Category: Finance

Top Trending News in Nigeria Today – April 5, 2025

⚽ Al Hilal vs Al Nassr – The Saudi Showdown..

The Saudi Pro League match between Al Hilal and Al Nassr is one of today’s most searched topics in Nigeria. The attention largely comes from the participation of global football icon Cristiano Ronaldo, whose every touch on the pitch continues to spark excitement worldwide. Nigerian fans followed the action closely, with hashtags like #HilalNassr and #RonaldoTrending dominating social media. This rivalry isn’t just about bragging rights but a battle that impacts the league title race significantly.
👉 Read full match updates

⚽ Kevin De Bruyne – Midfield Masterclass Keeps Fans Buzzing

​Manchester City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne has announced he will leave the club at the end of the 2024-2025 season, concluding a decade-long tenure marked by significant achievements. ​Teammate Jack Grealish expressed his sentiments on social media, stating, “It’s been an absolute pleasure to share the pitch with you, Kev. Your vision and skill are unparalleled, and you’ve been an inspiration to us all.” ​Manager Pep Guardiola also praised De Bruyne, calling him “one of the greatest” players in Premier League history and acknowledging his consistent performance over the years. ​
👉 Read more on De Bruyne

⚽ Rayo Vallecano vs Espanyol – The Surprise Match Grabbing Eyeballs

​Following their impressive 4-0 victory over Rayo Vallecano on April 4, 2025, RCD Espanyol‘s locker room was filled with jubilation and camaraderie. The players’ celebration highlighted their unity and team spirit.​ A standout moment featured Omar El Hilali playfully interrupting teammate Javi Puado during a post-match interview. El Hilali, with a microphone in hand, humorously posed as a journalist, asking Puado questions and eliciting laughter from those present. This light-hearted exchange quickly gained traction on social media, symbolizing the positive atmosphere within the team.
👉 Catch match insights

🧾 NYSC Arrears and Minimum Wage Exemption – Youths Demand Clarity

​The Director General of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Brigadier General Yushau Ahmed, has announced that corps members who recently completed their service will receive an arrears payment of N77,000. This payment is intended to cover the difference resulting from the recent increase in the monthly allowance for corps members. The Federal Government had earlier approved an increment of the corps members’ monthly allowance from N33,000 to N77,000. However, there had been delays in the disbursement of the new allowance due to pending release of funds. ​
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🛢️ Adesua Dozie Appointed to NNPC – Policy & Power

The recent appointment of the new board for the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has sparked concerns regarding gender imbalance. The Women in Energy Network (WIEN) has expressed disappointment over the minimal representation of women on the board, highlighting a broader issue of gender inclusivity in leadership roles within the energy sector. ​President Bola Tinubu’s overhaul of the NNPCL board aims to rejuvenate the country’s oil sector, with notable appointments including former Shell executive Bashir Ojulari as the new Chief Executive Officer and Ahmadu Musa Kida as the board chairman. However, the composition has raised eyebrows due to the limited inclusion of female professionals.
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⚽ Everton vs Arsenal – Major changes to starting XI made..

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has announced five changes to the starting lineup for today’s Premier League match against Everton at Goodison Park. With a Champions League fixture against Real Madrid approaching, Arteta aims to manage player workload effectively. The Premier League match between Everton and Arsenal is scheduled for Saturday, April 5, 2025, with kickoff at 12:30 PM BST at Goodison Park in Liverpool.
👉 EPL Updates

Breaking-Old N200, N500, and N1,000 Banknotes Remain Legal Tender

The Central Bank of Nigeria has directed old N200, N500, and N1,000 banknotes remain legal tender in line with the Supreme Court Judgement.

According to the press release by the Apex Bank on Monday 13th of March 2023 through the Ag. Director Corporate Communications, Isa Abdulmumin:

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Silicon Valley Bank Collapses, Biggest Banking Failure in US since 2008

Pictures from Bloomberg News

Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) was a commercial bank with the headquarter in Santa Clara, California US.

As of June 30, 2016, SVB had a 25.9 percent market share, making it one of the biggest banks in the country and the largest bank in Silicon Valley based on local deposits.

Silicon Valley Bank provides financial assistance to startups, individuals, investors and international innovative companies to achieve their ambitious objectives. “SVB is the financial partner of the innovation economy”

The second-largest bank failure in American financial history occurred on March 10, 2023, as a result of a bank run on SVB’s deposits, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation was appointed as receiver.

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Nigeria- How to Deposit Old N1000, N500 and N200 Notes

CBN

Nigeria is currently undergoing a critical financial reform. The President and the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had concluded plans and implemented currency change and swap programs.

The new currency change Policy had taken everyone by surprise but with much more polical implications.

The past 8 years in Nigeria, the currency in the economy had risen from N1.4 trillion to N3.23 trillion. The proportion of currency outside the banks grew from 78% in 2015 to 85% in 2022. As at October 2022, only N500 billion was within the Banking System while N2.7 trillion remained permanently outside the system; this development poses a great threat to the economic growth.

The CBN has therefore commenced the processes of absorbing the old currency notes of N200, N500 and N1000 with clear directives to concerned individuals.

The following are the required steps to deposit the old Naira Note:

  1. Create profile on https://crs.cbn.gov.ng/.
  2. Generate Reference and Print Out receipts
  3. Visit the selected bank branch with printed receipt to deposit your old N1000, N500 and N200 notes
    into your bank account.

Deposit above N500,000 will only be made at any of the CBN branches in the country.

While the N500 and N1000 notes have been declared a Non Legal Tender, the old N200 banknotes is expected to circulate as legal tender till April 10, 2023.

Bill Payment Regulation in Nigeria

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) under Sections 2(d), 33 (1) (b) and 47(2) of the CBN Act 2007 issued the regulation for Bill Payments in Nigeria, 2017 to promote sound financial system.

The guidelines are primarily to facilitate the development of an efficient and effective payments system in Nigeria.

The CBN have established and defined key players in bill payment policy to help achieve her objectives. The following are the stakeholders:

Payer – the individual or corporate entity making a bill payment.

Biller – a registered entity/merchant that receives funds from the payer as consideration for the provision of service or product.

Payer’s Bank – the bank where the payer maintains the account that is debited to make the bill payment.

Biller’s Bank – the bank where the Biller maintains the account designated to receive proceeds of payment made by the payer.

Payments Service Provider (PSP) – a person licensed by the Central Bank of Nigeria to provide services involving direct interactions with the payment, settlement and clearing systems and payment system arrangements, as the Bank may authorize from time to time and may include a bank, Mobile Money Operators or Other Financial Institution that is connected directly to a Biller without any service intermediary.

The Bill Payment regulation has opened up the digital space in Nigeria. Before now, typical payment for services like electricity, water, airtime, cable TV are often done physically. Individuals would visit physical outlets of the service providers to make payment.

The CBN regulation have opened up opportunities to all the players in the industry:

Pros

  1. Efficient Collection by Service Providers. For example, The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) revealed collection of Power Distribution Companies (Discos) in Nigeria for 2022.
    “The total revenue collected by all Discos in 2022/Q2 was N188.29 billion out of N265.68 billion billed to customers. This corresponds to a collection efficiency of 70.87 per cent which represents 1.53 pp increase compared to 2022/Q1 where the average collection efficiency was 69.34 per cent,” the report stated.Collection efficiency is an indicator of the proportion of the amount that has been collected from customers relative to the amount billed to them by the Discos”
  2. Seamless Mode of Payment. It has become easier and faster for Payer to make payments for services. Fintech companies,Banks and even the Telcos have good platforms on PC’s or mobile devices where bill payments are being made.
  3. Cheaper Mode of Payment. Due to the competitive business environment created by the CBN, Payers can now access incentives for bill payments. For example, Servpay.ng offers very competitive bonuses for every transaction Payers carry out on their platforms. They also offer Reffer and Win promo. These and many more are the benefits from the CBN regulation.
  4. Employment Opportunities. This regulation have created millions of employment for Nigeria youths. It has created bigger players in the industry which in turn have employed professionals to join their team.

Cons

A. Network Availability. Unstable payment network poses a major concern in the industry. The service providers or the Billers must continually increase their capacities to handle high traffic as Payers engagement increases.

B. Cyber Crime Vulnerability. In Africa, the cybercrimes has recorded a massive rise in the first six months of 2022, “with phishing and scams hitting 438 per cent and 174 per cent in Kenya and Nigeria, respectively”, the Guardian Newspapers. reported on August 3, 2022.

According to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, ” over 2,800 persons convicted of cybercrime in 2022″

Overall, the financial sector in Nigeria is fast developing with lots of prospects for investors

Global Economic Forecast

The world has never been static. It evolves and revolves. Ever dynamic effect of the world has also affected all its constituents including her economy which encompasses all activities related to production, consumption and trade of goods and services. The year 2022 started on a shaky note but ended with mostly negative indices. For example, the UK ended the year 2022 with a double figure inflation as against single digit at the beginning of same year. Experts have warned the new year 2023 might just be the period where the consequences of all of these would be felt the most. The following are factors that will would affect the global economic outlook for the year 2023;

Ukraine and Russia War

What began with mere speculation eventually turned into a real war. The kremlin invaded Ukraine on the 24th of February 2022 and since have been waging war. Since the beginning of the war, there has been Europe’s largest refugee crisis since World War II, Russia’s GDP for the year reduced to a 3–4 percent, about 8 million Ukrainians were displaced within their country by late May, and more than 7.9 million fled the country by 3 January 2023 and Ukraine’s economy contracts by average of 44% according to study.

The special military operation as claimed by the Russia Authority in Ukraine has resulted into about €93.8 billion from 40 countries in financial, humanitarian, and military aid to Ukraine, from 24th January to 3rd October of 2022 according to The Kiel Institute. These funds could have been devoted to local economies which would in turn assist the Global Economy.

Energy Crises

Energy has been one of the driving force of the Global economy. Fossil fuel and Natural Gas are critical in manufacturing industry and household consumption. The Ukraine and Russia have has disrupted in natural Gas chain supply globally and has caused unpredicted inflation, Gas and electricity crises in Europe. The winter is here, the energy crises will forcefully cause higher spike in inflation first quarter of the year 2023.

Global Food Crises

The world is experiencing shortage and disruption in food supply. Ukraine who’s is the world’s largest supply of grains has been fighting war with serious effected on farming in the country. Shortage of grain globally has also caused almost 40% inflation in poultry and bakery products in both developed and developing counties.

According to theguardian “UK food price inflation has hit a new high of 12.4%, according to data from the British Retail Consortium, with fresh foods leading the rises.” It’s been an incredibly stressful week, says White (manager at a foodbank in UK), “with a big shift in numbers seeking their help and the urgency” We expect these crises to spill to the year 2023 effectively throughout the first quarter.

Climate Change 

Climate change was seen as a myth especially by some policy makers but it has never been this real. The continuous change in weather condition has affected farming conditions leading to poor outputs. Energy generation from renewable energy sources are been impacted by climate change hereby leading to reduction in energy output. “One of the biggest concerns sceptics raise about renewable energy is its intermittent nature or the idea that the sun does not shine all the time, nor does the wind blow every day”.

Resurgence of Covid

Covid pandemic ravaged the world for almost two years. The pandemic which stated in China 2019, affected the Global economy from 2020 to 2021. By the end of 2021, countries have stated recovery process by opening up and lifting restrictions except for China who still maintains Covid restriction throughout the year 2022 till the month of December same year. However, when China opened up, we realized it was mainly due to pollical pressure and that cases of Covid effection continually increase with mortality rate peaking. As at January 2023, travel restriction out of China has been lifted and expert feared this could once again lead to a global pandemic. Few countries are recording new cases of Covid infection already. The Global economy can once again be impacted negatively due to Covid infection in the year 2023.

Economy Outlook for Nigeria in 2023

Nigeria has been flat footed throughout the year 2022. All indices seems to be negative and on a sliding mode. With the current population of over 219m according to worldometers, about 113m of Nigerians are living in poverty according to a report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) announced November 2022.

According to the Debt Management Office, DMO in December 2022, Nigeria’s public debt reached N44.6 trillion in the third quarter of the year (Q3 in 2022) This represents a 2.9 per cent quarter-on-quarter decline when compared to N42.84 trillion recorded in Q2 in 2022.

Also, Going by the data published by the NNPC, the Federal Government spends about N40.1bn daily when subsidising every litre of petrol consumed in Nigeria by at least N600. This also means that the government is spending about N1.243tn on fuel subsidy every month. The Federal Government plans to remove fuel subsidy in the year 2023.

The annual inflation rate in Nigeria accelerated for the 10th straight month to 21.47% in November of 2022 from 21.09% in October and above market estimates of 21.15% according to Trading Economics. The Central Bank of Nigeria raised the Interest rate to 16.5% as at its November 2022 meeting. This indicates fourth straight rate increase so far in the year 2022.

The Naira continues to fall to dollar and access to forex by most Nigerians for businesses and other domestic use have been through the black market. Recently, most Nigerian banks blocked access to forex via local Master or Visa cards. Demand for forex especially prospective international students seeking greener pastures abroad is also reducing the value of Naira daily. There is also the issue of foreign reserve deficit. The reserves has declined from about $40billion dollars in January 2022 to an estimate of $37billion in December 2022.

What to Expect in the New Year 2023

Inflation rate in Nigeria is expected to continue rise in the first two quarters of the year 2023 due to the combination of the above-mentioned factors. Cash less policy if well implemented will stabilize the Nigeria economy by the end of the second quarter.

It is the Election Year in Nigeria, the new government will resume effectively from the month of May 2023. But till this period, we don’t expect much improvement in most ecomomic sectors for example, insecurity will continue to affect cost of agricultural products and contributes to the county inflation rate.

Nigeria will not be able to attract much more needed foreign investors for the first half of the year 2023 and rate of employment is also not going to improve anyway.

Nigeria will continue to lose her professionals in all the sectors of the economy for better opportunities in foreign countries.

Tips for Folks

1.       Cut spending as much as possible and save more.

2.       Stay healthy as much as possible as health is wealth.

3.       The cost of food and groceries are on the increase, it will continue into the year, Nigerians must be strategic and wise.

4.       There have been no significant efforts from the Government to improve employment. The rate of unemployment will be peaking to the second quarter of 2023.

5.       Small scale businesses will thrive in the midst of baldly managed economy.

6. Always have a product to sell or service to render.

CBN Increases Cash Withdrawal Limit to N500k Weekly

Central Bank of Nigeria- Wikipedia

The Central Bank of Nigeria has revised the maximum weekly limit for cash withdrawals via all channels by corporate organisations and individuals to N5 million and N500,000 respectively.

This is a reaction to public outcry following the CBN new Cashless Policy which is barely 2 weeks old that restricts individuals and corporate organisations to maximum weekly cash withdrawals to N100,000 and N500,000 respectively.

The directive is contained in a letter issued by CBN on Wednesday 21st of December 2022 and signed by the director of banking supervision department, Haruna M.

“The CBN hereby makes the following reviews:

“(1) the maximum weekly limit for cash withdrawal across all channels by individuals and corporate organisations shall be N500,000.00 and N5,000,000.00 respectively.

“2. In compelling circumstances where cash withdrawal above the limits in (1) is required for legitimate purposes, such requests shall be subject to a processing fee of three per cent and five per cent for individuals and corporate organisations, respectively.

“Further to (2) above, the financial institution shall obtain the following information from the customer, at the minimum, and upload same on the CBN portal created for the purpose: valid means of identification of the payee (national ID, international passport, or driver’s license), bank verification number of the payee, tax identification number of both the payee and the payer, and an approval in writing by the MD/CEO of the financial institution authorising the withdrawal.

“Third party cheques above N100,000 shall not be eligible for payment over-the-counter, while the extant limit of N10 million on clearing cheques still subsist.”

The CBN also states: “Compliance with extant AML/CFT regulations relating to the KYC, ongoing customer due diligence and suspicious transaction reporting etc. is required in all circumstances.

“Customers should be encouraged to use alternative channels (internet banking, mobile banking apps, USSD, cards/POS, eNaira, etc.) to conduct their banking transactions.

“All banks and OFls are to note that aiding and abetting the circumvention of this policy will attract severe sanctions,

“The above directives supersede that of December 6, 2022 and take effect nationwide from January 9, 2023,” the Apex Bank said.

CBN Naira Redesign Policy-Revised Cash Withdrawal Limits 2022

Photo-Nigerian Finder

The Central Bank of Nigeria on Tuesday 6th of December 2022 issued a directive to all deposit money banks and other financial institutions on the new cashless policy. The Apex Bank before now had come up with various measures of encouraging cashless transactions in the country. CBN had launched eNaira digital payment which has received over 500k download as at the time of writing this report, other measures include approval of more agency banking operators to encourage financial inclusion.

According to the statement released by the Apex Bank on the revised withdrawal limits:

  1. OTC withdrawal for Individuals N100k, for Corporate N500k. Penal for withdrawal above it is 5% individual and 10% corporate.
  2. No.3rd party cheque above 50k allowed OTC subject to N10m max. for transfer.
  3. ATM withdrawal is 20k max per day. 100k per week.
  4. Only N200 denomination to be loaded on ATM machine.
  5. POS withdrawal is max of 20k.
  6. No withdrawal shall exceed N5m for ind. & N10m for corp in a month but with charges.

Pros

This is a welcoming development as the new policy will eliminate substantially cash maintenance cost and grow financial inclusion in the country. Payment for goods and services are expected to be done via the PoS, Mobile money or online banking services. For instance, Servpay.ng provides online platform where basic utility bills payments can easily be made with bonuses on every transaction.

Cons

To firm up this policy, the CBN must ensure the commercial banks have uninterrupted digital services. The Apex Bank must come up with clear KPI’s and sanction when poor services are rendered to bank customers. Recently, the banks have been providing very poor digital services across board. Payment transfers are delayed or declined after several hours, failed transactions are never reversed automatically after 24hr. These and many more challenges are what the bank customers are forced to live with.

This new Policy will take effect from 9th of January 2023.