General
Nigeria Ignores Calls for Border Closure Despite COVID-19 Threat
By Adedapo Adesanya
With almost 8,000 people dead globally as result of the coronavirus pandemic, governments all over the world have put in place restrictions on travel, many airports have been closed, as airlines have even started reducing travels.
But in Nigeria, travel restrictions have not been put in place despite calls to the federal government to quickly place a ban on human inflows from high-risk countries, especially in Europe.
On Tuesday, Nigeria confirmed its third case of COVID-19 and the person is a 30-year old Nigerian who returned to the country from the United Kingdom few days ago.
The third case intensified calls for closure of the borders in order to stop the spread of the deadly disease in the country.
Instead, the FG only placed a ban on foreign travels to all public and civil servants in Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) and other government parastatals.
The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr Boss Mustapha, at the inaugural meeting of the Presidential Task Force on the Control of the COVID-19 outbreak in Nigeria yesterday, said the decision was taken curtail further spread of the virus.
He asked civil servants to shelve all seminars, meetings, bilateral, multilateral, conferences and workshops slated for foreign countries.
According to him, the ban remains in place until the situation on the containment of the virus abates.
However, nothing was said about people coming into the country, with the Minister of Health, Mr Osagie Ehanire, noting that with only three cases with zero fatality, the need to put flight ban was under consideration.
The Health Ministry said there would be a mandatory 14-day self-quarantine for anyone entering the country from China, Italy, France, Germany, Japan among others and noted that if there was a possible victim, the government was going to step in.
Other nations are placing restriction on countries with high cases, with Nigeria’s West African neighbour, Ghana barring entry for all travellers, except Ghanaian citizens and permanent residents, who have visited a country with at least 200 recorded cases of COVID-19 in the last 14 days, effective on March 17.
Others like Kenya, Morocco, Namibia, South Africa, and Chad (which has recorded no case) have all shut their airports to countries tagged as high risks.
Many health stakeholders have since called for the closure of the country’s national borders. According to president of the National Medical Association (NMA), Mr Francis Faduyile, it was high time the country took the decision to close its airport to countries with high cases of coronavirus.
On the part of the president, Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN), Mr Sam Ohuabunwa, he said “When people come from countries with high prevalence of coronavirus, they should do compulsory quarantine. Suppose the people you ask to do self-quarantine refuse and go about their businesses, what would happen? They would spread the virus.”
“I personally do not subscribe to closing borders. If everyone closes his borders, what do you think will happen to the world? There are still necessary travels that need to be done. But if you travel, ensure you self-quarantine,” he added.
The legislative arm, the House of Representatives and the Senate, also asked the federal government to toe the line of several other countries that have shut down their borders, schools, markets and banned public gatherings.
Before the third case was announced yesterday, the federal government had said it was not considering a travel ban on countries with active spread of the virus. But the Senate in addition to the ban and other prevention and control practices said that Nigeria should as well restrict travels to worst-hit countries to curb the spread of the virus.
UPDATE:
Nigeria has now placed a ban on 13 countries believed to be high risks.
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.”
