Nigeria’s gross external reserves have risen to $50.45 billion as of February 16, 2026 — the highest level recorded in 13 years — signaling renewed strength in the country’s external position. Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Olayemi Cardoso, disclosed this on Tuesday at the end of the 304th Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting in Abuja. According to Cardoso, the current reserve level provides an import cover of 9.68 months for goods and services. “Gross external reserves rose significantly to $50.45 billion as of February 16, 2026, the highest in thirteen years. This provides an import cover of…
Author: Editor
A day after it withdrew the three-count charge filed by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), the Federal Government has filed a fresh 12-count charge against Mike Ozekhome (SAN). Channels Television obtained a copy of the charge sheet dated February 24, 2026, and signed by the Director of Public Prosecutions, Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN). In the charge filed before the FCT High Court sitting in Abuja, Ozekhome and Ponfa Useni, also known as Tali Shani, are listed as defendants in the criminal suit. In the fresh count, Ozekhome, Ponfa Useni (aka Tali Shani), and General Jeremiah Useni…
A deliberate blueprint for the collapse of academic excellence in Nigeria. If anyone ever set out to deliberately destroy university education in Nigeria, the fastest and most effective way would be this: disconnect academic recruitment from merit, sever departments from decision-making, and replace scholarly excellence with patronage, bureaucracy, and political loyalty. Sadly, that is no longer a hypothetical scenario. It is unfolding before our eyes. What is happening today in the recruitment of academic staff in many Nigerian universities is not merely an administrative anomaly. It is not a “teething problem.” It is not reform gone wrong. It is an…
The picture of Nigeria and its potential to be a great nation was presented in this column last week. It is heartwarming and inspiring to recognize Nigeria’s enormous natural and human resources, but also disheartening to know that these resources are lying idle, with some being plundered. As earlier buttressed, humans are the most important resource, which galvanizes the transformation of other resources to fast-track societal development. How qualitative is Nigeria’s human resource? The major qualitative indicator of human resources in any society is the level of its human capital. Human capital refers to the stock of competencies, skills, knowledge,…
President Donald Trump has imposed a fresh 10 percent tariff on imports into the United States, hours after the Supreme Court of the United States struck down several of his sweeping trade duties in a sharp rebuke of his tariff strategy. Trump signed the order in the Oval Office, announcing on social media that the measure would take effect “almost immediately.” A White House fact sheet said the new tariff will begin on February 24 and remain in force for 150 days. Exemptions will apply to sectors already under separate investigations, including pharmaceuticals, as well as goods covered by the…
We lost Prof Biodun Jeyifo, or BJ as we fondly called him, last week, not long after we organised an 80th anniversary symposium in his honour. At the event, his bosom friend. Dr Yemi Ogunbiyi explained he was not supposed to have reached the ripe old age of 80 as much earlier in life; he had been diagnosed with a disease that was supposed to guarantee a much shorter life-span. It was for this reason that he relocated to the United States to have access to better medical facilities. We thank God for giving him a long and fulfilled life.I…
Talk about the hunted turning around to become the hunter. Back in August 2020, former Central Bank Deputy Governor Dr. Obed Mailafia [now deceased] sensationally said during a live Nigeria Info radio interview, “Let me make some revelations because some of us have our internal security networks. We have met with some of the bandits’ High Commanders who have repented, and they told us that one of the Northern Governors is the Commander of Boko Haram in Nigeria.” The interviewer asked him whether the “Northern governor” in question was a former one or a sitting one, and Mailafia said, “Sitting.”…
Mallam El-Rufai is not someone you can pummel. He is not a small fry. They know how far he can go to disrupt, shake systems, and cause monumental damage. Cleverly, he knows the capacities of his adversaries too. Take this from me: he’ll inflict maximum damage to the reputations of PBAT, APC, the Presidency, Ribadu, etc., even if the ADC does not win. He’ll ensure that he’ll use his vast platforms to make the APC unlikeable to any sensible Nigerian, at least in the North West. Trust me, it is a fight to the finish. He’s a gifted propagandist. He…
Three very serious allegations were made last week by the former Minister of the FCT and former Governor of Kaduna state Mallam Nasir El-Rufai. Firstly that he bugged Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, the President’s National Security Advisor’s phone and is privy to his most sensitive conversations, secondly that the National Security Advisor’s office has imported large sums of dangerous chemical weapons into the country for unspecified purposes and thirdly that there is a conspiracy between the NSA and Governor Uba Sani of Kaduna state, his successor in office, to “destroy him” and “jail him for life”. I have tried to stay…
The Defence Headquarters (DHQ) has confirmed the arrival of about 100 United States military personnel and equipment in Nigeria, stating that the team landed at an airfield in Bauchi as part of a bilateral security cooperation arrangement. Defence spokesperson, Samaila Uba, disclosed in a statement on Monday that the deployment followed a recent agreement between Nigeria and the United States on military support and collaboration. According to him, the Federal Government had formally requested assistance covering training, technical support, and intelligence sharing for personnel of the Nigerian Armed Forces. He said the partnership is intended to provide access to specialised…