At the Special Offences Court in Ikeja, the EFCC presented documents alleging that funds linked to Arik Air were used to float NG Eagle Airlines. The trial involves former AMCON officials and corporate entities.
The matter was adjourned into early January 2026 for continuation of proceedings.
Source: Vanguard, 2025-12-09
PalmPay has launched a month-long ‘Purple December’ campaign encouraging users to complete weekly digital tasks for prizes, culminating in a Christmas-themed social challenge.
The fintech says the activation celebrates user loyalty and highlights everyday digital-payment stories during the festive season.
Source: Punch, 2025-12-09
The Central Bank of Nigeria has granted final operating licences to 82 Bureaux De Change under updated regulatory guidelines, warning the public to transact only with authorised operators.
The move is part of broader FX-market reforms aimed at tightening compliance and reducing parallel-market abuses.
Source:The Nation, 2025-12-08
After a meeting with President Tinubu, Aliko Dangote urged Nigeria’s wealthy class to channel spending away from luxury cars and private jets toward industrial investment that can drive growth and jobs. Punch reports that Dangote framed the call as a cultural and policy-era comparison, arguing that restrained elite consumption in earlier periods contrasted sharply with today’s conspicuous spending. He warned that capital tied up in prestige assets could be far more transformative if redirected into manufacturing and large-scale productive ventures. Source: Punch, December 7, 2025.
The investment market in the country is feeling the effects of aggressive global monetary tightening and rising political and business risks, with capital importation dropping by 20% last year according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). This is according to a report by The Guardian, which further describes the situation as a significant decrease from $6.7 billion in 2021 to $5.33 billion in 2022, just ahead of the country’s general election. The impact of the election on the capital inflow, which is a measure of market attractiveness, was particularly felt in Q4, with a 51.51% decrease in year-on-year changes compared to Q4 2021. In addition, the recent fall in capital importation has been attributed to increasing business risk, insecurity, political risk, foreign exchange market rigidity, and the high arbitrage between official and black markets.
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On a state-by-state analysis, Lagos accounted for the majority of the inflow at 68% or $3.61 billion, while the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) recorded $1.63 billion or 31%. Interestingly, 27 states, including Abia, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Benue, Borno, Cross Rivers, and Delta, did not receive any inflow, and Ogun and Rivers had zero capital importation for the entire year. Production, banking, and telecommunications received the bulk of the capital, accounting for 37.01%, 24.08%, and 15.86%, respectively. Share and trading received over 5% each, while oil and gas, which used to be a major foreign investment attraction, received only 0.21% of the total inflow.
According to economist Eze Onyekpere, the uncertainty surrounding the 2023 elections and the likely policy direction of the new administration were key factors contributing to the poor performance of capital inflow. Onyekpere, who is the Lead Director of the Centre for Social Justice, explained that the fall was a result of investors adopting a wait-and-see approach in the lead-up to the first-quarter general elections.
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“Many investors and stakeholders wanted to see the outcome of the elections, the new policy framework and whether there would be peace in the country before committing in terms of investment,” he said.
According to him, if the new administration follows a policy direction that investors view as favourable and provides a positive economic outlook, there is a high possibility of a rebound.
By Tobiloba Kolawole
We couldn’t have forgotten so soon how Ebola, Zika, and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) viruses have in recent years ravaged the world’s social-economic settings.
More than we could ever imagine, with thousands of people dead including many business and institutional deaths, the year 2020 will remain a remarkable year for millions of people around the world. From South Africa to Nigeria, Britain to United States, China to Korea, our lives, businesses have experienced a kind of disruption that is only to be imagined.
In no small ways, organizations and businesses in Nigeria, just like in any other parts of the world have been severely impacted and are still experiencing COVID-19 disruptions. There were concerns about how Board of Directors of organizations would meet as the law requires, how Annual General Meeting were to hold and even conduct elections and how to keep the distribution channel running. In other areas, there were issues of how pensioners, who only rely on monthly pension allowances would be verified so their pay doesn’t stop. Organizations like cooperative societies, professional and societal associations whose administration rely on elected officials had to think outside the box to carry on pending election electronically, yes, this is possible with some electronic voting system.
Organization’s exposure to COVID-19 did not only leave many Nigerians unemployed, it impaired distribution network, increased cyber security and fraud risk, increased the burden of both customer and employee relations.
COVID-19 isn’t the only disruption that we have seen, it is a part of the black swan experience of 2020 if we consider the changes in global oil prices, Naira devaluation and the EndSARS protest that turned violent. All of these fuels the shocks that test the balance and survival of organizations – where their operations are directly or indirectly affected.
As though the COVID-19 lockdown of not less than 4 months and attendant restrictions following the gradual easing wasn’t disruptive enough, the EndSARS protest also added its bite on an already stressed business environment.
These disruptions gave credence to the campaign ‘The Future is Digital’. Organizations had to seek alternatives
Because we haven’t possessed the capacity to really figure out when the next crisis will happen, it is important for businesses and organizations to position for resilience in the face of the next global threat.
“We expect that the COVID-19 threat will eventually fade, as the Ebola, Zika, and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) viruses have in recent years. However, social-economic impact will still be felt long after the virus fades”, KPMG stated in an introduction to its series of publications under the title COVID-19: A Business Impact Series.
The words out there now is that The Future is Digital. Embracing digital processes is what has aided the survival of a many organizations in the tumultuous 2020 year of the COVID-19.
In just three months from May to July, Zoom reportedly recorded higher sales and profit than it did in all of 2019, as more people work and learn remotely during the coronavirus pandemic.
Getting onboard digital cannot be overemphasized as those who fail to do so will suffer the consequences. The world will apparently not remain the same, digital is its future. Whether for strategic meetings, corporate sector elections, verification processes and or any other identification needs, the solutions are available.
For some organizations, digital transformation may appear costly and unnecessary investment. Although, the process takes time, investment and patience, ultimately, it’s the businesses that adapt and adopt that are reaping the rewards. In other words, going digital isn’t really an option. It’s a necessity.
Here is what organizations and businesses that won’t digitalize are likely to suffer.
1) Competitive disadvantage
It is not easy keeping up when new companies come in with innovation that disrupt the industry. You should know that keeping up is pertinent, and digital capabilities are the best ways to stay sprightly. A popular reference is the Blockbuster and Netflix story.
In the predigital era, you’d have to walk into a Blockbuster to rent a film or video game. Blockbuster is one of the most glaring examples of a business unwilling to adapt to digital. The mistake cost them an entire empire.
You must have learned about the story. Netflix’s Reed Hastings approached former Blockbuster CEO John Antioco in 2000 and asked him to pay $50 million for the company he founded. Today Reed Hastings is worth $5 billion.
Apparently, Antioco didn’t take the offer to buy Netflix as he couldn’t imagine a film business without customers walking into a rental store just like many Nigerians would not foresee that elections at all levels, especially private sector elections, can be conducted without voters walking into a polling venue and get the process done fast and with less cost.
Netflix, an online DVD ordering and mailing service at the time saw a world of digital transactions and convenience.
Take a big turn from that box of traditional methods and think outside it innovatively. Failure to think outside the box and innovate can keep companies moored to traditional tried and tested methods. In today’s digital landscape, experimentation is required to find new paths to a customer and new ways to make revenue.
2) Inability to collect key analytics
In today’s world, consumers are far less brand loyal than they were 3 decades ago. This is a wakeup call to businesses and organizations on the need to understand their stakeholders and consumers to promote loyalty.
In the case of an election, unlike the paper-based polling process with all the attendant manual input of data, an electronic voting solution simplifies the rigorous processes and draw data in the simplest form.
Data allows companies to tailor content, engage on the platforms that matter, and continuously learn what does and doesn’t work. Without this type of insight, companies and organizations can make detrimental strategy errors.
Data provided by digital platforms is invaluable in shaping the knowledge a process or brand has of a stakeholders and customers respectively. By missing the opportunity to capitalize on data and take a digital approach, companies can struggle to thrive and even survive.
3) Lose relevance
It is so easy to be lost in an ocean of high speed-moving digital era when an organization is not digitally positioned. The speed at which digital move is as much as 5 times faster than traditional business methods.
When the iPhone 6 launched consumers realized the new model of phones were prone to bending. Seeing an opportunity, Kit Kat’s marketing department took to Twitter to play off the news cycle.
Kit Kat leveraged hashtags that were trending and news that was hyped across hundreds of news outlets to gain visibility.
Their quick wit and digital effort made the brand relevant at the right moment, and the company achieved over 25,000 retweets bringing them timely exposure.
Wise digital strategists look for these types of opportunities every day, and those who are successful continue to steal the spotlight. Without a digital presence, it is impossible to compete with the pace of modern marketers. https://digitalmarketinginstitute.com/blog/what-is-the-cost-of-not-going-digital-for-a-business
4) Stifle company and revenue growth
A lack of digital activity will make growth a challenge. Take Kodak as an example. The decades-long decline of film-based business ended in bankruptcy due to the resistance of change. For the company, digital change was realized as early as 1975.
And, in 1981 researchers at Kodak suggested the company still had the chance to stay relevant if they embraced a digital transformation. Researchers anticipated, that for a full business revamp, the change would take approximately 10 years— but it was still possible.
The problem is that, during the 10-year window, Kodak did little to change. Even as late as 2007, a Kodak marketing video continued to emphasize “Kodak is back” disregarding the new digital landscape.
These strategic errors stifled the company’s ability to grow and in January 2012, Kodak filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
Acknowledging change is not enough, a company needs to embed that change into its practices, culture and processes in order to realize its full potential. The change apparent and it will sweep away resistance.
In June, the Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu demonstrated an understanding of the changing times from traditional tom digital process when he approved the conduct of year 2020 biometric verification of pensioners tagged “I am Alive” virtually (online) in line with government’s efforts to reduce the effect of COVlD-19 pandemic in the state and ensure physical distancing.
When it comes to digital transformation, brands and indeed organizations need to engage in the process and look at how it can be integrated to drive digital maturity.
5) Struggle to retain (and hire) valuable talent
The largest demographic in the current workforce is millennials, and soon Gen Z will infiltrate.
Both of these generations grew up in a digital world, where technological innovations are an expectation rather than a novel thought. As such, when given the choice, it’s likely that these cohorts will opt to work for companies that embrace digital workflows.
This is proving true with the rise of the gig economy, which now accounts for 34% of the US workforce.
More specifically, we can point to Uber vs taxi services, and the growth of each industry. As taxis fail to take a digital approach, they continue to lose staff numbers.
Currently, there are 13,587 yellow cabs on New York City streets. The total number of black cars associated with ride-hailing apps total 60,000, with more than 46,000 specifically connected with Uber.
The imbalance between drivers for Uber and taxi are accounting for a large productivity difference. As of December 2017, ride-hail apps performed 65% more rides per month than taxi drivers did in New York City.
Though yellow cabs are still in business, as more drivers shift to jobs at Uber, Lyft, and other app-driven taxi services, the fate of old-school taxi and cab services looks uncertain.
As more digital disrupters enter the marketplace across industries, it’s key to have an agile workforce that can adapt to change and rise to challenges. Cultivate a culture of collaboration and learning that prepares employees for the pace of the digital world.
#tech #technology #covid19 #future #digital #futureisdigital
Local investors have expressed fear that economic challenge in Nigeria, said to have continued to dampen investment drive and trigger apathy in the Nigerian capital market since the 2016 recession and now fueled by the effect of COVID-19 lockdown may lead to a forceful takeover of investments by foreigners.
The Chief Research Officer of Investdata Consulting Limited, Ambrose Omordion said if the Federal Government fails to make Forex available to foreign investors to repatriate their dividend, it would not only push local investors away from multinationals operating in Nigeria, it would also increase the quantum of unclaimed dividend in the capital market.
“If they find it difficult at the Forex market, they may decide to buy more shares with the money and if this happens, Nigerian investors will be short-changed while foreign investors will eventually take over the companies.
Omordion exercised fear about the unhealthiness of the situation for the market and urged that local investors must be encouraged to participate actively in multinational firms to create more wealth for the country.
The fear is might be valid as a research by The Guardian revealed that foreign investors constitute a large proportion of unclaimed dividends in multinational firms listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) such as Nestle, Unilever, and Nigerian Breweries, among others.
It was further reported that shareholding structure of Nestle Plc, the biggest multinational company on the NSE showed that Nestle S.A Switzerland controls 66.50 per cent, while Stanbic IBTC Nominees hold 6.28 percent. Free float (Others) constitute 27 per cent. For Unilever Plc, Unilever Overseas have 75.96 per cent stake Stanbic IBTC Nominees control 5.01 per cent, while 19.03 per cent is free float.
“The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and NSE have been working hard to reduce the quantum of unclaimed dividend so that people will have access to their return on investment.
“Government should find a way to make sure that these people have access to Forex, even if they want to invest, it should be a fresh investment. Before now, they find it easy to repatriate their money and that is why they can invest more because they know that they are getting good returns from Nigerian companies” Omordion said.
Sunny Nwosu, the founder of the Independent Shareholders Association of Nigeria (ISAN), said local investors are ready to sell off their shares to foreign investors at any additional value on the share price.
“If they add N10 or N20 to the value of shares, Nigerians will sell because there is much hunger in the land, most of these retail shareholders have no money to meet needs of their families.
To protect its image in view of the ongoing allegations of extramarital affairs with an ex-staff of the bank, First City Monument Bank (FCMB) has announced that Yemisi Edun would act as Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, while the embattled Adam Nuru would proceed on leave.
“In line with normal corporate practice, Mrs. Yemisi Edun is Acting as the Managing Director of FCMB in the interim period, while Mr. Adam Nuru is on leave.
“She (Edun) has not been appointed as the substantive Managing Director,” said a statement by the bank’s management.
It would be recalled that Nuru has been embroiled in an extramarital crisis involving a former staff of the bank, Moyo Thomas and her late husband, Tunde Thomas.
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Edun holds a first degree in Chemistry from University of Ife, Ile-Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University) and a Master’s degree in International Accounting and Finance from University of Liverpool, United Kingdom.
She is a Fellow of Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria and a CFA Charter holder. She is also an Associate Member of Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers; an Associate Member of Institute of Taxation of Nigeria; a Member of Information Systems Audit and Control, U.S.A; and a Certified Information Systems Auditor.
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The acting managing director began her career with Akintola Williams Deloitte (member firm of Deloitte Touché Tohmatsu) in 1987, with main focus in Corporate Finance activities.
Edun joined FCMB in year 2000 as Divisional Head of Internal Audit and Control before assuming the role of Chief Financial Officer of the bank and now as the Managing Director/CEO.
Idowu Sowunmi
As part of measures aimed at enhancing clients’ efficiency, an independent public relations (PR) measurement and evaluation agency, P+ Measurement Services has revamped its Independent public relations(PR) performance audit reporting services.
This was contained in a statement by the firm’s media representative, Glory Nnabugwu Tuesday, stating that the newly improved audit reporting template will help the agency broaden and maximise its offerings, by providing inference driven PR measurement and performance audit services for stakeholders in the communications industry.
According to the agency, the revamped performance audit reporting “aims to create an easy-to-read and ready-to-use dashboard for clients and communications analysts, using a multi-platform strategy to incorporate all communications efforts into one dashboard.
“It also features a multiple view dashboard, inclusive of trends, themes, sentiment, CEOs performance, using qualitative and quantitative data which allows structured analysis and inference”, the statement read.
The Chief Insight Officer of the Company, Philip Odiakose said. “We have moved fast to come up with a comprehensive audit report that helps PR agencies, media planners, analysts and marketing communications clients make a difference in their business.”
Odiakose affirmed that the company reviews its audit report annually and upgrade when necessary for clients’ easy implementation into their PR strategy.
“The organisation upgraded its audit report for easy-to-read, dark-mode feel and valid metric in line with clients PR objectives in eradicating the request for AVE as well as noises from the machine” Odiakose stated.
The P+ boss pointed out that having the right data, insights and recommendations goes a long way in scaling and analysing communications effort, while an easy-to-read dashboard propagates quick-decision-making for clients.
“We remain committed to promoting awareness for the Independent media monitoring and measurement market in Nigeria, and by creating world-class structures and standards such as this. We believe we are on the right path to facilitating a balanced communications industry for brands and organisations in the country.
“The report is valuable to communication and PR professionals wanting to define the value they bring to the brand having return on objective (ROO) in mind rather than AVE that is industry denounced, subjective, inconsistent in delivery value and can be manipulated”, he said.
The company which celebrated its fifth-year anniversary last month, also celebrated its recently concluded AMEC measurement month as the only AMEC Member in the country.
As Nigeria’s fast growing media intelligence agency, P+ Measurement Services continues to spur media measurement and evaluation literacy campaign for brands, agencies, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and government agencies, in a bid to standardise a procedure that enables stakeholders to understand that implementing the right media measurement and evaluation campaign is critical.
African Energy Chamber has released its Energy Outlook for 2021, assessing Africa’s competitiveness compared with other frontiers, while highlighting the countless opportunities that continue to emerge and exist across the entire energy value chain.
The report explored the forces shaping up continent’s energy market after the historic shocks of 2020, and analysed the upcoming recovery on the back of the global energy transition and persisting market uncertainties.
After a year of historic crisis, the outlook offered guidance and solutions for African energy stakeholders to navigate troubled waters and support a strong recovery in 2021 and beyond.
The report provided detailed information in areas of critical importance, and included sections examining jobs and employment, cash-flow and profit forecasts, the expenditure and investment outlook, carbon emissions, oil and gas market projections, and regional production outlook.
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Pressing issues including notably the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)’s production cuts, ongoing regulatory reforms, the impact of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) by region and country, and offshore drilling demand across multiple continental shelves are analysed in detail.
‘’It goes without saying that Africa has witnessed its fair share of difficult times this year.
“Even though oil and gas activities have taken a hit, optimism surrounding African projects, fiscal regime and investments still exist but requires all of us as stakeholders to do more.
“There has always been opportunity in drastic and unprecedented times, which gives us a lot to look forward to,” said the Executive Chairman of the African Energy Chamber, Nj Ayuk.
The outlook was the result of strong regional and international cooperation between actors of government, and public and private sector stakeholders across sub-Saharan Africa.
It gathered the latest available data on sub-Saharan Africa’s hydrocarbons markets, and benefits from the insights of key local, regional and international companies, experts and economists, making it the most comprehensive resource to date on the future of African energy markets.
‘’The report highlights the expected outcome of post COVID-19 mitigation strategies to the African energy sector in 2021 and beyond.
“It also assesses Africa’s competitiveness compared with other frontiers, and highlights the countless opportunities that continue to emerge and exist across our entire energy value chain.
“We look forward to this report serving as a basis for sound decisions towards a thriving energy industry in Africa,’’ said Senior Vice President at the African Energy Chamber, Verner Ayukegba.
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African Energy Chamber issued rallying call to all industry stakeholders to work together on a reform agenda to keep African natural resources competitive and create jobs; short-term outlook for African oil and gas remains marked by COVID-19 and uncertain market conditions expected to result in a $30 billion cut in Capex spending (2020-2021); South Western Africa expected to emerge as the next energy frontier on the continent on the back of high-impact wells coming up in 2021 and 2022; the continent’s production of oil and gas is expected to increase in 2021 as OPEC’s sanctions ease and on the back of increase oil output from Libya and increased gas production from Algeria and Egypt.
The pandemic notably came at a particularly difficult moment in Africa, exacerbating already challenging market conditions on the back of a competitive American shale industry, the delaying of major projects due to regulatory uncertainty, and increasing global attention to decarbonisation.
African Energy Chamber notably expected a CAPEX spending cut of $30 billion over the 2020-2021 period, and has identified a further $80 billion of investment whose sanctioning would depend on improving market conditions, along with bold policy and fiscal reforms from African regulators.
Idowu Sowunmi