Business

The Dollar to Naira exchange rate in Nigeria's parallel market, commonly known as the black market (Aboki FX), remained steady as trading continued. According to Bureau De Change (BDC) operators in the Lagos parallel market, the US dollar was bought at ₦1,413 and sold at ₦1,425 on Sunday, July 19, 2026. Black Market (Parallel Market) Exchange Rate CurrencyBuying RateSelling RateUS Dollar (USD)₦1,413₦1,425 Meanwhile, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) does not recognise the parallel market and continues to advise individuals and businesses seeking foreign exchange to obtain it through authorised commercial banks and other approved financial institutions. CBN Official Exchange Rate CurrencyLowest RateHighest RateUS Dollar (USD)₦1,378₦1,382 It is important to note that for...

Nigerians may soon face another increase in the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), commonly known as petrol, following a reported hike in the ex-depot price by fuel importers from ₦1,230 to ₦1,350 per litre. Industry sources disclosed that petroleum marketers were informed on Thursday, July 16, of the revised depot price, which is expected to take effect from Friday, July 17. The development is likely to prompt filling stations that rely on imported petroleum products to adjust their retail prices upward. Rising Import Costs Behind Increase According to industry reports, the latest price adjustment is linked to the growing cost of importing refined petroleum products into Nigeria. The increase comes shortly after the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulat...

Nigeria's headline inflation rate eased marginally to 15.91 per cent in June 2026, according to the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) report released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). The latest figure represents a slight decline of 0.02 percentage points from the 15.93 per cent recorded in May 2026. On a year-on-year basis, inflation also dropped significantly compared to the 25.29 per cent recorded in June 2025. The NBS further reported that month-on-month headline inflation slowed to 1.66 per cent in June, down from 1.75 per cent in May, indicating a slower pace of price increases between the two months. According to the report, food and non-alcoholic beverages remained the biggest contributors to headline inflation, accounting for 6.37 percentage points. Restaurants ...

Nigeria lost N34 trillion, which represents 61 percent of the 2025 budget, to import waivers in the year 2025.  The Comptroller-General, Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, says the value of Import Duty Exemption Certificate (IDEC) approvals granted by the federal government for imported goods and equipment rose to N34 trillion in 2025. Adeniyi made the disclosure known in an investigative hearing on the Senate Committee on Finance on Monday, July 13.  Adeniyi said the country’s import duty exemption certificate issuance has depleted the nation’s revenue.  He noted that the federal government’s fiscal measures have both positive and negative impacts on the service’s revenue generation capacity.  According to him, Customs would...

Nigeria’s capital market has received a major boost after S&P Dow Jones Indices (S&P DJI) placed the country on its 2027 Country Classification Watchlist for a possible upgrade from a Standalone Market to a Frontier Market. The move comes as Bloomberg also ranked Nigeria’s stock market as the world’s best-performing equity market in dollar terms this year, ahead of South Korea. According to S&P DJI, Nigeria's inclusion on the watchlist reflects “improvements in the country's regulatory environment, transparency, enforcement and overall market integrity. Although the decision does not amount to an immediate reclassification,” it places Nigeria under formal review for a potential upgrade during the 2027 assessment. S&P DJI stated that sustained policy implementat...

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has reaffirmed that both the standard ₦100 banknote and the commemorative ₦100 note remain valid legal tender and must be accepted for all transactions nationwide. The clarification was issued on Wednesday in a statement signed by the Acting Director of Corporate Communications, Hakama Sidi-Ali, following reports that some individuals and businesses had refused to accept the standard ₦100 note over concerns about its legal status. According to the apex bank, the commemorative ₦100 note introduced to mark Nigeria’s centenary was never intended to replace the existing standard ₦100 banknote, as both versions continue to circulate legally. The CBN warned members of the public, businesses, financial institutions, and other economic operators against r...

The Federal Government has directed the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, FCCPC, to investigate X (formerly Twitter) Meta, other major technology firms and Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) companies over alleged anti-media and anti-competitive practices in Nigeria. According to a statement released by the FCCPC yesterday, the directive followed a joint petition submitted to the Presidency by the Nigerian Press Organisation, NPO, comprising the Newspaper Proprietors’ Association of Nigeria, NPAN; the Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ; the Broadcasting Organisations of Nigeria, BON; and the Guild of Corporate Online Publishers, GOCOP. The government conveyed the directive in a letter signed by the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed I...

PARIS, FRANCE - OCTOBER 28: In this photo illustration, the Facebook logo is displayed on the screen of an iPhone in front of a Meta logo on October 28, 2021 in Paris, France. This October 28, during the Facebook Connect virtual conference, Mark Zuckerberg announced the name change of Facebook, believing that the term Facebook was too closely linked to that of the platform of the same name, launched in 2004. It is now official, the Facebook company changes its name and becomes Meta. (Photo illustration by Chesnot/Getty Images) A Federal High Court in Lagos has set aside the ₦60 billion sanction imposed by the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria against Facebook Nigeria Operations Limited over alleged unapproved advertisements targeted at the Nigerian market. The court ruled tha...

Independent petroleum marketers have pushed for the restoration of importation rights and projected that the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit, popularly called petrol, could fall below N800 per litre as the Federal Government intensified efforts to force down the cost of petrol.The development came as the Federal Government met with major operators in the downstream petroleum sector, including representatives of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery, over what it described as the disconnect between falling global crude oil prices and the relatively high pump prices of petrol in the domestic market.The stakeholders’ meeting on cost-reflective pricing of PMS, held at the headquarters of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority in Abuja, brought together the Federal Com...