Category: The Nation – Nigeria

Former D’Tigers forward and 2006 NBA Draft pick Ejike Ugboaja has issued a stern warning ahead of the upcoming Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF) presidential election, declaring that the sport must not be sacrificed for personal ambition or prolonged stays in office.

Addressing journalists in Abuja, Ugboaja called for an open, transparent, and level playing field, cautioning against any attempt by incumbent officials to hold onto power at the expense of the sport’s development.

Ugboaja, who serves as President of the Ejike Ugboaja Foundation, emphasized that Nigerian basketball requires a complete structural overhaul rather than political self-perpetuation. He stated that the game belongs to all Nigerians and cannot be treated as the personal property of a few individuals, warning that stakeholders cannot afford another flawed election that pushes the sport further into the doldrums.

‘We cannot afford to make another mistake that will further push our basketball into the doldrums. This is the time for every stakeholder to rise and ensure that the right thing is done in the period leading to the election,’ Ugboaja said.

The former Cleveland Cavaliers draftee declared that his presidential bid stems from a drive to rebuild the local talent pipeline. He highlighted his historic 2006 selection as the 55th overall pick directly from Lagos-based Union Bank Basketball Club, noting that no player from the Nigerian Premier Basketball League has managed to replicate that direct jump to the NBA in the two decades since.

‘I am the only player from the Nigerian Premier Basketball League to have been drafted directly from the league into the NBA in 2006. Since then, no player has made that same journey,’ he said. ‘That should tell us that something is fundamentally wrong and that there is an urgent need to restructure our basketball system.

‘That is why I have decided to come out and contest for the position of NBBF President. I have the will, the determination and, above all, the passion for this game.

‘I have passed through the system, I understand where the problems are, and I believe I understand what needs to be done to fix them.

‘This is the right time for me to step forward and play my part in turning Nigerian basketball around.’

According to Ugboaja, this prolonged drought proves the domestic system is fundamentally broken and urgently requires experienced leadership to fix.

Praising President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for his administration’s investment in sports, Ugboaja urged the National Sports Commission (NSC) to safeguard the credibility of the upcoming ballot.

He specifically appealed to NSC Chairman Mallam Shehu Dikko and Director-General Bukola Olopade to ensure the electoral process reflects openness and fairness, while raising concerns over the lack of an officially announced election venue.

Ugboaja also cited troubling developments involving the leadership of state basketball associations, alleging deliberate attempts to illegally remove chairmen in Lagos and Oyo states to influence the national vote.

‘Nigerian basketball belongs to all of us. It cannot be the personal property of a few individuals,’ he said. ‘The game deserves transparency, accountability and a leadership that understands what is at stake.

‘We have talented players, passionate coaches, dedicated administrators and millions of Nigerians who love basketball. What we need now is a system that gives those talents a genuine opportunity to thrive.

‘This election must be about the future of Nigerian basketball – not about protecting individual interests.’

He vowed to vehemently oppose any form of candidate imposition and called on players, coaches, and administrators to unite behind a transparent election focused entirely on the future of Nigerian basketball.

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) on Friday arraigned a luxury goods dealer and lifestyle influencer, Afolabi Kazeem Michael, popularly known as KC Luxury, and two other suspects before the Federal High Court in Lagos over an alleged attempt to export 184.5 kilograms of cocaine to the United Kingdom.

The defendants, Boniface Freeman Ochoche Sule and Ikechukwu Ekugo Patriarch, were arraigned alongside Afolabi before Justice Ayokunle Olayinka Faji on a 22-count charge relating to cocaine trafficking, illegal export of narcotics and money laundering.

According to a statement by the NDLEA Director, Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, the defendants allegedly conspired between July 28 and August 1, 2026, to export the cocaine, concealed in five consignments, through a Lagos-based courier logistics firm to London.

They pleaded not guilty to all counts when the charges were read to them.

The charge sheet, marked FHC/LAG/CR/755/2026, alleged in count one that the three defendants conspired with Atandare Oladipupo Oluwarotimi and Latifat Yusuf, who have been arrested in London in connection with the case, to export the 184.5 kg of cocaine in five consignments.

The consignments were said to have been shipped under the name Yemi Ejide and carried Air Waybill Numbers 2079998314, 8224082370, 2079973571, 7181131742 and 2211893902.

The NDLEA alleged that Boniface procured Ikechukwu to facilitate the export, while Afolabi allegedly procured a staff member of BOT Express Logistics on Lagos Island to process the consignments.

Afolabi was also accused of unlawfully possessing the cocaine in preparation for its export.

The charge sheet further alleged that Afolabi paid N13.2 million from a Mallamawa Ventures Zenith Bank account to BOT Express Logistics as consideration for the shipment.

Sixteen other counts relate to alleged money laundering by Afolabi, who was accused of moving several billions of naira through various companies and personal accounts.

The charge lists the following companies and accounts: Mallamawa Ventures, Fateey Man Multi-Purpose Nig. Ltd, Patonifa Ltd, Ade-Lak Resources, Holmestas Global Services Limited and La Capital Enterprises.

The NDLEA alleged that the funds were used, among other things, to acquire motor vehicles and landed properties in an attempt to conceal the alleged proceeds of the illicit trade.

He was also accused of failing to declare his assets to the agency as required by law.

During Friday’s proceedings, NDLEA prosecutor Abu Ibrahim opposed the defendants’ bail applications and urged the court to remand them in custody pending trial, citing the gravity of the alleged offences.

Justice Faji subsequently ordered the defendants remanded in the NDLEA’s facility and adjourned the matter until October 4, 2026, for a ruling on the bail application.

NDLEA operatives arrested Afolabi, also known as KayCee Luxury, KayCee Lux, KC, Mr Luxury, and Yemi Ejide, on the night of August 13, 2026, as he allegedly attempted to leave Nigeria on a business-class flight to Paris from Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.

His arrest followed the interception of the 184.5 kg cocaine consignment, which the agency estimated to be worth about N39 billion.

A subsequent search of Afolabi and his Banana Island apartment led to the recovery of exotic vehicles, foreign currencies and jewellery, which the agency said were believed to be proceeds of the illicit trade.

The first count of the charge accused the defendants of conspiring with the two suspects arrested in London to export the cocaine, contrary to Section 14(b) of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency Act, Cap. N30, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.

The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator George Akume, has charged chief executives of federal parastatals to take the achievements of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration to the grassroots and counter what he described as disinformation surrounding the government’s economic reforms.

Akume said Nigerians must be adequately informed about the objectives and impact of the administration’s policies, insisting that the reforms were not designed to ‘imprison or impoverish Nigerians’.

The SGF spoke on Friday in Abuja while receiving a delegation of the Forum of CEOs of Federal Parastatals, led by its Convener and Chairman, Dr Kazeem Kolawale Raji, who is also the Chief Executive Officer of the National Board for Technology Incubation (NBTI).

Akume, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary, Political and Economic Affairs Office, Bekearedebo Augusta Warrens, urged heads of government agencies to use their nationwide structures and networks to improve public understanding of the administration’s programmes and achievements.

In a statement issued by Head of Information and Public Relations Department of the OSGF, Chris Ugwuegbulam, Akume said ‘in your various domains where your power is operative, ensure that people become aware of these achievements. Push this message down to the grassroots, because one thing I’ve observed in the policy right now is a lot of disinformation.

‘This reform policy is not meant to imprison or impoverish Nigerians, and that is the narrative that has been spread down to the grassroots. Push this message to help promote the image of this administration’, the SGF said.

Akume commended the forum for promoting the Renewed Hope Agenda within its members’ respective agencies and assured the chief executives of the institutional support of the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF) in pursuing their objectives.

He also thanked the forum for conferring on him the position of Grand Patron, saying its organisational structure and projections made its proposed target of mobilising 10 million votes for President Tinubu achievable.

The SGF urged the forum to sustain its momentum and establish a structured framework for continuous engagement with the OSGF, stressing that effective communication would enable the government to track its objectives and strategic initiatives.

Earlier, Raji said the forum was prepared to mobilise 10 million votes for President Tinubu’s re-election in the 2027 general election through what he described as lawful, ethical, peaceful and issue-based grassroots engagement.

He said the forum intended to leverage the extensive professional and community networks of federal agencies across the country to pursue the target.

Raji said one of the forum’s major objectives was to bridge the communication gap between government policies and Nigerians, adding that the achievements, reforms and measurable outcomes of the Tinubu administration must be properly documented and communicated with fidelity to facts.

He said the forum conferred the position of Grand Patron on Akume in recognition of his leadership, institutional stewardship and role in coordinating the machinery of the Federal Government.

Also speaking, the Permanent Secretary, Cabinet Affairs Office, Dr Chidiebere John Ezeamama, urged the forum to establish a work-related communication network with the OSGF to ensure that achievements of federal parastatals were transmitted to the office in real time for proper documentation.

Ezeamama also proposed the creation of a centralised digital platform to facilitate real-time information sharing, coordinate participation among federal agencies and track developmental milestones.

The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has set September 24, 2028 target for Nigeria’s domestic gas market to transition to a fully established willing buyer, willing seller framework.

The Authority also tasked industry stakeholders to develop clear markers and deliver on their promise to ensure Nigeria grows its gas production and consumption.

The Chief Executive of NMDPRA, Mallam Rabiu Umar, made this known yesterday at the Gas Market Maturity Workshop, organised under the Decade of Gas initiative at the Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF), Abuja.

He noted that gas must be affordable for Nigerians while supporting President Bola Tinubu’s investment reforms. This transition, he further explained, is in line with the Nigeria decade of gas goal to become a gas powered economy by 2030.

Umar said the transition would be based on measurable conditions that demonstrate the maturity of different segments of the gas market, in line with the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).

‘Invariably, this is the first time that we have been bold enough to set a clear target for our gas market transition’ he noted

According to him, the PIA envisages a shift from a market largely coordinated through regulation to one driven increasingly by commercial contracts between willing buyers and willing sellers. He said Section 167 of the Act provides for the gradual movement of the domestic gas market towards a point where price regulation can step back as commercial contracting and competition become stronger.

‘The journey we are starting should lead us to a place where we should target a 24-month at best period within which we will be able to declare the market to be truly a willing buyer, willing seller market,’ he said.

The NMDPRA boss stressed that the transition must not be based on broad statements of intent but on clearly defined indicators, thresholds and safeguards. He identified supply availability and diversity, the number and quality of buyers and sellers, access to transportation infrastructure, strength of contracts, payment reliability, delivery obligations, market information and credible price signals as key indicators of market maturity.

Umar noted that Nigeria’s domestic gas supply remained tight, despite the country’s vast gas resources, stressing that infrastructure development must be matched by sufficient gas molecules to utilise the infrastructure. He also stressed the need to ensure that major gas infrastructure projects, including the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) pipeline, have sufficient gas supply to make them commercially useful.

‘If you look at supply, for example, on the domestic side, it is still tight, no matter how you look at it. We have a lot of work to do in our infrastructure space. The focus right now is not just delivering the infrastructure, but ensuring that we have enough molecules to fill the pipeline,’ he said.

He assured that the role of the regulator would also evolve as the market develops, with greater emphasis on establishing market rules, ensuring fair access, protecting competition and monitoring market conduct.

Consequently, the Authority, he said, has commenced consultations on draft regulations on anti-competitive practices, aimed at translating the competition provisions of the PIA into enforceable regulatory rules.

The NMDPRA chief executive also called for a realistic assessment of the different segments of the Nigerian gas market, noting that they were at different stages of development.

He said the sequencing of the transition would require determining which market segments were ready to move first, the thresholds they must meet and the safeguards required before liberalisation.

Umar further disclosed that the authority was nearing the conclusion of the process for the issuance of gas distribution licences, with the exercise expected to be completed in the coming weeks. He said qualified companies would be issued gas distribution licences in the fourth quarter of 2026.

The NMDPRA boss also said the authority was working to deepen the domestic utilisation of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and liquefied natural gas (LNG), stressing that increased domestic utilisation of the country’s gas resources would be an important indicator of economic growth.

He said the government was also seeking to expand the use of compressed natural gas (CNG), while several LNG and gas-to-power projects were being developed across the country.

According to him, greater domestic gas utilisation could support power generation, reduce dependence on imports and minimise transmission losses associated with moving electricity over long distances.

He added that the authority was committed to creating a predictable, coherent and transparent regulatory environment capable of attracting long-term investment into the gas sector.

Umar said gas projects required substantial upfront investment and long-term contracts before investors and financiers could commit capital.

‘For you to take an FID in a gas investment, you need to have a long-term contract,’ he said, adding that the authority was willing to engage with individual projects to identify regulatory measures that could support their development.

Also speaking, the Coordinating Director of the Decade of Gas Secretariat, Ed Ubong, said Nigeria could achieve a willing buyer, willing seller gas market before the end of the first horizon of the Decade of Gas programme in 2030.

Ubong said the programme had identified clear markers for achieving the target, including increasing gas supply to 12.6 billion cubic feet per day by 2030.

He said 16 key infrastructure projects were expected to support the growth of the gas market, while more than 60 projects capable of creating about 15 billion cubic feet per day of gas demand had been identified on the demand side.

He noted that a mature gas market would also require the development of a successful gas-to-power market and greater access to cooking gas.

In her speech, the President of the Nigerian Gas Association, Mrs. Yetunde Taiwo, an engineer, said the transition to a willing buyer, willing seller market must be driven by clearly defined milestones.

Taiwo said the NGA had consistently advocated for a commercially driven gas market but stressed that the transition must be properly sequenced to avoid moving either prematurely or too slowly.

She said, ‘As NGA, what we would like to see really is to see those goalposts, those milestones that have been set, that makes it a realistic journey for us to say we have achieved a willing buyer, willing seller status.’

According to her, Nigeria had made significant progress in the gas industry over the past decade, but substantial work remained to be done.

She called for stronger collaboration between government, regulators and industry, with government providing clear policy direction, regulators establishing predictable rules, and industry continuing to invest, innovate and execute projects.

Taiwo said the ultimate objective should be a gas market capable of attracting investment, encouraging greater participation and delivering reliable gas to industries, businesses and consumers.

Ola Aina, Arthur Okonkwo and Moses Usor have spoken of their excitement at being part of the Super Eagles squad ahead of Friday’s 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Madagascar in Uyo.

Aina is back with the national team after a lengthy injury absence and is pleased with the competition created by the arrival of new players.

‘It feels good to be back,’ the Nottingham Forest defender said. ‘I’ve been out for quite a while, so it’s nice to see the boys again and be around the team.’

He also praised the quality of the new faces, including George Ilenikhena, Usor and Isaac James, but stressed that attention must now be on the task against Madagascar.

Goalkeeper Okonkwo is equally pleased to be back after making his senior Nigeria debut at the Unity Cup earlier this year. The Charlton Athletic goalkeeper has set ambitious targets for his international career.

‘I want to win the AFCON and compete in the World Cup,’ Okonkwo said.

The 24-year-old, who faces competition from Stanley Nwabali and Maduka Okoye, said his immediate objective is to keep learning and improving.

For Usor, the latest camp carries extra significance. The LASK forward missed an earlier opportunity to join the national team because of injury and described his first senior camp as a dream come true.

‘I feel good and I am really happy to be here,’ he said. ‘It was an amazing feeling because it was everyone’s dream to play for the national team.’

Usor said the players are fresh and motivated but warned against thinking about the September 29 trip to Guinea-Bissau before dealing with Madagascar.

‘It is one game after the other,’ he said. ‘We focus on Madagascar and talk about the Guinea-Bissau game after.’

The OMDCA – Online Movies and Digital Content Awards – is a new and dynamic awards platform created to celebrate, recognize and promote outstanding creativity, excellence and innovation within Nigeria’s rapidly evolving online movie and digital content industry.

Today, digital platforms have transformed the way stories are created, distributed and consumed.

From web series and online films to skits, short-form videos, documentaries, reviews and other forms of digital entertainment, Nigerian creators continue to demonstrate exceptional talent and originality.

However, many of these creative contributions remain under-recognised.

OMDCA, according to the organisers, was established to bridge this gap by creating a credible platform where outstanding practitioners can receive the deserved recognition.

The objective, according to the organizers, is to seek and recognize outstanding achievements in online movies and digital content.

The scope of the AWARDS, the organizers revealed, will recognize excellence across various areas of online entertainment and digital content creation, including acting, directing, producing, writing, cinematography, editing, comedy, web series, short films, skits and other emerging digital-content categories.

The awards will also accommodate both established practitioners and emerging talents whose work demonstrates creativity, quality and meaningful impact.

The Anambra State Government has challenged former Governor Peter Obi’s argument that the $156 million he left in investments was sufficient to offset any other liabilities allegedly incurred during his tenure.

The Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning, Chukwukadibia Okoye, in a reaction on Friday, said Obi still had questions to answer over the financial position of the state when he left office in 2014.

Okoye said Obi was ‘slowly drifting away from the facts’ of the controversy, which centres on the completeness of the financial records presented at the end of his administration.

He said, ‘In public accounting and generally accepted accounting principles, nobody refuses to account for a valid liability, and when it is brought to his attention, his defence becomes that the assets are sufficient to pay undisclosed liability.

‘At the minimum, such accounting records are withdrawn and restated. This is the globally accepted standard.’

The commissioner said the more fundamental issue was whether Obi’s claim that he left no liability other than the N5 billion disclosed in his handover note was accurate.

‘The Anambra State Government has presented records indicating that there were indeed external debts and other financial obligations that remained unsettled as at the date he left office,’ he said.

Okoye said the controversy was not simply about whether the state had assets capable of covering some liabilities, but whether the handover statement provided a complete and accurate picture of the state’s assets and liabilities as of March 17, 2014.

He also questioned the nature and valuation of some of the assets described as investments.

‘Not everything described as an investment necessarily represents cash or a readily realisable financial asset. For instance, an uncompleted project cannot ordinarily be treated in the same manner as cash or a liquid financial investment,’ he said.

According to him, such an asset should be regarded as work in progress, with its value independently established.

He also questioned the valuation of equity investments, citing the reported investment in Intafact, which he said had subsequently suffered a significant decline in value.

‘This raises an important accounting question: what was the basis of the valuation assigned to such investments at the point of handover, and were those valuations realistic, independently verifiable and realisable?’ he asked.

Obi’s 2014 handover document, which has been made public amid the dispute, listed $156 million in foreign-currency investments, N27 billion in local investments and other balances, with an estimated N5 billion liability deducted to arrive at a net balance of about N86.67 billion.

The Anambra government, however, has maintained that external loans and other financial obligations remained outstanding from the period of Obi’s administration.

It has cited records showing eight external loan facilities and an outstanding balance it puts at $92.35 million as of June 30, 2026.

Obi has rejected the government’s claims and maintained that he left office without outstanding salaries, pensions, gratuities or liabilities to contractors for duly executed and certified projects.

Okoye said the $156 million investment argument therefore did not, by itself, resolve the controversy.

‘The questions that need to be answered are much broader. What were the state’s complete liabilities and commitments on that same date? Have they been properly and fully disclosed? Does that report represent the true and fair position of the assets and liabilities of the state at handover date?

‘The real issue is the completeness and accuracy of the 2014 handover position,’ he told The Nation.

The names of African Democratic Congress (NDC) National Secretary, Rauf Aregbesola, and the National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, are missing on the list of the party’s Presidential Campaign Council released yesterday.

On the list are the campaign principals – presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, his running mate, Rotimi Amaechi, national chairman, Senator David Mark and former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai.

El-Rufai is on trial and remains in the ICPC custody.

Also on the list are former presidential aspirant Mohammed Hayatu-Deen, former Central Bank Deputy Governor Prof. Kingsley Moghalu, Senator Dino Melaye and former presidential aide Lauretta Onochie.

A statement by Atiku’s media aide, Phrank Shaibu, said Senator Austin Akobundu will serve as Director-General and Campaign Manager while El-Rufai will serve as Deputy Chairman.

Alhaji Kashim Ibrahim-Imam was named as chairman of the council.

The structure includes a five-member Campaign Advisory Board chaired by former Edo State Governor John Oyegun, a six-member Policy Team headed by Hayatudeen and a seven-member group of Senior Campaign Advisers.

Akobundu will be supported by six Deputy Directors-General overseeing Administration, Operations, Media and Communications, Contact and Mobilization, Diversity and Support Groups, and Technical and Systems.

Dele Momodu will oversee Media and Communications; Dino Melaye, Contact and Mobilisation; Salihu Tanko Yakasai, Diversity and Support Groups; and Lauretta Onochie, Technical and Systems.

The campaign also named five presidential campaign spokespersons. They are Kenneth Okonkwo, Keturah King, Nana Kazaure, Uche Diala and Dahiru Maishanu.

Shaibu, Director of Strategic Communications to the campaign, said the council was designed as a lean structure.

He said the members will drive an issue-based campaign focusing on the cost of living, unemployment, insecurity and declining purchasing power.

He said: ‘Every directorate has a duty. Every director has an assignment. Every appointee must account for results.’

The campaign council is also made up of six Deputy Directors-General and 32 named portfolio heads across the six operational directorates.

Shaibu explained why Aregbesola and Abdullahi are excluded from the council, saying that they are among the party leaders who set it up.

He said: ‘These are National Working Committee (NWC) members who constituted the campaign council.’

It could not be confirmed whether the omission of Aregbesola and Abdullahi from the list is as a result of intrigues within the party.

Aregbesola has been absent from some activities of party chieftains, including the burial of vice presidential running mate Amaechi’s mum in Ubima in Rivers State early this month.

Aregbesola and the ADC also failed to make an impact in the Osun State governorship election last month.

Moghalu: I am not in Atiku’s team

However, Moghalu yesterday rejected his nomination.

In the campaign council, he is listed as a member of the policy team for the 2027 presidential election.

Moghalu said in a statement that he was ‘surprised’ to see his name included in the announcement, adding that he never agreed to serve on the team.

The statement reads: ‘I am surprised to see a statement from Atiku and ADC campaign team including my name as a member of former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar’s policy team for the 2027 presidential campaign.

‘I was not consulted and did not give my consent to my name being published as a member of the ADC candidate’s policy team.

Operatives of the Lagos State Police Command have discovered and sealed a suspected factory producing alleged fake alcoholic drinks at Yafin, Badagry, arresting a 48-year-old man.

The suspect, identified as Anaebo Emeka Hilary, was arrested following credible intelligence from the public about the alleged illegal operation.

Items recovered from the scene included adulterated alcoholic drinks, empty bottles, various wine labels and production utensils allegedly used to make and package the counterfeit drinks, a statement by the spokesperson for the command, Abimbola Adebisi, a Superintendent of Police, said.

According to Adebisi, the exhibits have been taken to the station for further investigation, and the suspect detained.

‘The Commissioner of Police, Lagos State Command, Tijani Fatai, commended the operatives for their vigilance and swift response to the tip-off. He reiterated the command’s commitment to intelligence-led operations against criminal activities across the state and urged residents to keep providing timely, credible information to the police.”

Adebisi urged the public to contact the police through its emergency lines.

Sterling Financial Holdings Company Plc (‘Sterling Financial’ or ‘the Group’) has commenced its approved share capital reconstruction, consolidating every ten existing ordinary shares into one new ordinary share.

Following the expansion of its equity base and balance sheet, this exercise is designed to improve capital-structure efficiency, support strategic growth and strengthen the Group’s positioning with institutional and retail investors.

Sterling Financial enters this phase following a first half in which profit after tax grew 20.4 percent to ?50.3 billion on gross earnings of ?279.6 billion. Total assets reached ?4.67 trillion while shareholders’ funds increased 27.8 percent to ?547.7 billion, supported by the Group’s capital raise.

The reconstruction forms part of its approach to optimising its share structure as it pursues sustainable earnings growth and stronger returns.

To implement the exercise, trading in the Group’s shares on the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) was temporarily suspended on Wednesday, 23 September 2026. The announced suspension period runs for up to ten working days, through Wednesday, 7 October 2026, allowing the Central Securities Clearing System Plc (CSCS) and Pace Registrars Limited to reconcile holdings and update the shareholder register. NGX will communicate the resumption of trading after completion and confirmation.

Services across the Group’s subsidiaries – Sterling Bank, The Alternative Bank, and SterlingFI Wealth Management – continue as usual.

Sterling Financial expects the revised share structure to support more efficient price formation and strengthen its appeal to institutional and retail investors. Alongside consistently adjusted financial disclosures, the reconstruction is intended to make per-share performance easier to assess across reporting periods and support sharper comparisons with relevant sector peers.

A higher per-unit reference price also supports the Group’s intended positioning for a valuation that more fully reflects its earnings capacity, capital strength and growth prospects. Sustained valuation improvement will depend on operating performance, returns on capital, investor demand and market conditions. The proportional price adjustment itself does not increase the business’s economic value.

Shareholders approved the reconstruction at the Annual General Meeting on 9 June 2026. The requisite regulatory no-objections have been obtained and an order of the Federal High Court, dated 22 September 2026, confirmed the share reduction exercise.

Under the approved structure, issued ordinary shares will reduce from 68,502,331,708 to 6,850,233,171, each retaining a nominal value of 50 kobo. Issued share capital will consequently reduce from approximately ?34.25 billion to ?3.43 billion, with approximately ?30.83 billion transferred to a Share Reconstruction Reserve. This reclassification leaves total shareholders’ funds unchanged. It does not constitute a fresh capital raise or a cash distribution.

For individual shareholders, every 10,000 existing shares will become 1,000 reconstructed shares, with a corresponding tenfold adjustment to the reference price. This preserves the calculated holding value at the point of adjustment. Actual trading prices may rise or fall when trading resumes.

Voting and economic interests will continue in proportion to reconstructed holdings, subject to the approved treatment of fractional entitlements. Where a holding does not divide evenly by ten, whole shares will be credited and the remaining fractional entitlement aggregated with other fractions for sale. The company will distribute net proceeds from the sale proportionately to affected shareholders.

Accrued dividend entitlements remain intact. Future dividends, when declared, will be calculated on the reconstructed share base. The reconstruction does not itself determine the amount of any future dividend.

Conversion of eligible holdings is automatic and requires no application or payment. Shareholders with a valid CSCS account and stockbroker details will have their reconstructed shares credited electronically without further action. Holders of physical certificates should contact Pace Registrars and a licensed stockbroker for help converting their holdings into electronic form and providing the required account details.

CSCS maintains electronic securities records, while a Clearing House Number (CHN) identifies an investor within that system. Holdings without valid CSCS account details will remain with Pace Registrars under a non-tradeable Registrar Identification Number until the required process is complete. Shareholders with outdated or incomplete records should contact the registrar to update them.

Investors with transactions awaiting settlement around the suspension should confirm with their stockbroker and the registrar how the approved record date and settlement cut-off apply to their holdings. Once adjustments are completed, shareholders should check their revised balances through their stockbroker, CSCS or Pace Registrars and report any missing or incorrect balance promptly for reconciliation. The registrar will also provide details of fractional entitlement proceeds and payment arrangements.