The naira closed the mid-week trading session at N1,423 to the dollar at the official foreign exchange market, maintaining relative stability amid continued weakness in the parallel market. Data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) show a mixed performance across both windows, with official rates holding firm while pressures persist outside the regulated market. At the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market (NFEM), the naira traded at N1,420.5/$ on Monday, strengthened marginally to N1,420/$ on Tuesday, before depreciating to N1,423/$ on Wednesday. ALSO READ CBN: 5 MPC members vote for 50bps rate cut at November 2025 meeting Last week, the currency…
Author: Abdoulaye Kay
Five members of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted for a 50-basis-point cut in the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) at the November 2025 meeting, citing sustained disinflation, improving external buffers, and resilient economic growth. According to their personal statements published by the apex bank, the five members, who represent 41.7 per cent of the 12-member committee, proposed reducing the MPR from 27.0 per cent to 26.5 per cent and adjusting the asymmetric corridor to +50/-450 basis points, while retaining all other prudential parameters. By majority, however, the committee voted to retain the policy rate at 27.0…
A fresh controversy has emerged over the academic credentials of the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, following leaked court records that appear to show discrepancies between the qualifications used to obtain his National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) certificate and the credentials he presented during his ministerial screening. The development comes despite earlier assurances by the NYSC that the minister’s documents were in order. New information, however, suggests that the academic details submitted to the NYSC—and later tendered by the scheme before a Federal High Court in Abuja—differ from records independently obtained from London Metropolitan University in the United Kingdom. According…
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested 77,792 drug offenders and seized 14,847 tonnes of illicit drugs over the past five years, its Chairman, retired Brigadier General Buba Marwa, has said. Marwa disclosed this on Tuesday during an award and commendation ceremony for NDLEA personnel at the agency’s headquarters in Abuja. He said the seizures dealt a major blow to both local and international drug trafficking networks, sending a strong signal that Nigeria will no longer tolerate illicit drug operations. According to him, 128 identified drug barons were among those arrested within the period, underscoring the scale of…
Sokoto State Governor, Dr. Ahmed Aliyu, has presented 23 brand new Toyota Jeeps to chairmen of the state’s 23 local government areas to strengthen grassroots governance and service delivery. The presentation of the Jeeps took place at the Government House, Sokoto, with the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Muhammad Bello Sifawa, representing the governor. Speaking at the event, the SSG said the vehicles were provided to enhance effective governance at the local level and improve service delivery across communities. He noted that the move would enable council chairmen to better supervise projects, monitor government activities, and respond promptly to…
The Sultan of Sokoto and President-General of the Nigeria Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, has expressed deep sorrow over the death of Dr. Muhammad Bashir Imam Solih, the Chief Imam of Ilorin. In a condolence message issued on Tuesday by his media team, the Sultan described the late Islamic scholar as a scholar who devoted his life to the service of Allah, Islam, and humanity. He extended his condolences to the Emir of Ilorin, the Kwara State Government, and the immediate family of the deceased cleric. The Sultan said the late Shaykh Bashir Solih was widely…
The Federal Government has announced the commencement of applications for the 2026 Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF) Overseas Scholarship Scheme. The announcement was made in a statement posted on the official X (formerly Twitter) platform of the PTDF. The Overseas Postgraduate Scholarship Scheme (OSS) is designed to cultivate indigenous talent for Nigeria’s oil and gas industry. According to PTDF, a Federal Government agency, the 2026 award will fund both MSc and PhD programmes, with applications restricted to PTDF partner universities in the United Kingdom, Germany, France, and Malaysia. The Fund said this approach is based on its assessment that scholarship…
Nigerians withdrew a staggering ₦36.34 trillion through Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) in the first half of 2025, despite higher charges introduced by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to discourage cash usage. The figure, covering January to June 2025, is nearly three times the ₦12.21 trillion recorded in the same period of 2024, according to data from the CBN’s quarterly statistical bulletin. The sharp rise came even as the apex bank, in March 2025, revised its ATM fee regime, removing the allowance of three free monthly withdrawals on other banks’ ATMs and increasing the cost of accessing cash. In a…
Former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode, has dismissed claims that the Federal Government relied on intelligence supplied by an Onitsha-based screwdriver seller using Google Maps to facilitate recent airstrikes on suspected bandit camps in parts of Sokoto State. Reacting to a report by The New York Times suggesting that a local trader provided the intelligence that led to the bombing, Fani-Kayode described the narrative as false, mischievous and deeply insulting to both Nigerian and United States intelligence services. In a statement on Sunday, the former minister said it was absurd to believe that the U.S. government would base such a…
The leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Sokoto State and Senator representing Sokoto North Senatorial District, Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko, has expressed deep shock over the fire outbreak that ravaged Shagon Goro Market in Sokoto. The early morning inferno, which occurred on Sunday, destroyed several shops and goods worth millions of naira, leaving many traders counting their losses. In a statement issued on Monday, Senator Wamakko said he received the news with great sadness, describing the incident as a painful setback for hardworking traders whose livelihoods depend on the market. The former governor of Sokoto State called on the…