General
Unemployment: Atiku Suggests Payment of N5000 Stipend
By Dipo Olowookere
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has advised the federal government led by President Muhammadu Buhari to consider paying a N5000 stipend to every family in Nigeria.
However, he emphasised that the beneficiary family must be the one with at least one school-age child and earning less than $800 (N328,000 at I&E rate of N410/$1) per annum.
In a statement issued by the media team of Mr Atiku over the weekend, it was suggested that the N5,000 stipend should be paid by the government to the families “via their BVN and NIN on the condition that they verifiably keep their children in school.”
The former Vice President noted that if this is done, as he earlier advised last year, the country would be solving the twin issue of youth unemployment and a high rate of out of school children, which currently stands at 13.5 million.
“If we do not do this, then the floodgates of unemployment will be further opened next year, and in the years to come,” he warned.
Mr Atiku further stressed that the unemployment rate, which the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) recently put at 33 per cent, is the root cause of the “unprecedented insecurity Nigeria is facing.”
“Idleness is the worst feature of unemployment because it channels the energy of our youth away from production, and towards destruction, and that is why Nigeria is now the third most terrorized nation on earth,” he noted.
But he said “the fastest way to bring down a world record unemployment rate is via incentivised education. An educated citizenry is more employable and more self-employable.”
“Increased education has been scientifically linked with lower rates of crime and insecurity, along with lower infant and maternal mortality, and a higher lifetime income.
“We must then incorporate those youth who are above school age into a massive public works programme.
“There was talk of 774,000 Special Public Works jobs for the youth, which was to have started in January of 2021. This is a commendable step, but it must be done with proper agenda, rather than propaganda,” he submitted.
Policy already exists
Business Post recalled that in the build-up to the 2015 general elections in Nigeria, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), then an opposition party, promised to pay N5,000 monthly to poor Nigerians. This was hailed by many and caused the party to be massively voted for by the electorates.
A year after it gained power, the administration of Mr Buhari announced that N65 billion has been approved for the payment of N5,000 monthly stipend to Nigerians under the Conditional Cash Transfer scheme of the National Social Investment Programme of the government.
The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, who was then the Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, had said after a Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting that the N65 billion was part of the N150 billion approved by the steering committee of the programme.
“Focus has been given to the extremely poor and vulnerable in our society and special emphasis is being placed to providing as many as possible in the North-Eastern part of the country where a lot of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs),” she had informed reporters then.
Refinery rehabilitation
While commenting on the proposed plans by the central government to rehabilitate the Port Harcourt refinery with $1.5 billion, the candidate of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2019 presidential election described it as unnecessary and “ill-advised” because the facility has “failed to turn a profit for years” despite the huge funds sunk into it for turnaround maintenance.
He maintained that, “As a nation, we are better off privatising our refineries and the NNPC (Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation) through the time-tested LNG model in which the FG owns 49 per cent equity and the private sector 51 per cent.”
“Recall that in 20 years ending 2020, the NLNG had delivered $18.3 billion dividends to government irrespective of taxes and other benefit accruals to the country.
“This will not only free the government of needless spending but also clean up the infrastructure mess in the petroleum downstream sector,” he said.
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.”
