Sokoto State Governor, Ahmed Aliyu, has said that state governments are now better funded under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, a development he says has enabled them to execute projects and programmes that directly benefit citizens. Aliyu made the remarks in Bodinga Local Government Area during the flag-off of the sale of food items at subsidized rates, an initiative designed to help rural dwellers and junior civil servants access essential commodities. The governor said the increased federal allocation has allowed his administration to implement development projects, provide palliatives, and ensure prompt payment of workers’ salaries on the 18th of every month.…
Author: Abdoulaye Kay
The naira strengthened against the British pound on Tuesday, closing at N1,819.10 per pound as renewed stability in the foreign exchange market supported the local currency. The gain marks another improvement for the naira against the pound, reflecting continued movements in the domestic foreign exchange market. The latest exchange rate places the pound at N1,819.10, indicating a stronger naira position compared with previous trading levels. The development comes amid ongoing efforts by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to improve liquidity, deepen the foreign exchange market and strengthen price discovery. The naira’s performance against major international currencies has remained a…
The naira strengthened further at the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market (NFEM), closing at N1,350 per dollar on Monday, August 17, 2026, its strongest level since April. The latest performance represents an N8.25, or about 0.6 per cent, appreciation from the N1,358.25/$ recorded on August 14, according to foreign exchange data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). The naira has maintained a strengthening trend in recent weeks, appreciating from N1,368/$ at the end of July to N1,350/$ on August 17, representing a gain of about 1.3 per cent. The latest closing rate is the strongest recorded since April 22, when…
Nigeria’s Debt Management Office (DMO) has allotted N1.56 trillion worth of Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) bonds at its August 17, 2026 auction, following strong investor demand totalling N1.73 trillion. The auction, which offered N1.10 trillion across three reopened bonds, attracted 595 bids, of which 226 were successful. Settlement is scheduled for Wednesday, August 19. The securities comprised the 22.60% FGN January 2035 bond, the 16.2499% FGN April 2037 bond and the 15.45% FGN June 2038 bond. The 2038 bond recorded the strongest demand, attracting 225 bids valued at N821.32 billion. The DMO accepted 161 of the bids, allotting N631.02…
Turnover on Nigeria’s official foreign exchange market (NAFEM) surged to $1.41 billion on Monday, August 17, 2026, marking its highest level in five weeks as trading activity rebounded sharply. Data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) showed that the latest turnover was more than seven times the $185 million recorded on August 11, when market activity fell to its lowest level in 11 weeks. The $1.41 billion turnover is also the highest recorded since July 21, when the market posted $1.53 billion in transactions. The latest increase followed a period of subdued activity in the foreign exchange market. Turnover…
The Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) on Tuesday shared N3.007 trillion among the Federal Government, the 36 states and 774 Local Government Councils as revenue for July. The allocation was approved at FAAC’s monthly meeting in Owerri, Imo State, which was held on the sidelines of the National Council of Federation and Economic Development (NACOFED), according to the Director of Press and Public Relations at the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, Bawa Mokwa. Mokwa said the July distribution followed an improvement in gross statutory revenue, which rose to N4.359 trillion. He said the figure was N658.087 billion higher…
The acting Director of Corporate Communications at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Hakama Sidi-Ali, has been named the 2026 National Spokesperson of the Year, completing a historic hat-trick at the National Spokespersons Awards. Sidi-Ali received the honour at the 6th National Spokespersons Awards and the 4th Economic Confidential Annual Lecture organised by Image Merchants Promotion Limited (IMPR), publishers of PRNigeria, Economic Confidential and Spokespersons Digest, in Abuja. The award makes her the first communications professional to move from winning a sector-specific category twice consecutively to clinching the overall National Spokesperson of the Year title. Sidi-Ali first won the Outstanding…
“Stability is not everything,” the German economist and former finance minister Karl Schiller once observed, “but without stability, everything is nothing.” Nigeria in mid-2026 increasingly demonstrates the wisdom of the second half of that proposition. It may also be approaching the point at which the first deserves greater attention. Consider where we stand. Headline inflation declined to 15.91 per cent in June 2026; core inflation stood at 15.92 per cent, though food inflation remained higher at 17.52 per cent. The foreign exchange market is far calmer than in 2023 and 2024, with the official rate near N1,380 to the dollar and…
Inflows through International Money Transfer Operators (IMTOs) rose to a record $1.29 billion in the first quarter of 2026, representing a 45% increase from the $888.47 million recorded in the corresponding period of 2025. The latest figures were contained in the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) Q1 2026 Statistical Bulletin and indicate stronger remittance flows through formal channels. IMTO inflows increased consistently throughout the first quarter, with January recording the highest monthly figure of $506.66 million. ALSO READ CBN’s Sidi-Ali wins 2026 National Spokesperson of the Year Award This was followed by $402.13 million in February and $377.93 million in…
Meta, in partnership with the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, has launched AI Academy Nigeria, a national initiative aimed at developing Nigeria’s artificial intelligence talent pipeline and strengthening the country’s digital innovation ecosystem. The programme is being implemented through the ministry’s 3 Million Technical Talent (3MTT) programme, the National Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics (NCAIR), and Robotics and Artificial Intelligence Nigeria (RAIN). According to the partners, the academy will provide developers, startups, students and early-career professionals with practical artificial intelligence training, technical learning and opportunities for startup development. The initiative will operate through three major tracks:…