General
Rivers to Access CBN N15bn Infrastructure Support Fund
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Rivers State Executive Council has authorised the state government to access the N15 billion Infrastructure Support Fund of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for the completion of three critical projects.
This was disclosed by Mr Isaac Kamalu, the state Commissioner for Finance, to newsmen after the meeting in Port Harcourt, the state capital.
He said that the three major projects are the Oyigbo-Okoloma Road; Chokocho-Igbodo Road and construction of the 10th flyover by the administration at Rumuokwurushi-Elimgbu.
The Commissioner said that accessing the fund could fast track the completion of these projects, considering the benefit of the facility, at a very low-interest rate of 5 per cent repayable within 20 years, with three years moratorium.
“In her deliberations at the Executive Council meeting today, Council approved that the Rivers state government should access the Central Bank of Nigeria Infrastructure Support Facility to the tune of N15 billion.
“You will recall that prior to now, the Rivers state government had accessed funds for these projects.
“However, these funds, even if put together, will not be able to accomplish these three critical projects mentioned,” he said.
Mr Kamalu expressed optimism that the N15 billion facility would be a very good support to ensure that these projects were delivered on time and served the interest of the state.
The council also took the decision to recover dilapidated government quarters from civil servants and illegal occupants, within the old and new Government Residential Area (GRA), Port Harcourt, and reallocate them to competent private individuals.
On his part, Mr Paulinus Nsirim, the state Commissioner for Information and Communications, further explained that the Council took this decision because some of the properties were fraudulently acquired by retired civil servants, through dubious processes of allocation and sale.
According to Mr Nsirim, some of the properties had deteriorated due to the abject neglect and lack of maintenance by the occupants.
“The properties were totally in uninhabitable condition and were converted into commercial and business uses; in some cases, they were sublet to private tenants or were used as poultries, fish ponds, barbing saloons, and other unauthorized uses.
“The Task Force set up by the Rivers state government to look into this matter found that some of these properties were illegally occupied by non-civil servants, some of whom were even non-indigenes.
“This has, therefore, necessitated the recovery of these properties as part of government’s urban renewal programme, with the civil servant – occupants being reallocated to alternative private properties, through financial support provided by the state government,” he said.
He said the recovery of the properties and their subsequent reallocation would form part of the first phase of the ongoing urban renewal programme of the state government within the old and New GRA, Port Harcourt.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Purple Group has confirmed it is in discussions with investors over potential acquisition and strategic investment opportunities involving the Maryland Mall in Lagos, which has been put for sale, as the company intensifies efforts to restructure obligations tied to the asset.
Business Post gathered that the group has debt obligations to Vantage Mezzanine Fund II, which typically sits between senior debt and equity.
In a statement, Purple said it had received recent enquiries and expressions of interest regarding possible investments in the mall following reports published last week.
The real estate and lifestyle company stated that it remains supportive of “any value-enhancing transaction undertaken at an appropriate valuation” and is working with Vantage Mezzanine Fund II, property advisory firm Broll, and investment house Renaissance Capital Africa to achieve what it described as a mutually beneficial outcome for stakeholders.
It disclosed that it had presented a “structured repayment and settlement plan” to Vantage as part of ongoing engagements linked to the asset. According to the company, the proposed plan contemplates the potential sale of all or part of the Maryland Mall asset.
The statement further revealed that discussions are ongoing with credible investors and prospective purchasers interested in acquiring a 100 per cent stake in the mall, taking a partial interest in the property, or participating in a broader strategic investment tied to Purple’s future listing ambitions.
The firm stressed that any transaction would be expected to align with the most recent valuation of the asset or any revised valuation subsequently agreed upon by the parties involved.
It also called for a coordinated and transparent process involving all stakeholders, including Broll and Rencap, saying this would help preserve stakeholder value and ensure efficient execution of any transaction.
Maryland Mall, located along Ikorodu Road in Lagos, is regarded as one of the prominent retail and mixed-use developments on the mainland. However, since its launch in 2016, the facility has faced several operational challenges. In October 2023, Mr Richard Ayodele Akintunde was named the Receiver Manager, and years later, the management agreement between Purple Group and the receiver manager was terminated, and Broll was appointed the new Facility Manager.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
A new partner hub designed to help organisations overcome operational friction has been launched by Sumsub, a leading full-cycle verification platform that enables scalable compliance.
This new addition comes as businesses across Africa and other emerging markets continue scaling rapidly, driving greater demand for compliance, verification, and fraud prevention infrastructure as fintech and digital finance ecosystems continue evolving across the continent.
The new portal unites all the required sales, marketing, deal management and compliance education resources.
A statement from the firm said the Sumsub Partner Hub was designed to address the most common challenges in partnerships, namely, scattered resources, slow alignment, and limited partner visibility. It replaces fragmented workflows with a structured, scalable system built for growth.
By centralising resources, enablement, and deal processes, the Hub helps partners operate faster in client engagements and move towards their business goals with greater confidence, transparency and consistency.
“Our collaboration with Sumsub was noticeably enhanced with the launch of the Partner Hub”, confirms Walid Bou Abssi, Country Manager for Nigeria and Ghana at SHELT Global Ltd. “We appreciate having direct access to all the consolidated resources and training materials within the platform, which boosted deal management and operational efficiency of our partnership”.
“Most partnerships don’t fail because of strategy. They fail because of unnecessary friction”, says Tom Schoon, Head of Strategic Partnerships for Africa at Sumsub. “That’s why we built the Sumsub Partner Hub: to help our allies across tech, compliance, financial services and other sectors move quickly across the partnership lifecycle, from onboarding and certification to deal activation and co-marketing. Ultimately, our shared goal is to capture new opportunities faster and reinforce each other’s business growth strategies from day one”.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Two suspects are currently being investigated for not declaring $461,600 in their possession to the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport.
Two male passengers, identified as Mr Jamilu Shuaibu Waya and Mr Usman Namadi, were arrested on Friday, May 8, 2026, at the airport with an undeclared sum of money. They arrived in the country from Dubai via Ethiopian Airlines ET941.
While they initially declared $130,000 and $180,000, respectively, at the currency declaration desk, a subsequent physical examination by customs officials revealed an additional undeclared $120,000 on the first suspect (bringing his total to $250,000) and an additional $31,600 on the second suspect (bringing his total to $211,600). The undeclared amounts contravene Sections 3 and 4 of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act 2022.
In a statement on Monday, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) said its Kano Zonal Directorate was looking into the matter after the suspects were handed over to the agency by the acting Customs Area Controller for Kano/Jigawa Area Command, Deputy Comptroller UU Adamu.
The Zonal Director of the EFCC, ACE1 Friday S. Ebelo, assured customs of his organisation’s commitment to a full-scale investigation.
“The EFCC will conduct a thorough and uncompromising investigation into this matter. We will prosecute the case with the utmost diligence to ensure that violators of our anti-money laundering laws face the full weight of justice,” he said.
He further expressed deep appreciation to the NCS for the long-standing and consistent cooperation of the service with the EFCC over the years, noting that such inter-agency collaboration remains critical in combating the illegal movement of cash and financial crimes.
Earlier in his remarks, Mr Adamu expressed his deep appreciation to the EFCC for its unwavering support to customs.
“Let me express appreciation for the continuous collaboration with the EFCC Kano Zonal Directorate for their support in realising our goal while combating the illegal movement of cash,” he said.
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