Business
CBN increases interest rate to 22.75%
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has raised the Monetary Policy Rate(MPR) by four hundred basis points to 22.75 percent from 18.75 percent.
Governor of the CBN Yemi Cardoso announced this after the first MPC meeting for the year in Abuja on Tuesday.
“All 12 members of the committee decided to further tighten monetary policy by raising the MPR by 400 basis points to 22.75 per cent from 18.75 per cent. Adjust the asymmetric corridor around the MPR to +100 to -700 from plus 100 to -300 basis points,” he said.
The MPR has been 18.75 percent since the last MPC meeting between 24th and 25th July 2023.
With inflation at 29.90 percent, he said the new MPR is part of moves to tackle the country’s inflation.
Cardoso who chairs the MPC also said the Cash Reserve Ratio(CRR) has been raised to forty-five percent while the liquidity ratio was left unchanged at thirty percent.
The CBN chief also said over $26 billion has passed through the crypto app Binance Nigeria in the last four years.
“In the case of Binance, in the last one year, 26 billion dollars has passed through Binance Nigeria from sources and users who we cannot adequately identify,” he told reporters in his first MPC meeting since assuming office as the CBN governor.
Economic hardship in the country has worsened in the past months, leading to protests in several parts of Nigeria.
But Cardoso has exonerated himself and his team from the country’s economic woes.
“I laugh at that question but it’s not a laughing matter and I think it is very important for Nigerians to understand that the Central Bank Governor — I and my team — are not responsible for the woes that we have today; we are part of the solution,” the former Lagos State Commissioner for Economic Planning and Budget said while responding to a question on how the CBN intends to tackle the country’s biting economic hardship.
“We are determined to ensure that we work hard to get out of the mess that Nigeria is in. We assumed responsibility in a time of crisis of confidence; there was a crisis of confidence and you may all want to go to bed and wish that crisis of confidence was not there but it was, and we can’t turn back the clock.
“All we can do is do the difficult things to make a bad situation better and I do believe that the efforts that we are making are beginning to bring back confidence because to be frank, without confidence in your business, you are not going to get far.”
The Bureau De Change (BDC) operators have lamented that they are close to going out of operations as most of its members are struggling to stay afloat and meet up with overhead expenses.
These licensed currency traders have attributed this mainly to the suspension of dollar allocation by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to the BDCs, as they struggle to have access to foreign exchange from the official window.
The operators lamented that with the huge drop in income level, paying staff salaries, office rent, licenses and other compliance expenses has become a major challenge.
This is further compounded by the uncertainty in the retail sub-sector of the forex market, with many of the BDC operators still battling to meet up with the recapitalization and license processes.
The BDC operators had always advocated for increased participation and involvement in the foreign exchange market to help sustain the success of the various policies being implemented by the CBN and help provide more liquidity.
This push by the BDCs followed the June 2023 unification of all segments of Nigeria’s foreign exchange market, consolidating all windows into one. This action by the apex bank was part of a series of immediate changes aimed at improving liquidity and stability in the Nigerian Foreign Exchange (FX) Market.
The currency traders had advised the CBN to always leverage the BDCs and allow them access to banks’ autonomous window and agencies of international money transfer operators.
The CBN had in July 2021 stopped the sale of forex to BDC operators across the country, accusing them of becoming conduit for illegal financial flows, working with corrupt people to conduct money laundering in Nigeria.
In February 2024, the apex bank announced the resumption of forex sales to the BDCs following the revocation of operational licenses of over 4,173 of these licensed currency traders over their failure to comply with some regulatory guidelines. This was to help enhance liquidity in the retail segment of the forex market.
However, the CBN has since stopped the sales of forex to the licensed currency traders with little or no intervention till date. The BDC operators, who said that the CBN could not sustain the exercise, however, noted that they are `engaged in positive discussion with the apex bank for the return of their active participation in the BDCs in the retail end of the forex market.
Customers now prefer to use IMTOs
In an exclusive chat with Nairametrics, a BDC operator, Abubakar Ardo, said that most of them are barely managing to stay in business, as the non-sale of forex directly to the BDCs has affected their operations badly.
Apart from the challenge of getting forex from the official window, Ardo explained that the demand for forex has dropped sharply as most customers now prefer to do transfers or use online platforms or International Money Transfer Operator (IMTOs) instead of physical cash exchanges.
He said, ‘’Honestly, things have been extremely tough for us lately. Most operators are just managing to stay afloat. Since the CBN stopped selling forex directly to us, our operations have been badly affected. We used to depend largely on the official window to get foreign exchange at regulated rates, but that avenue has been shut for a long time.
‘’Right now, survival depends mostly on what we can get from walk-in customers — people coming in to sell small amounts of dollars, pounds, or euros. But that’s not structured or steady. Sometimes, you can go days without a single serious transaction. The market is very dislocated, and demand has dropped sharply because most people now prefer to do transfers or use online platforms or IMTOs instead of physical cash exchanges.
‘’This may be good for the Naira, but sincerely, many of us are suffering. That’s why we’re proposing we get fully integrated.
‘’Meeting up with overhead costs has become a major challenge. Office rent, staff salaries, licenses, and other compliance expenses are still there, but the income isn’t coming in as before. As I talk with you, many operators have either closed shop temporarily or reduced their workforce just to cut costs.’’
He insisted that they are basically operating in survival mode — trying to keep their licenses active and hoping that the CBN will eventually re-integrate BDCs into the official market.
Going extinct
Making his own contribution, the President of the Association of Bureau Dec Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON), Aminu Gwadebe, pointed out that the majority of its members are struggling to meet up with their overhead expenses, with their operations almost going extinct.
He said, ‘’The market is stable. As patriotic citizens, we align with policies that strengthen our sovereignty, which is the naira and commend both the regulatory and fiscal authorities on the naira stability and elimination of the exchange rate spikes.
‘’Our operations are currently near extinction, with the majority of our members struggling to meet up with overhead expenses. There is an ongoing positive collaboration between the CBN and the operators on the return of active participation of the BDCs in the retail end of the FX market.
‘’The BDCs, over time, remained the most potent tool of the CBN’s foreign exchange policy transmission mechanism. The majority of us are comatose as survival is largely dependent on the official foreign exchange market, which is not accessible to the BDCs, with only very few grappling with dislocated and unstructured walk-in customers.’’
Gwadebe noted that the CBN discontinued the sales of forex to BDCs a long time ago, with little or no intervention to date.
The Federal Government has successfully obtained N700 billion to install 1.1 million meters by December 2025, paving the way for a transformative upgrade in our power infrastructure.
The Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, announced this on Tuesday in Lagos at the 2025 Nigerian Energy Forum (NEF), themed “Powering Nigeria through Investment, Innovation, and Partnership”, according to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
According to the minister, the initiative is part of the Presidential Metering Initiative (PMI), a comprehensive plan to close Nigeria’s metering gap, strengthen revenue assurance, and promote transparency in the electricity supply chain.
He said the PMI complements the 3.2 million meters being procured through the World Bank’s Distribution Sector Recovery Programme (DISREP), positioning the country to bridge the metering gap within five years.
FG leveraging on bilateral funding to attract investment
The minister added that the government was leveraging bilateral funding and development finance to attract private investment and expand electricity access in underserved communities, schools, hospitals, and public institutions.
“In the past two years, more than $2 billion has been mobilised through key programmes, including the World Bank’s DARES, NSIA’s RIPLE, and the JICA fund.
“These interventions are accelerating renewable energy deployment and access to reliable power,” he said.
Adelabu also revealed that agreements signed at the 2025 Nigerian Renewable Energy Innovation Forum would add nearly four gigawatts of solar manufacturing capacity annually, about 80 per cent of Nigeria’s current generation capacity.
“With this level of renewable energy production, Nigeria is on track to meet its domestic transition targets and serve regional power markets,” he said.
Adelabu said the Electricity Act 2023 had transformed the sector by empowering states to establish subnational electricity markets.
“Fifteen states have received regulatory autonomy, with one fully operational.
“We’re ensuring alignment between wholesale and retail markets,” Adebayo noted.
He maintained that tariff reforms had improved supply reliability, reduced industrial energy costs, and boosted sector revenue from N1 trillion in 2023 to N1.7 trillion in 2024, with projections to exceed N2 trillion by 2025.
The minister added that President Bola Tinubu had approved a N4 trillion bond to settle verified debts owed to generation companies and gas suppliers, alongside a targeted subsidy plan to protect vulnerable consumers.
Adelabu reaffirmed the government’s commitment to partnering with the private sector to unlock stranded generation capacity and build a sustainable power future.
“Through sustained investment, innovation, and strong partnerships, we can power Nigeria’s journey toward a brighter, more resilient energy future,” he said.
In mid-October, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) approved the disbursement of N28 billion to electricity distribution companies (DisCos) for the procurement and installation of prepaid meters under the Meter Acquisition Fund (MAF) Tranche B scheme.
According to Order No: NERC/2025/107 published on the commission’s website, the MAF provides a financial mechanism for accelerating meter rollout to unmetered customers at no cost, while ensuring a credible revenue stream that supports long-term financing for DisCos.
NERC also reported that DisCos installed a total of 225,631 meters in the second quarter of 2025, marking a 20.55% increase compared to the 187,161 meters installed in the first quarter of the year.
According to NERC’s Second Quarter 2025 Report, of the total meters installed, 147,823 units (65.52%) were deployed under the Meter Asset Provider (MAP) framework, 65,315 meters under the Meter Acquisition Fund (MAF) scheme, 12,259 meters through the Vendor Financed framework, and 234 meters were installed under the DisCo Financed scheme.
Despite this progress, NERC noted that as of June 2025, only 6,422,933 out of the 11,821,194 active registered customers in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI) had been metered. This translates to a national metering rate of 54.33%, leaving nearly half of electricity consumers still unmetered and subject to estimated billing.
Nairametrics
Armed officers of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) on Tuesday sealed the headquarters of Nestoil Limited in Victoria Island, Lagos.
The action followed a Federal High Court order that froze the company’s assets, bank accounts, and shares over an alleged debt of $1.01 billion and N430 billion owed to FBNQuest Merchant Bank Limited and First Trustees Limited, both subsidiaries of First Bank of Nigeria Limited, according to a report by Premium Times.
Videos seen by Nairametrics showed police personnel surrounding the company’s premises, with a marking on the wall reading “Possession taken by court.”
The enforcement followed a Mareva injunction granted by Justice D. I. Dipeolu of the Federal High Court, Lagos Division, on October 22, 2025, authorising the takeover of assets belonging to Nestoil Limited, its affiliate Neconde Energy Limited, and their promoters, Ernest and Nnenna Azudialu-Obiejesi, across more than 20 financial institutions in Nigeria.
Breakdown of the debt and court order
Court filings showed that the defendants’ total indebtedness stood at $1,012,608,386.91 and N430,014,064,380.77 as of September 30, 2025. The credit facilities were extended to Nestoil Limited, Neconde Energy Limited, and their related entities under the Obijackson Group, secured by assets, shares, and oil field interests.
Justice Dipeolu appointed Abubakar Sulu-Gambari (SAN) as receiver-manager, authorising him to take over Nestoil’s offices at 41/42 Akin Adesola Street, Victoria Island, and any other identified assets within Nigeria.
The order also directed security agencies, including the Nigeria Police Force, Nigerian Navy, and State Security Service (SSS), to assist in enforcing the takeover and securing the company’s premises.
Further enforcement and next hearing
The injunction empowered the receiver to assume control of Neconde Energy’s stake in Oil Mining Lease (OML) 42, jointly operated with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and its subsidiaries. The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) and NNPCL were instructed to grant the receiver access to manage production and revenue flows from the oil block.
The court also directed all affected financial institutions to disclose, under oath, details of funds or investments belonging to Nestoil and its affiliates within seven days of being served the order.
The case was adjourned to November 7, 2025, for the hearing of the substantive motion on notice.
A Nigerian tribunal sitting in Lagos has ordered General Hydrocarbons Limited (GHL) to pay First Bank of Nigeria Limited (FirstBank) $112,100 and N111 million as costs over a dispute related to Oil Mining Lease (OML) 120, according to Nairametrics.
Justice Kumai Bayang Akaahs gave the order on Tuesday while ruling on a Notice of Arbitration filed by GHL against First Bank.
Justice Akaahs held that GHL failed to substantiate its claims against First Bank regarding the alleged “absolute obligation” of the bank to fund the optimal exploration, development, and production of OML 120 under a purported Subrogation Agreement dated May 29, 2021.
Facts of the Proceedings
Arbitration documents seen by Nairametrics revealed that GHL and First Bank entered into a Subrogation Agreement (SA) dated May 29, 2021, to establish a working arrangement for the financing and profitable development of OML 120.
The agreement was intended to ensure the payment of financial obligations associated with exploration and production activities, as well as to support the business objectives of the parties involved.
GHL later accused the bank of breaching the agreement and subsequently approached the tribunal for redress.
GHL’s lead counsel, Paul Usoro, SAN, urged the tribunal to declare that the Subrogation Agreement imposed an “absolute obligation on First Bank” to fund the optimal exploration, development, and production of OML 120 to facilitate agreed payments.
In addition, Usoro and his legal team sought orders restraining the bank from publishing that GHL was indebted to it in the sum of US$718 million.
They also requested that the tribunal compel First Bank to pay GHL £1,350,000, $14,433,222.38, and N5.2 billion, among other claims, as refunds for amounts allegedly spent on third-party contractors due to the bank’s purported failure to meet its funding obligations under the Subrogation Agreement.
On its part, the bank’s legal team, led by Prof. Gbolahan Elias, SAN, and Babajide Koku, SAN, argued that the relevant clauses of the Subrogation Agreement clearly showed that there was no absolute, unqualified, or unconditional obligation on the bank to fund GHL.
They contended that GHL’s position contradicted global best practices and the Prudential Guidelines for Deposit Money Banks in Nigeria issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in August 2019.
They further emphasized that the agreement merely established a traditional lender–borrower relationship between the parties and that the bank had not underfunded the OML 120 development project.
What the Tribunal Said
In his verdict, Justice Akaahs held that while Clause 2(b) of the agreement stipulates that First Bank has a contractual obligation to finance the development, operation, and optimal exploration and production of OML 120, such an obligation “is not absolute.”
The tribunal found that, in line with the bank’s conditional funding obligation under the agreement, First Bank had advanced several loans to GHL, totaling US$185 million, at various times between June 25, 2021, and January 4, 2024. These included:
US$10,000,000 (Ten Million US Dollars)
US$110,000,000 (One Hundred and Ten Million US Dollars)
US$40,000,000 (Forty Million US Dollars)
US$25,000,000 (Twenty-Five Million US Dollars)
Justice Akaahs agreed with the bank’s argument that it was entitled to review, evaluate, and approve each funding request from GHL.
“As earlier found in this award, the respondent did not fail, delay, or breach its obligations under the Subrogation Agreement. The respondent’s funding obligation is conditional. The respondent has so far provided funding to the claimant in the cumulative sum of $185,000,000 (One Hundred and Eighty-Five Million US Dollars),” Akaahs ruled.
He further held that the bank was not responsible for any losses or unproductive time allegedly suffered by GHL.
Consequently, the tribunal ordered GHL to pay First Bank $112,100 and N111 million as total costs.
The tribunal also held that should GHL fail to remit the total sum within the specified thirty (30) days, the outstanding amount shall accrue simple interest at the rate of 10% (ten per cent) per annum from the date immediately following the expiry of the 30-day compliance period until the date of full and final payment.
Recall that the Court of Appeal had, in September 2025, allowed an appeal filed by First Bank of Nigeria, setting aside an earlier decision of the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt in its OML-linked case against GHL, a company linked to media entrepreneur Nduka Obiagbena.
The appellate court reportedly upheld arguments advanced by the bank’s legal team, led by Babajide Koku (SAN) and Victor Ogude (SAN), that proceeds from the sale of crude oil cargo aboard the FPSO Tamara Tokoni had been improperly diverted.
Nigerians are breathing a sigh of relief as the naira shows notable recovery against major currencies like the US dollar, British pound, and euro.
With this strengthening of the naira, many are hopeful that it could usher in a more stable financial climate and enhance the purchasing power of everyday Nigerians.
The strong performance comes as the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) formally announced Nigeria’s removal from the list of jurisdictions under increased monitoring, known as the “grey list”, following a successful on-site evaluation of reforms implemented across the financial system.
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Data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) shows that the naira has appreciated against the dollar to N1,455.50, a significant rise compared to the N1,630 per dollar recorded in July.
Naira also improved against the pound and euro, exchanging at N1,946.5 per pound and N1,696 per euro, respectively.
In the parallel market, checks by Legit.ng confirmed a similar trend. The naira exchanged between N1,482 and N1,492 per dollar, down from N1,520 recorded earlier in the week.
The pound also weakened to around N2,000, while the euro fell to N1,720. Abubakar Musa, a trader, told Legit.ng “The market is in favour of naira in the last few days. There is more forex in the market, reason we are selling pound below N2,000 exchange rate.”
CFA: N2.59
Yuan/Renminbi: N204.70
Danish Krona: N227.04
Euro: N1,696.33
Yen: N9.54
Riyal: N388.77
South African Rand: N84.43
Swiss Franc: N1,834.83
Pound Sterling: N1,946.52
US Dollar: N1,457.96
In February 2023, the FATF, a financial crimes watchdog based in France, placed Nigeria on the grey list.
The message from the global community was clear: the nation needed more vigorous enforcement, better coordination, and greater transparency.
The removal of Nigeria from the grey list showed that the country has made progress in strengthening its anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing framework.
Bismarck Rewane, CEO of Financial Derivatives Company, said that the removal of Nigeria from the grey list means a whole lot, noting it will boost the naira. Also, Tayo Oviosu, CEO of Paga, said: “This is a big deal because it opens up the country for FDI and engagement from the West, especially.”
The CBN also welcomed the FATF decision reinforces the broader restoration of global confidence in Nigeria’s economic management.
Source: MyNigeria
The Central Bank of Nigeria has released a total sum of $1.259bn to oil sector players for the importation of petroleum products and other related items into the country, as reported by The PUNCH.
According to The PUNCH, the amount released between the first three months of 2025 is against the backdrop of the insistence of marketers to continue fuel import despite the availability of petrol from Dangote Refinery.
According to fresh data from the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, Petroleum marketers imported 69 per cent of the 21 billion litres of petrol Nigerians consumed between August 2024 and the first 10 days of October 2025.
Between January and March 2025, a total of 2.28 billion litres of petrol were imported despite improved refined product output from the Dangote refinery.
Fuel imports, a significant consumer of foreign exchange, impact the country’s foreign reserves and the naira-to-dollar rate.
The volume represents one of the lowest quarterly import figures in recent years, reflecting the gradual shift towards local refining and blending of petroleum products.
A breakdown using the Central Bank of Nigeria’s quarterly statistical bulletin for the first quarter of 2025, the apex bank released a total of $1.26bn for import transactions between January and March.
A month-by-month breakdown showed that $457.83m was disbursed in January, representing 36.2 per cent of the total.
This dropped sharply to $283.54m in February, accounting for 22.5 per cent, before rebounding to $517.55m in March, which made up the largest share at 41.3 per cent of the total forex released for the quarter.
While NMDPRA data showed that the January imports stood at 724.5million litres, while 760 million litres and 803.7 million litres were brought in during February and March, respectively.
The struggle for market share between the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and fuel-importing marketers has intensified in recent months, as both sides compete for dominance in Nigeria’s downstream sector.
It could be recalled that while some marketers have insisted on importation, the Dangote refinery has been exporting petrol to other countries, including the United States. The 650,000 refinery has consistently boasted of its capacity to meet local fuel demands while exporting to foreign countries.
However, pricing has remained the major determinant for marketers when choosing a supplier, amid growing competition between the Refinery and fuel importers. Many operators in the downstream sector shift allegiance based on cost advantage rather than source.
Confirming the development, the National Publicity Officer of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Chinedu Ukadike, said marketers would naturally buy from any source offering the lowest price to stay in business.
Ukadike explained in an interview, “In this business, pricing is everything. Marketers will always go for the most affordable option because our margins are very thin. If imported products are cheaper, we have no choice but to patronise importers. But if Dangote’s refinery offers a better price, of course, we will buy locally.”
He added that the price gap between locally refined products and imports fluctuates depending on global oil prices, exchange rates, and government policies.
“No marketer can afford sentiment when it comes to survival,” he said. “Our decision is driven by economics, not emotion.”
Meanwhile, the latest Energy Bulletin released by the Major Energies Marketers Association of Nigeria has shown a further reduction in the estimated import parity price of key petroleum products, reflecting sustained pressure from global oil prices and exchange rate fluctuations.
According to the report, the estimated import parity price of Premium Motor Spirit has reduced to N805.46 per litre at the spot rate.
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