Bokku Mart, the Nigerian grocery store, has come under heavy criticism on social media after posting what users described as a “tribalistic” advertisement video.

The video, which has since been deleted, featured influencer Defolah comparing the store’s prices to those in local markets.

In the clip, she made a remark implying that Igbo traders cheat their customers.

“So you mean I can get beans and garri Ijebu at Bokku without any Omo Igbo cheating me?” the content creator said.

“It’s so relaxing to shop without someone pulling you from the left and right, shouting my colour.”

The comment triggered widespread outrage online, with several users accusing Bokku of promoting ethnic bias and disrespecting the Igbo community.

Following the backlash, Defolah issued a public apology, saying her statement was not intended to promote tribalism.

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“I sincerely apologize. It was never my intention to promote any form of tribal bias or disrespect to the Igbo people,” she said.

Despite her apology, Bokku has continued to attract criticism on social media, with many users vowing to boycott its stores.

One user wrote: “Bokku Mart posted an advert insulting Igbos with slurs. Any Igbo who still patronizes them is an enemy of their tribe”.

“Do you know how brazen the Igbophobia is for a brand to endorse such? It’s like ShopRite doing an Ad in Nigeria and letting their influencer call Nigerians thieves,” another user added.

@firstladyship argued the store’s marketing strategy was “lazy and divisive”.

“By engaging in stereotyping by calling another tribe ‘cheaters,’ you reduced your business to another ethnocentric brand in existence to service just a section of the country,” she wrote.

Another user said: If you’re an Igbo person and you give your money to Bokku so they can use it and run ads to call us cheats, then you have yourself to blame.”

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See more reactions below:

“Do you know how brazen the Igbophobia is for a brand to endorse such? It’s like ShopRite doing an Ad in Nigeria and letting their influencer call Nigerians thieves,” another user added.

@firstladyship argued the store’s marketing strategy was “lazy and divisive”.

“By engaging in stereotyping by calling another tribe ‘cheaters,’ you reduced your business to another ethnocentric brand in existence to service just a section of the country,” she wrote.

Another user said: If you’re an Igbo person and you give your money to Bokku so they can use it and run ads to call us cheats, then you have yourself to blame.”

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.

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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.

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‘’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.’’

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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:

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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.

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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.

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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

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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.

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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.

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Source: MyNigeria