Business

Pope Leo XIV has expressed concern that war is once again becoming commonplace, warning that the global order is drifting away from dialogue toward the use of force. Speaking on Friday, January 9, in his New Year address to diplomats at the Vatican, the pontiff criticised the weakening of multilateralism and said diplomacy rooted in dialogue was increasingly being replaced by what he described as “diplomacy based on force.” He pointed to rising tensions in the Caribbean and the Pacific as a source of deep concern, singling out Venezuela following the recent seizure of its president by US forces. His remarks came hours after US President Donald Trump announced plans for land operations against drug cartels after maritime attacks in the eastern Pacific and Caribbean. Pope Leo called...

The Nigerian stock market sustained its upward momentum on Thursday, with investors recording gains of ₦138 billion as bullish sentiment continued. Market capitalisation on the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) rose by 0.13 per cent to close at ₦102.822 trillion, marking the 19th straight session of gains and reflecting strong investor confidence and sustained buying interest in selected equities. Trading data showed that price increases in stocks such as Neimeth International Pharmaceutical, May & Baker, eTranzact International, Multiverse Mining, Mecure and 27 others helped push the market higher. The NGX All-Share Index climbed by 214.80 points, or 0.13 per cent, to settle at 160,806.56, up from 160,591.76 in the previous session. Despite the overall market gain, breadth r...

Data released by the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) shows that Bank Verification Number (BVN) enrolments in Nigeria rose to 67.8 million as of December 2025. The figure represents an increase of 4.3 million from the 63.5 million recorded in 2024, highlighting steady growth in the adoption of biometric identification across the financial sector. A breakdown of NIBSS data over the past five years shows consistent expansion: 51.9 million in 2021, 56 million in 2022, 60.1 million in 2023, 63.5 million in 2024, and 67.8 million in 2025. This reflects a 6.8 per cent year-on-year growth between 2024 and 2025, maintaining the upward trend amid ongoing financial inclusion initiatives. The continued rise in BVN enrolments has been largely attributed to policy measures and enfo...

The naira on Thursday recorded its first depreciation against the United States dollar in the official foreign exchange market in 2026, ending its recent streak of gains. Data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) showed that the local currency weakened to ₦1,419.72 per dollar on Thursday, compared with ₦1,418.26 recorded on Wednesday. This represents a day-on-day drop of ₦1.46, marking the naira’s first decline this year. At the parallel market, the naira also fell by ₦10, trading at ₦1,490 per dollar on Thursday, down from ₦1,480 the previous day. The depreciation occurred despite a steady increase in Nigeria’s foreign reserves, which rose to $45.64 billion as of Wednesday, January 7, 2026. The naira had enjoyed a seven-day run of appreciation at the official foreign exchang...

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) have developed a joint framework to resolve consumer complaints arising from failed airtime and data purchases caused by network outages, system malfunctions, or human errors. The framework is the result of months of consultations involving the NCC, CBN, Mobile Network Operators (MNOs), Value Added Service (VAS) providers, Deposit Money Banks (DMBs), and other key stakeholders. These engagements were triggered by the growing number of complaints from subscribers who were debited for airtime or data without receiving the service, often facing prolonged delays before resolution. Representing a unified stance by both the telecommunications and financial sectors, the framework outlines measures to address ...

With about eleven weeks remaining until the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) recapitalisation deadline, fourteen banks are yet to meet the required capital threshol ecalll that as of January 6, 2025, 19 Nigerian banks had successfully complied with the apex bank’s recapitalisation requirements. Banks that have met the minimum capital benchmark include Access Bank, Fidelity Bank, First Bank, GTBank (GTCO), UBA, Zenith Bank, and 12 others. However, at the time of this report, 14 banks were still non-compliant. These include First City Monument Bank (FCMB), Unity Bank, Keystone Bank, Union Bank (Titan), Taj Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, Parallex Bank, and SunTrust Bank. Others yet to meet the requirement are FBH Merchant Bank, Rand Merchant Bank, Coronation Merchant Bank, Alterna...

Donald Trump has said that Venezuela will only buy US-made products with revenue from its oil sales. On Wednesday, Jan. 7, Trump said Venezuela would only buy US-made products with the profits it makes from any deal with Washington to sell oil. “I have just been informed that Venezuela is going to be purchasing ONLY American Made Products, with the money they receive from our new Oil Deal,” the US President said in a social media post.  Trump said the purchases will include agricultural products, medicine, medical devices and equipment to improve Venezuela's grid and energy facilities. Trump said Tuesday, Jan. 6, that Venezuela would turn over 30 million to 50 million barrels of oil to the U.S. after the US conducted a strike in Venezuela and overthrew President Nicolás Maduro. The ...

US Energy Secretary, Chris Wright has said Washington will control the sale of Venezuelan oil “indefinitely,” following President Donald Trump’s announcement that Venezuela’s interim leadership had agreed to US-managed marketing of between 30 and 50 million barrels of crude. Entertainment center Speaking on Wednesday, January 7 at a Goldman Sachs energy event in Miami, Wright said the United States would oversee the sale of Venezuela’s crude oil, starting with stored supplies and continuing into the future. “We’re going to market the crude coming out of Venezuela, first this backed-up stored oil, and then indefinitely, going forward, we will sell the production that comes out of Venezuela into the marketplace,” he said. His comments came days after the US-led removal of Ven...

Nigeria’s 36 states are projected to receive about N5.07 trillion in Value Added Tax (VAT) revenue in 2026 following the implementation of a new VAT sharing formula under the National Tax Acts. Findings from the 2026–2028 Medium-Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper approved by the Federal Executive Council show that, from January 2026, the Federal Government’s VAT share will drop from 15% to 10%, while states’ allocation will rise from 50% to 55%. Local governments will retain their 35% share. Under the new structure, the Federal Government is expected to earn N922.5 billion in VAT revenue in 2026, down from N1.04 trillion in 2025, despite an increase in the overall VAT pool to N9.23 trillion. States, meanwhile, will see their collective share jump from N3.47 trillion...

The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has revealed that 5.36 million electricity customers nationwide are still without meters, leaving them at the mercy of unpredictable estimated billing by distribution companies (DisCos). According to NERC’s third-quarter 2025 industry report, published on its website, as of 30 September 2025, only 6.662 million of the 12.03 million active registered electricity customers across the 12 DisCos were metered, representing 55.37% coverage. During the quarter, a total of 228,614 end-user customers were newly metered, with Ibadan, Aba, and Abuja DisCos recording the highest number of installations, accounting for 23.38%, 20.81%, and 19.06%, respectively. Compared to the 226,959 customers metered in Q2 2025, there was a slight increase of 0....