastructure (DSSRI), Mr Ogbugo Ukoha, led a team alongside officials from the Abuja Regional Office to assess the readiness and operational performance of the digital platform at participating retail outlets.
According to the NMDPRA, the application captures inventory and compliance data in real time, enabling regulators to monitor fuel distribution more effectively while improving operational efficiency across the sector.
The authority said the platform would generate reliable, data-driven insights to support evidence-based decision-making, strengthen national energy security planning and enhance transparency in the downstream petroleum industry.
It added that the initiative is expected to provide significant value to government, investors, operators and other stakeholders by improving access to accurate fuel consumption and compliance data.
Nigeria’s downstream petroleum sector has undergone significant changes since the deregulation of the petrol market and the removal of fuel subsidies, with regulators placing greater emphasis on data-driven supervision to ensure product availability, prevent supply disruptions and discourage sharp regional disparities in distribution.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
No doubt, moving money among African markets remains a slow, fragmented process that relies on multiple intermediaries and prolonged settlement cycles.
To solve this issue and drive the development of stablecoin-enabled payment services for businesses across the continent, Onafriq has joined forces with a leading stablecoin infrastructure provider, Privy.
The collaboration will enable Onafriq to create and manage embedded digital asset solutions for its partners and, in time, institutional clients where regulation allows. The initial phase focuses on cross-chain stablecoin transfers and treasury and settlement workflows, creating the foundation for future cross-border payment and liquidity solutions.
Integrating Privy’s secure infrastructure enables Onafriq to build the capabilities required to support a new generation of efficient digital payment services for banks, fintechs, and mobile money operators.
This partnership is a key component of Onafriq’s broader strategy to modernise pan-African payment infrastructure, enabling secure multi-modal wallets and more efficient movement of value across the continent.
The outcome will support a range of future institutional use cases, including stablecoin-enabled settlement, treasury management and liquidity services, as it reflects Onafriq’s commitment to driving Africa’s digital transformation agenda by investing in technologies that make financial services more efficient, connected and accessible.
It was gathered that Onafriq selected Privy for its enterprise-grade infrastructure to enable the seamless integration of digital asset wallet capabilities into its products, subject to regulatory approval, and deliver a simple user experience while abstracting the complexity of blockchain technology.
“At Onafriq, we keep investing in technology that makes payments faster and more accessible. Privy gives us a building block for faster settlement and better liquidity management. As demand for digital asset services grows, our goal is to ensure Africa’s payment ecosystem benefits securely and in line with regulatory frameworks,” the Group Chief Product and Innovation Officer at Onafriq,” Mr Luke Kyohere, said.
The chief executive of Privy, Mr Henri Stern, said, “Stablecoins will play an increasingly important role in the future of global payments, but real-world adoption depends on infrastructure that is secure, scalable and simple to implement. Working with Onafriq allows us to help build that foundation across Africa and beyond.”
