Asianet Pakistan Private Limited

The High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (HCFCT), Abuja, has invalidated the criminal charge brought by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) against Ufoma Joseph Immanuel (UJI), founder/managing director of Chappal Energies Limited.

The court, presided over by Justice Josephine Obanor on October 16, 2026 held that in view of the subsisting September 11, 2025 order of the court, the EFCC lacked the power to arrest or commence the criminal proceedings against Immanuel and Intermediate and Investment Holdings Limited (IIHL).

As stated in the Certified True Copy (CTC) of the October 16 ruling which was signed on October 26, Justice Obanor noted that the September 11, 2025 ‘subsisting order of court remains binding on the EFCC and other defendants since it had not been set aside nor lawfully discharged’.

‘The judge further noted that the EFCC did not appeal the earlier order, but chose to disregard it by proceeding to charge Immanuel and IIHL to another court of coordinate jurisdiction ‘as though the order did not exist’.

Justice Obanor also upheld the arguments of Applicants’ counsel that the EFCC, having disobeyed the subsisting order of Court, ought not to be permitted to derive any benefit from the Court’s processes in aid of the criminal prosecution, insisting that the courts have the duty to protect their integrity and enforce compliance with their orders.

By this latest court order, the judge has voided the criminal proceedings against the Applicants before the High Court of Lagos, Ikeja division.

Justice Obanor, had on September 11, 2025, granted an interlocutory injunction restraining the EFCC and the Nigeria Police Force, their agents and privies from taking any steps to arrest, detain, or prosecute Immanuel and IIHL in respect of any issues emanating from the shareholding arrangements, cross-shareholding agreements, subscription rights, and performance of contractual obligations involving Immanuel and IIHL on the one hand, and Adebisi Adebutu, Biswal Limited, and R28 Limited on the other hand.

The FCT Hight Court also reasoned that the dispute was civil in nature and restrained the EFCC and other defendants from harassing or prosecuting Immanuel.

In breach of the subsisting order of the court, the EFCC, on October 7, 2025, filed criminal charge against Immanuel and IIHL before the Lagos State High Court, Ikeja Division, alleging that Immanuel induced Adebisi Adebutu to invest $1.5million under the guise of financing projects linked to Chappal Petroleum Development Company Limited, IIHL and Chappal Energies Mauritius (CEM) Limited.

Court documents revealed that the criminal proceedings against Immanuel and IIHL, followed a petition to the Commission by Immanuel’s business partner, Adebisi Adebutu over alleged refusal by Immanuel to cede control of the shares due to IIHL in Chappal Energies Mauritius (CEM) to Adebutu and his company R28 Limited.

In flagrant violation of the court order, the EFCC, on March 11, 2026, arraigned Immanuel alongside his company, IIHL, before Justice Mojisola Dada of the the Lagos State High Court, Ikeja Division on a two-count charge of forgery and obtaining money to the tune of $1.5 million by false pretence, despite that the dispute was purely civil in nature.

Series of applications for his bail were turned down by Justice Dada in utter disregard of the subsisting order of a court of coordinate jurisdiction and in violation of his constitutional rights.

On July 1, 2026, Immanuel, again, through his counsel, Oluseun Awonuga, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and E.B. Aigbe, sought the intervention of the court as he filed a fresh injunctive reliefs before the FCT High Court, seeking an order of ‘anti-suit injunction restraining the EFCC from taking any further steps in continuing with prosecuting the criminal proceedings against him and IIHL, which was in breach of the September 11, 2025.

The Claimants/Applicants are Chappal Energies Mauritius Ltd (suing in behalf of its directors, shareholders, officers, staff and management, etc); Intermediate Investment Limited and Immanuel.

Cited as defendants are the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), EFCC, the Nigeria Police Force, R28 Limited, Biswal Limited and Adebisi Adebutu (1-6 defendants/Respondents.

The Applicants also sought an order restraining the EFCC from relying on, tendering in evidence, or otherwise making, use of any document already before the FCT High Court in the criminal proceedings which it commenced in breach of the orders of the FCT Court made on September 11, 2025, pending the hearing and determination of the suit.

Counsel for the Applicants, Awonuga contended that the EFCC, having disobeyed the subsisting order of Court, ought not to be permitted to derive any benefit from the Court’s processes in aid of the criminal prosecution.

He submitted that the courts have the duty

to protect their integrity and enforce compliance with their orders.

He urged the court to grant an anti-suit injunction restraining the EFCC from taking further steps in, or continuing with the criminal proceedings, which he contended constituted an abuse of court process.

The EFCC, in its response submitted that it acted within its statutory powers under Sections 6(b) and (C), 7(1)(a)-(c) and 13(2) of the EFCC Act in investigating and prosecuting economic and financial crimes.

The EFCC’s counsel further submitted that the Court ought not to interfere with the statutory

functions of law enforcement agencies in the investigation and prosecution of criminal

offences.

He argued that the powers conferred on the EFCC by its enabling Act could not be curtailed by injunctive or declaratory reliefs intended to shield a suspect from prosecution..

But the Claimants/Applicants counsel, further noted that the FCT Hight Court had determined in its ruling of 11th September 2025 that the dispute was civil in nature and restrained law enforcement agencies from harassing Immanuel.

In her ruling, Justice Obanor upheld the arguments of the Applicants’s counsel and granted all the reliefs sought by Immanuel.

The judge noted that the EFCC did not appeal the order, but chose to disregard it and proceeded to charge Immanuel and IIHL to another court of coordinate jurisdiction as though the order did not exist.

‘I have examined the circumstances surrounding the application and the order made by this Court on 11th September 2025. It is my considered view that a party who is dissatisfied with a decision of a court of competent jurisdiction has a duty to challenge that decision through the appropriate legal process. The 2nd Defendant )EFCC), if aggrieved by the decision of this Court, ought to have pursued the lawful process of challenging it by way of an appeal to the Court of Appeal. No such appeal was filed.

‘It was not open to the 2nd Defendant to disregard the order and proceed to charge the 2nd and 3rd Claimants to court as though the order did not exist. A subsisting order of court remains binding until it is set aside or otherwise lawfully discharged. See OKEKE V.

UWAECHINA (2022) LPELR-57291(SC).

Justice Obanor declared: ‘No party is entitled to determine unilaterally that an order of court should not be obeyed. To permit such conduct would undermine the authority of the Court and the administration of justice. This Court has a solemn duty to preserve its sanctity, protect the authority of its orders and ensure that its judicial processes are not rendered ineffective.

‘A Court of law is meant to protect its order or decisions.’ Accordingly, I find that the Applicants have established sufficient grounds to warrant the intervention of this Court to protect the integrity of its order of 11th September 2025. The reliefs sought by the 2nd and 3rd Claimants/Applicants are hereby granted. I so hold.’

Engr. Adedayo Lawrence Olatunji (‘the 1st Respondent’) maintained a banking relationship with United Bank for Africa (‘the Appellant’) for approximately ten years. During that period, Omolola Toba Ayeni (‘the 2nd Respondent’), an employee of the Appellant, served as the 1st Respondent’s Relationship Manager. In the course of their banker-customer dealings, the 2nd Respondent presented the 1st Respondent with an investment proposal for a one-year fixed deposit commencing on 1 July 2021. Relying on her representation and on the confidence arising from their established banking relationship, the 1st Respondent invested the sum of ?71,600,000.00. A certificate of investment was subsequently issued to him. However, when the investment matured, neither the principal sum nor the agreed interest was paid.

After the investment matured, the 1st Respondent made inquiries concerning the outstanding funds. The Appellant informed him that the 2nd Respondent had diverted the investment proceeds and maintained that no fixed deposit contract existed between the bank and the 1st Respondent. The Appellant’s position was that the transaction did not amount to a valid or authorised fixed deposit arrangement with the bank and that it should not be held responsible for the misconduct of its employee. Faced with the loss of both the capital and the anticipated return, the 1st Respondent instituted an action against the Appellant and the 2nd Respondent, seeking recovery of the investment sum together with the other reliefs endorsed in his claim.

The trial Court found the Appellant vicariously liable for the diversion of the 1st Respondent’s investment funds by the 2nd Respondent. It ordered the Appellant to pay ?71,600,000.00, being the principal sum, together with pre-judgment interest at the rate of 10% per annum. The Court also awarded ?2,500,000.00 as general damages, post-judgment interest at the rate of 8% per annum until the judgment debt was fully liquidated, and ?500,000.00 as costs.

Dissatisfied with the decision, the Appellant appealed to the Court of Appeal. One of the issues submitted for determination was: Whether, in the absence of conclusive documentary evidence establishing the consummation of a fixed deposit contract between the Appellant and the 1st Respondent, the trial Court was right to hold that the sum of ?71,600,000.00, being the capital sum intended for the fixed deposit, was diverted from the 1st Respondent’s account by the 2nd Respondent in the course of her employment with the Appellant and, consequently, to hold the Appellant vicariously liable.

ARGUMENTS

Learned counsel for the Appellant submitted that the 1st Respondent’s act of signing blank cheques and delivering them to the 2nd Respondent constituted a private arrangement between the two Respondents. Counsel argued that this arrangement enabled the diversion of the funds and that the Appellant could not properly be held liable for a transaction which, on its case, was neither authorised nor undertaken on its behalf. It was further contended that no fixed deposit contract existed between the Appellant and the 1st Respondent in respect of the sum of ?71,600,000.00. Accordingly, counsel maintained that the trial Court’s award of the principal sum was perverse and ought to be set aside because there was no conclusive documentary evidence establishing the alleged fixed deposit transaction.

Counsel further contended that the 1st Respondent’s conduct amounted to contributory negligence. By signing blank cheques without imposing any express limitation on their use, the 1st Respondent was said to have exposed himself to an obvious and foreseeable risk. Counsel maintained that the trial Court ought not to have imposed liability on the bank for the fraudulent acts of the 2nd Respondent, particularly where the customer’s own conduct allegedly created the opportunity for the diversion.

In response, learned counsel for the 1st Respondent maintained that the transaction arose directly from the confidence which the 1st Respondent reposed in the Appellant through its appointed relationship manager. Counsel submitted that the dealings between the 1st and 2nd Respondents occurred in the ordinary course of the Appellant’s banking business and that the 2nd Respondent acted, or appeared to act, in her official capacity as an employee of the bank. The Appellant could not therefore avoid liability merely by characterising the transaction as unauthorised or by asserting that its employee had acted fraudulently. From the customer’s perspective, the proposal was communicated through the very officer whom the bank had designated to manage his account and banking relationship.

Counsel also emphasised that the 1st Respondent dealt with the 2nd Respondent as a member of the Appellant’s staff and not as a private investment promoter. It was submitted that the 1st Respondent had not previously engaged in fixed-term deposits or signed blank cheques in the manner alleged by the Appellant. Counsel urged the Court to uphold the trial Court’s finding that the 2nd Respondent’s conduct was sufficiently connected with her employment and that the Appellant was consequently vicariously liable for the loss.

DECISION OF THE COURT

In resolving the issue, the Court of Appeal held that:

A bank will be held vicariously liable where its employee defrauds a customer in the course of interacting with the bank. This is because the bank, as the employer and principal, is presumed to repose confidence in the employee’s competence, integrity and character by holding the employee out to customer as fit to conduct its business and manage customer relationships.

The Court explained that an employer’s liability arises where the wrongful act is sufficiently connected with the employee’s duties and is committed in the course of the employment. The fact that the employee acted fraudulently or without the employer’s authority does not, in itself, absolve the employer of liability, particularly where the customer dealt with the employee in her official capacity.

In the instant case, the Court of Appeal held that the Appellant was vicariously liable for the acts of the 2nd Respondent, its relationship manager, who dealt with the 1st Respondent in her official capacity in respect of the fixed deposit investment.

Issue resolved in favour of the 1st Respondent.

FirstEase, FirstBank’s buy-now-pay-later digital lending solution, has partnered with Pointek to enable customers to purchase a wide range of products at an interest rate of 3 percent, with payments spread over six months.

The offer is available to customers who receive their salaries through FirstBank and have at least three months of account history and activity.

Abednego Ugwueke, Group head, E and RP, FirstBank, said this partnership is a bold move designed to address the difficulty customers face in purchasing gadgets such as phones, laptops, airpods and other household appliances due to the high upfront cost.

‘We live in an age where there is abundance of information online, and people need devices that are intelligent to access information. With that comes the requirement for more memory, more speed of those devices, and that also translates to cost. So it becomes increasingly difficult for people to be able to cough out what is required to buy a device at once, and that is what this product is designed to solve for,’ he said.

To access the offer, customers can select the FirstEase icon on FirstBank’s mobile app or Pointek’s app, choose their preferred product and pay a 30 percent commitment fee.

FirstBank then pays the remaining 70 percent directly to Pointek, which processes the order and can deliver the product the following day.

The financing attracts a 3 percent interest rate, while customers can spread repayments over a maximum of six months. Customers who prefer to pay outright can also do so.

‘No fintech, no lender in this market will offer you this service at 3 percent’, Chukwuka Okonkwo, head of personal banking at FirstBank said

Ugwueke said the initiative reflects FirstBank’s commitment of over 132 years to innovation, technology adoption and expanding access to financial services through strategic partnerships.

He added that the bank aims to help customers, including workers, business owners and students, access the devices they need in a responsible and sustainable manner.

The partnership also deepens the bank’s pivot into digital lending, which they are well recognized in as they have other products like First Advance, First Credit, Agent Credit, designed to provide financing to individuals and businesses, including players in the agency banking sector.

Godwin Ajala, director of business at Pointek, said the partnership aligns with the company’s goal of helping more Nigerians use technology to improve their livelihoods and participate in the digital economy. Pointek currently operates more than 24 offices across 13 states in Nigeria.

‘Pointek brings technology closer to customers, while FirstBank provides a financing pathway that can help eligible customers overcome the barrier of paying the full cost upfront,’ he said.

Okonkwo, further said the offer targets salary earners, professionals, entrepreneurs and other individuals seeking convenient access to products without disrupting their financial stability.

Business leaders and industry professionals have identified weak confidence in locally manufactured products, inadequate skills development and limited opportunities for young people as obstacles to Nigeria’s economic growth.

They called for stronger support for indigenous enterprises, practical training and leadership development at Leadership Reboot 6.0, a programme under the Foundation for Excellence in Sustainability and Human Development (FESHD), held in Lagos on October 1, 2026.

Sharing his entrepreneurial experience, Atunde Shamsideen Olayinka, founder and Chief Executive Officer of Yikodeen Company Limited, said gaining the confidence of corporate buyers was among the biggest challenges facing local manufacturers.

Olayinka, whose company produces safety footwear and personal protective equipment, explained that he established the business in 2016 after acquiring and refurbishing machinery from factories that had shut down.

Despite developing products that met customers’ requirements, he said the company struggled to secure orders because prospective buyers doubted the capabilities of Nigerian manufacturers.

He recalled approaching about 250 organisations, distributing product samples and conducting trials without securing substantial sales for several years.

The breakthrough came through engagement with the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) and opportunities associated with the Nigeria LNG Train 7 project.

According to him, the company secured significant orders in 2023 following prolonged product testing, enabling it to expand its operations.

Olayinka said Yikodeen had grown from six employees to about 350 factory workers, with production capacity reaching approximately 5,000 pairs of footwear.

‘You can actually start very small,’ he said, adding that resilience and investment in competent employees were essential to building a sustainable manufacturing business.

Delivering the keynote address, Oladunni Owo, Chief Executive Officer of Blackgold Energy Authorities and Advisory Consult, said economic empowerment must move beyond distributing temporary assistance to helping people acquire productive skills and establish viable businesses.

Drawing on her experience working with oil-producing communities, Owo recalled encountering residents who were unaware of opportunities to register businesses and supply goods or services to companies operating in their communities.

She argued that providing access to enterprise knowledge, mentorship and commercial opportunities would deliver more lasting benefits than occasional financial or material handouts.

‘Don’t look for handout,’ she told participants, urging them to pursue substantive economic empowerment.

Speaking further, Owo also introduced a three-part execution model built around deciding on clear objectives, documenting them and making consistent daily progress.

‘Do at least 1% of what you want to achieve every day. Take one step at a time,’ she said.

In her welcome address, Alhaja Nofisat Arogundade, former Director of Occupational Safety and Health at the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, urged professionals to challenge outdated practices and apply new knowledge to workplace problems.

‘As leaders and professionals, we must keep growing. We must keep learning. We must be willing to question what we have always believed in,’ she said.

Also at the event, Eucharia Anunobi, actress and religious leader, called for greater individual responsibility in addressing Nigeria’s environmental and developmental challenges.

Drawing attention to poor waste disposal practices, Anunobi said citizens could contribute to a cleaner and more sustainable environment by changing everyday habits rather than waiting for government intervention.

‘If everyone of us can take a chance, make a decision and say to themselves, ‘I will not throw bottles of water outside my vehicle. I will dispose of my refuse properly,” she said, arguing that collective behavioural change could improve environmental conditions.

She stressed that meaningful progress required deliberate action, particularly among young people seeking to improve their circumstances.

‘Nothing can change until you decide to change,’ she said, encouraging participants to translate their aspirations into practical steps.

Jamiu Badmos, convener of Leadership Reboot and visioner of FESHD, said the programme began in 2021 during the uncertainty surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic.

He explained that QHSES Leadership Academy, another initiative under the foundation, subsequently introduced a six-month tuition-free professional development programme.

According to Badmos, the academy had graduated more than 2,000 participants, while approximately 6,700 people applied during its latest admission exercise, exceeding the number of places available.

‘We want you to be good. We want you to have character,’ he said, stressing that professional competence without integrity could undermine institutional development.

Similarly, Alex Akhigbe, convener of Nigeria Cleanup Day and founder and president of the African Cleanup Initiative, urged young Nigerians to identify business and career opportunities in solving environmental and social challenges.

Akhigbe said the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals offered a framework through which young people could develop solutions with relevance beyond their immediate communities.

‘For every young person in the house, what will set you apart or give you an edge is the solution that you are able to provide or the needs that you are able to meet, not just the opportunities that you have access to,’ he said.

Dolapo Agbede, who shared her experience of progressing in the engineering and telecommunications sectors despite losing her sight, highlighted the economic value of retaining skilled professionals.

She recounted how her employer continued to support her development after she was diagnosed with advanced glaucoma in 2007, allowing her to take on greater responsibilities and international assignments.

Her experience, she said, demonstrated why organisations should assess employees by their competence and contributions rather than physical limitations.

Also speaking, Nji Christian Ayafor, Chief Executive Officer of Globaltech Energy Services Limited, warned that professionals who failed to acquire emerging technological skills risked losing opportunities to more adaptable competitors.

‘AI is not here to take people’s jobs. Rather, what is happening as I’m speaking to you is that people who are using AI are taking your jobs,’ he said.

In an interview on the sidelines, Deji Oyinloye, Executive Team Lead of SustainablePEOPLE Group, emphasised the role of youth participation in national development.

He called for deliberate efforts to equip young Nigerians with the knowledge, practical skills and opportunities needed to assume leadership responsibilities and contribute to economic progress.

The conference, themed Elevate, Empower, Execute, underscored the need to connect leadership training with enterprise development, technological adaptation and job creation.

Rare Gems Group has raised N3.3 billion through the issuance of two tranches of commercial papers on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX), tapping the short-term debt market to support its funding needs.

According to a notice on NGX, the company listed N2.36 billion worth of Series 1 Tranche A commercial papers and N941 million in Tranche B under its N20 billion commercial paper issuance programme.

Rare Gems Group has raised N3.3 billion through the issuance of two tranches of commercial papers on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX), tapping the short-term debt market to support its funding needs.

According to a notice on NGX, the company listed N2.36 billion worth of Series 1 Tranche A commercial papers and N941 million in Tranche B under its N20 billion commercial paper issuance programme.

The Nigerian economy has staged a resurgence over the past year, driven primarily by a swathe of policy reforms under the current administration (as discussed in previous articles). Since 2023, the focus has centred on course correction – stop the bleeding, insulate the economy, stabilise the currency and protect the most vulnerable. While some green shoots can be attributed to external factors (geopolitical upheaval, subsequent impact on commodity prices, and easing global interest rates that revived investor appetite for frontier markets), much of the progress witnessed can be attributed to policy measures enacted across the Central Bank, the Finance Ministry and the tax authorities.

A brief summary of the current state. The IMF projects GDP growth of 4.2% in 2026, compared with the 3.04% recorded in 2023 at the start of reform implementation. Inflation sat at 14.6% in September 2026 against 28.9% at the end of 2023 – granted, the 2025 CPI rebasing flatters the comparison. Gross FX reserves of 55bn(c.46bn net, according to CBN Governor Olayemi Cardoso’s remarks at the Nigeria-Asia Connectivity Dialogue) compare favourably with 32.9bnasofDecember2023(4.0bn net).

These numbers matter less for what they say about the past than for what they now make possible. Easing inflation has given the Central Bank room to cut its policy rate – most recently to 23% in September – lowering the cost of working capital for producers. Stronger reserves give the Central Bank firepower to keep the naira stable, so businesses can plan purchases of imported equipment and inputs with confidence. Steadier growth with slower price rises leaves households more to spend on locally made goods. But the window may not stay open. How we manage this upturn will determine how insulated we are from future commodity price shocks (which would put substantial pressure on our FX income, inflation, debt service and capital markets).

We’ve been here before. From the early 2000s through the 2010s, policy was characterised by a concerted push toward local production and reducing Nigeria’s reliance on global markets for sustenance. Local content rules, import tariffs and tax concessions were the order of the day and facilitated a burgeoning local cement industry (among others). By and large, however, these protectionist policies did not create the manufacturing economy the government had envisaged. For lack of local capacity, they instead resulted in higher costs passed through to consumers – think of import taxes on finished vehicles which were designed to support local assembly or the restrictions on rice imports.

Here we are again: momentum is positive. J.P. Morgan’s inclusion of Nigerian bonds in its GBI-EM Edge (frontier local-currency bond index) suggests we are travelling in the right direction, as does the bank’s reported N50bn (c.$38m) capital deposit with the Central Bank toward a merchant banking licence. We now need to be proactive about next steps. The lesson from the past is not that protection fails, but that it fails without capacity. This time, the sequence must be reversed: capacity first, protection last. A reconfigured transformation agenda should therefore centre on a bottom-up approach, leveraging assets already on the ground and building the tools with which we can eventually deliver on the promise of a manufacturing economy.

Creating tangible, well-funded programmes to upskill a largely informally employed youth populace, while unclogging a dysfunctional power sector, would be a credible first step. Fibre must follow close behind. Fixed broadband penetration sits at just 8.4%, against over 30% in Senegal. Project BRIDGE, the public-private partnership to lay 90,000km of open-access fibre across the country, was approved in 2024 but only incorporated its delivery company in August 2026 – it must become an execution priority. The World Bank, in its October 2025 project appraisal, estimates that, if successful, the programme could add 1.5 percentage points to annual GDP growth by 2031.

Agribusiness also needs to be prioritised. Nigeria has vast arable land and, to date, shallow industrial capabilities. A large share of crops, especially perishables such as tomatoes, rot before reaching market – by some estimates 40-50% – the most vivid illustration of output lost for lack of organisation. We also have a large domestic market – a growing portion of which faces food insecurity. More than nine in ten working Nigerians are in informal jobs, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (Q2 2024): they are working, but not productively, and that is the gap this sector can close.

Federal and state governments have a key role to play, with a variety of models available to bolster production. Processing crops such as rice, cassava, tomato, soybeans and maize could create semi-skilled jobs in rural areas, keeping value in the country by replacing imports with local output (rather than via outright bans). Power provision through dedicated mini-grids is key, as unreliable power is an acute killer of processing margins. Storage is another under-developed area, where co-funding or government guarantees for private cold-chain investment (through the Bank of Industry or DFI guarantee lines) would be transformative.

The third model is aggregation. Under outgrower schemes, an anchor buyer or aggregator organises smallholders, supplies certified seed and fertiliser, and buys the harvest at an agreed price, recovering the cost of inputs from what it pays. This is precisely where the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme fell short: credit reached farmers without reliable inputs, storage or a guaranteed buyer, and repayment suffered. Routing public credit guarantees through aggregators, rather than lending to individual farmers, builds repayment into the purchase.

Vietnam offers the contrast via its economic transformation policies, which focused on improving supply first vs. our historical demand restriction strategy. Vietnam made land rights more secure – land-use rights became transferable and could be used as collateral (incentivising further investment from farmers) – freed prices and invested in irrigation, high-yield seed varieties, road construction and rural credit through a state-sponsored bank (à la Bank of Agriculture). Building these rails boosted productivity and allowed for diversification into other forms of produce. Vietnam had food shortages in 1988; it was exporting rice by 1989.

The government’s role is not to farm or mill but to do three things only: build the public goods (rural power, feeder roads, fibre), lower the risk private capital can’t carry (guarantees routed through aggregators, enforceable warehouse receipts, certified inputs), and fix the rules (land titling by state governments, conditional protection). Tariffs and bans should come last as rewards for capacity built, not substitutes for it.

Nigeria has course-corrected over the past few years, thanks to strong policy decisions and favourable macro conditions. As we look ahead, we should convert that stability into capacity. Oil prices will not stay elevated forever. Make hay while the sun shines.

Mastercard and Interswitch have launched Google Pay in Nigeria, allowing eligible Mastercard cardholders to make digital payments using compatible Android devices, as the country’s electronic payments market continues to expand.

This implies that eligible Mastercard holders can use compatible Android devices for digital payments, as Google expands its payment services into Nigeria.

The launch of Google Pay in Nigeria at Moonshot by Techcabal, introduces another payment option for Nigerian consumers which enables them to add supported cards to Google Wallet and use their devices to pay at participating merchants and supported contactless terminals, subject to card, device and merchant compatibility.

The service uses Mastercard’s tokenisation technology, which replaces sensitive card details with a unique digital credential to help protect payment information during transactions.

However, access is limited to eligible cards issued by participating banks. Google’s published support list identifies Mastercard debit cards from FirstBank and Guaranty Trust Bank, Mastercard credit, debit and prepaid cards from Zenith Bank, and Mastercard credit, debit and prepaid cards from United Bank for Africa. Not every Mastercard issued in Nigeria is therefore eligible.

The rollout also depends on the availability of compatible devices and payment terminals, meaning consumers may not be able to use the tap-to-pay feature at every merchant.

Kari Tukur, country manager for West Africa at Mastercard, said the collaboration responds to growing demand for payment services that combine convenience with security.

‘Consumers expect payment experiences that are simple, secure and seamlessly integrated into their daily lives,’ Tukur said, adding that the partnership with Google would give eligible cardholders a way to pay while keeping their card details protected.

Olumide Balagon, Google’s country director for West Africa, said the launch would expand access to digital payment tools in a market he described as being at the forefront of financial innovation in Africa.

Google Wallet allows users to store supported payment cards and other digital items, while Google Pay facilitates payments through supported services and merchants.

Interswitch supported the rollout by working with Mastercard to connect multiple card issuers to the tokenisation and payment-processing infrastructure required to offer the service.

Akeem Lawal, managing director of Payment, Switching and Processing at Interswitch, said the company’s work on issuer connectivity and payment processing had helped establish the infrastructure needed to support mobile wallets and contactless payments.

The launch comes as Nigeria’s electronic payments market continues to expand. For banks, the service offers another channel through which to engage cardholders and extend digital payment options.

Merchants with compatible contactless terminals could also serve customers who prefer paying with their phones rather than physical cards.

The launch adds to the range of digital payment services available in Nigeria, but its reach will depend on how many banks enable eligible cards, how widely compatible payment terminals are deployed and whether consumers adopt phone-based payments for everyday purchases.

Nigeria’s new 25 percent personal income tax rate has sparked debate over whether workers will pay more or less tax under the revised system, following Senator Ireti Kingibe’s claim that drew a rebuttal from the Senate.

The disagreement raises a broader question about how Nigeria’s tax structure compares with those of other African economies and whether headline rates tell the full story of what workers actually pay.

Adekunle Ishola, a human resources manager and payroll expert, said the reduction became visible when employers processed January salaries under the revised tax bands.

‘More than 65 percent of our workforce paid less tax in January compared with December,’ Ishola said.

He said employers initially faced technical challenges adjusting payroll systems to the new structure but resolved them after consulting tax advisers, enabling implementation within the first month.

The experience offers a more immediate way to assess the reforms than comparing tax rates alone. While Nigeria’s top personal income tax rate is 25 percent, below the maximum rates in South Africa, Kenya, and Uganda, what matters to workers is how the rules affect the amount reaching their bank accounts.

Melville Ogbeama, a human resource specialist, said the changes were designed to reduce the tax burden on low- and middle-income earners and increase disposable income. He said the relief could support household consumption as workers deal with elevated living costs.

Under the Nigeria Tax Act 2025, which took effect on January 1, 2026, the first N800,000 of chargeable income is taxed at zero percent. The next N2.2 million attracts 15 percent, followed by rates of 18, 21 and 23 percent. The top rate of 25 percent applies to chargeable income above N50 million.

Ayo Akinduyite, a tax and regulatory thought leader, said the new structure raised the threshold at which the highest rate applies compared with the previous regime.

‘The old 24 percent top rate began biting at just N3.2 million, capturing middle-income professionals. The new 25 percent top rate is genuinely a rate on the wealthy,’ Akinduyite said in a LinkedIn post.

The law also provides rent relief of 20 percent of annual rent paid, capped at N500,000, alongside eligible deductions such as pension contributions and life insurance premiums. Employees earning the national minimum wage are exempt from personal income tax.

These provisions mean that a headline rate does not tell workers how much tax they will pay. The tax bands apply progressively to chargeable income after eligible deductions and reliefs, so the final liability depends on an individual’s circumstances.

Nigeria’s top rate is lower than South Africa’s 45 percent, Kenya’s 35 percent, and Uganda’s 40 percent for resident individuals. However, the comparison does not automatically mean Nigerian workers pay less tax, because each country has different thresholds, income bands, and deductions.

The Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms Committee said that about 98 percent of workers in the public and private sectors were expected to pay less or no PAYE or personal income tax under the new laws. The claim was a projection, while Ishola’s account provides an example of the reported experience within one workforce. It does not establish the reforms’ national impact.

The implications extend to state finances. States and the Federal Capital Territory collected N2.64 trillion in Pay-As-You-Earn (PAYE) in 2025, up from N1.88 trillion in 2024, according to figures attributed to the National Bureau of Statistics. PAYE accounted for about 69.5 percent of state tax revenue of N3.79 trillion and roughly 51 percent of total internally generated revenue of N5.15 trillion.

Those figures predate the new tax regime, so they cannot show how the reforms will affect future collections. But they underline the importance of balancing workers’ tax burdens with governments’ need for reliable revenue.

Opeyemi Ajetunmobi, a capital markets strategist, said tax collection should be considered alongside the economy’s capacity to generate productive businesses and well-paid jobs.

‘Higher collections matter, but their long-term value depends partly on what they enable governments and businesses to achieve,’ Ajetunmobi said in an October post.

With PAYE generating N2.64 trillion for states and the FCT in 2025, the reform has implications beyond workers’ monthly salaries. If the new rules reduce tax bills for many earners, the challenge for state governments will be to maintain revenue without placing a heavier burden on those who earn less.

Former Italy international Marco Borriello has backed Nigerian striker Victor Osimhen as a potential signing for Juventus, urging the Serie A club to recruit a world-class centre-forward as it seeks to re-establish itself among Europe’s elite.

Osimhen, who currently plays for Turkish champions Galatasaray, has emerged as a possible candidate for Juventus as the Italian club looks to strengthen its attacking options.

‘I want a great number nine. Osimhen? Maybe. He’s strong; he knows Serie A and Spalletti. But beyond Osimhen, we need a top-level striker,’ Borriello, a member of AC Milan’s 2007 UEFA Champions League-winning squad, told La Gazzetta dello Sport.

Osimhen previously played for Napoli, where he established himself as one of Europe’s most prolific centre-forwards. He scored 76 goals and provided 18 assists in 133 appearances across all competitions for the club.

The Nigerian international played a pivotal role in Napoli’s Serie A title triumph in the 2022/23 season, helping the club win the league for the first time in 33 years.

Borriello highlighted Osimhen’s physical strength and familiarity with Italian football as qualities that could make him a suitable option for Juventus.

The striker also previously worked under Luciano Spalletti at Napoli, when the Italian coach led the club to the league title.

Osimhen has made an impressive start to the current campaign, recording nine goals and three assists in nine appearances for Galatasaray.

Uzoma Nwagba, Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian Consumer Credit Corporation (CREDICORP) says that the initiative has enabled over N53.5 billion in consumer credit for more than 351,000 Nigerians, with women representing approximately 59% of beneficiaries

since commencing operations.

Nwagba made the disclosure Wednesday, in Aba, at the Abia State edition of CREDICORP For All and the launch of SPARK, a first-of-its-kind USSD-based entry-level credit product, designed to enable Nigerians, particularly first-time borrowers, to access credit and begin building their formal credit histories.

Nwagba emphasised that the Corporation’s mission is to take consumer credit beyond financial institutions and into the hands of everyday Nigerians.

‘Consumer credit should not be a privilege reserved for a few. It should be an opportunity available to every working Nigerian. Today in Aba, Abia State, in Nigeria’s South East, we are demonstrating what that means in practical terms: credit for market women, a financial head start for young people, productive assets for transport operators, and with SPARK, a simple way for Nigerians to begin building their credit histories. This is how we make credit work for the people’, he said.

Armstrong Ume Takang, Managing Director Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MOFI) and Board Member, CREDICORP, described the scheme, as an example of translating Federal Government policy into practical economic opportunities for Nigerians.

‘The Federal Government’s consumer credit initiative reflects President Bola Tinubu’s commitment to building an economy where more Nigerians can access the tools and opportunities needed to improve their lives.

‘Through CREDICORP, we are seeing how well-structured public investment can stimulate enterprise, support local manufacturers and deliver measurable economic impact directly to citizens’, he noted.

Chinenye Mba-Uzoukwu, Chief Principal to Governor Alex Otti, who expressed appreciation to CREDICORP, welcomed the initiative, noting that the State Government’s investment in infrastructure is to create an environment in which responsible consumer credit and enterprise can thrive.

‘Under Governor Alex Otti’s leadership, Abia State is putting the conditions in place for businesses to grow, investments to flourish and responsible credit to reach more of our people.

‘By strengthening the enabling environment for enterprise, we are making it easier for initiatives, such as CREDICORP to support traders, young people and hardworking families across the state’, he said.

Established under President Bola Tinubu’s administration, CREDICORP is advancing the Federal Government’s objective of expanding consumer credit access to at least 50% of working Nigerians by 2030, says Aisha Abdullahi, Executive Director, Credit and Portfolio Management, CREDICORP.

The event brought together beneficiaries, participating financial institutions, local vendors and government representatives to demonstrate how consumer credit can improve everyday livelihoods.

At the showcase, market women and traders participated in live credit-access activities, while young Nigerians engaged with YouthCred and transport operators were showcased as beneficiaries of credit-backed tricycles. Together, the activities put real people and the practical value of consumer credit at the centre of the event.

By establishing repayment records, through responsible borrowing, beneficiaries can progressively improve their credit profiles and create pathways to greater financial opportunities.

The product, which simplifies credit access through basic mobile phones without requiring smartphones or internet connectivity, is expected to become more widely available to Nigerians before the end of 2026.

The showcase also featured locally assembled tricycles made available on credit, through CREDICORP’s Securing Consumer Access for Local Enterprises (S.C.A.L.E) initiative.

The programme connects consumers with Nigerian manufacturers and vendors, through affordable credit, supporting local production, enterprise development and job creation.

YouthCred also featured at the event, connecting eligible young Nigerians, including serving National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members, with affordable credit opportunities intended to support their financial journeys and responsible borrowing habits.

The Abia showcase builds on CREDICORP’s engagements across Lagos, Abuja, Ondo, Osun, Ogun, Rivers and Adamawa, reflecting the Corporation’s growing nationwide reach.

From market women accessing credit to young Nigerians beginning their financial journeys, and transport operators acquiring income-generating assets, the Abia showcase demonstrated how consumer credit can move beyond policy into practical opportunities that improve everyday lives.