General
Interswitch Boss Links Corruption With Poverty
Founder of Interswitch Group, Mr Mitchell Elegbe, has emphaised the importance of trust in becoming successful in life, saying being trusted goes hand-in-hand with trustworthiness, adding that trustworthiness was a culmination of ability, integrity and benevolence.
Speaking at the second InterswitchSPAK Masterclass held in Lagos recently, the entrepreneur also said the best way to fight corruption was to have the mindset of equity, stressing that corruption and poverty go hand-in-hand.
He explained the relationship between equality and equity, noting that not all have equal strengths, opportunities and privileges. However, he said with a sense of equity, the more privileged would share with the less privileged.
“While it is wrong for the less privileged to demand equity as a right – as that is extortion – it is important that the privileged have a mindset of equity, that allows them to share from their abundance. It is with this mindset of equity that prosperous communities are built and the fight against corruption is won,” Mr Elegbe said.
The Masterclass is part of the InterswitchSPAK Switch-a-Future- project, a CSR initiative of the company focused on driving increased interest in the study of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects among Senior Secondary School students across Africa.
Participants at the Masterclass were made up of the top 81 students out of the over 13,322 students from various private and public secondary schools across the 36 states of the federation, including the FCT, who wrote the National Qualifying Examinations in April.
Other speakers at the Masterclass were Dr. Ola Orekunrin-Brown, MD / Founder, Flying Doctors Nigeria, who spoke on the topic: ‘Entrepreneurship – Creating Sustainable Impact by Solving Social Problems’. Dr. Brown shared the story of how she started Flying Doctors and the challenges she surmounted. She reiterated the need for basic financial literacy for budding entrepreneurs.
Dr. Jumoke Oduwole, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Industry, Trade, and Investment who was represented by Ayokunnu Ojeniyi, Project Manager, Enabling Business Environment Secretariat, Office of the Vice-President, spoke on the topic: ‘Collaborative Approach to Social Innovation’ and why it was important to think creatively and critically in addressing social problems.
In her welcome address, Enyioma Anaba, Group Head, Corporate Segment, Corporate Marketing, at Interswitch, said that the Masterclass was an integral part of the InterswitchSPAK project because the sessions were designed to inspire the young people to contribute to solving Africa’s many problems.
She said: “We brought together these 81 brilliant young minds to draw from the experiences and insights of accomplished thought leaders, thinkers and professionals who are leading lights in their respective spheres of influence and who are practical advocates of innovation, as a platform for social and economic development. We hope that the interactions during the sessions will provide them with the right mental and emotional foundations upon which to build their character for the long haul.”
The Masterclass was a full-day of knowledge sharing and engagement session and had these inspiring and successful men and women in our society sharing their experiences across school, work and family life.
The participants included the 81 finalists aged between 14 and 17 years, students from Slum2School Innovation lab, staff of Interswitch and the media.
Cherry Eromosele, Group Chief Marketing and Communications Officer at Interswitch, disclosed that as a progressive organisation, Interswitch has the interest of the young African talents at heart.
She said: “For Africa’s youth to succeed in today’s knowledge-based economy, they need to acquire the right skill sets; their minds need to be re-engineered and reconciled with STEM education as well as introduced to other softer skills which are not readily taught in the classrooms. At Interswitch, we are creating a platform that allows them to not only compete within a job market that is globalized, but to become catalysts for the creation of job markets in themselves”.
In furtherance of the commitment to the pan-African spread of the initiative, the InterswitchSPAK Switch-a-Future project was launched in Kenya and the inaugural Masterclass for the finalists held in Nairobi on August 2, 2019.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
President Bola Tinubu on Thursday directed the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to vacate the court ordering the freezing of the bank account of the Osun Srate government.
In a statement today by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Mr Bayo Onanuga, the President said he’s “deeply embarrassed not by the EFCC’s exercise of its mandate backed by a court order” because of its timing, which is just a few days to the governorship election in the state next Saturday.
According to him, actions of an institution of State, especially at the Federal level, is always credited to me, as the President, even when I may not have had any prior knowledge of the action.
“Since assuming office, I have consistently maintained that anti-corruption and law enforcement agencies must be allowed to discharge their statutory responsibilities independently, professionally, without fear or favour, or political interference. I have therefore deliberately refrained from directing or interfering in the operational activities of the EFCC or any other investigative or prosecutorial agency because I firmly believe that strong democratic institutions, operating within the confines of the law, are indispensable to democratic good governance and the rule of law.
“As President, I am committed to allowing institutions of State to function and take any action they consider necessary in the interest of proper governance without the need for any prior approval. Indeed, that is why institutions are set up by law with clearly defined powers. While I am yet to be fully apprised of the facts which informed the action of EFCC in approaching the court to obtain the said order freezing the Osun State Government account, I am not in the slightest doubt that the timing of the action of EFCC is inauspicious, and therefore I feel compelled to intervene.
“Osun State is only a few days away from its gubernatorial election. Therefore, nothing ought to be done to give an impression that the EFCC or indeed any other agency of the federal government is being used to interfere with the election.
“Based on the foregoing premise, I am duty-bound to issue a directive on this issue in consonance with the overriding public interest in preserving public confidence and the integrity, credibility, and fairness of our democratic process.
“Accordingly, I have directed the EFCC to immediately proceed to the court to vacate the order and discontinue whatever action it has instituted against the Osun State Government in this regard,” the statement stated.
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.
