Author: Julius Alagbe
Julius Alagbe
Julius Alagbe is a senior financial journalist and Editor at MarketForces Africa with nearly two decades of experience in finance, accounting, and economics reporting.He is one of Nigeria's most prolific financial market reporters, covering capital markets, monetary policy, corporate earnings, banking, telecoms, and macroeconomic developments across Africa.Julius has built a strong footprint reporting on Nigeria's leading corporates and financial services sector, including coverage of the Nigerian Exchange Group, Central Bank of Nigeria monetary operations, MTN Nigeria, GTCO, and major investment banking transactions.He regularly monitors the CBN’s open market operations, interbank FX markets, and equity market movements, providing readers with real-time intelligence on Nigeria’s financial landscape.His reporting draws on direct access to institutional research from firms including Moody’s Ratings, CardinalStone Securities, Fitch, and other leading African investment houses.Julius brings analytical depth and editorial rigour to every story, making complex financial data accessible to professionals, investors, and policymakers across Africa.Julius Alagbe is based in Lagos, Nigeria.
Petrol Daily Supply Hits 74.2m Litres in December – NMDPRA The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) says the daily domestic supply of petrol or Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) rose to 74.2 million litres/day (ml/d) in December 2025. This is relative to the 71.5 million litres/day supplied in November 2025. The NMDPRA made this known in its Factsheet Report for December 2025 released on Thursday. The report contains key statistics on the midstream and downstream petroleum operations in Nigeria. It revealed that consumption of PMS, also known as fuel, increased to 63.7 million litres/day in December 2025, from…
No New VAT Charges on Bank Services, NRS Says The Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) has dispelled news making the rounds on the imposition of Value-Added Tax (VAT) on banking services, including electronic money transfer, fees and commission. Mr Dare Adekanmbi, Special Adviser on Media to Dr Zacch Adedeji, the Executive Chairman of NRS, said this in a statement in Abuja on Thursday, describing the reports as incorrect and misleading. Adeknambi said that VAT had always applied to banking services, adding that it was not newly introduced under the new tax law, the Nigeria Tax Act. According to him, the Nigeria…
CBN, Nigeria’s Finest Economists Project Faster GDP Growth for 2026 The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and leading economists have projected stronger economic or gross domestic product (GDP) growth and lower inflation in 2026, citing improved macroeconomic fundamentals and reform impacts. The projection was made on Thursday at a hybrid roundtable organised by the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria Centre for Financial Studies with B. Adedipe Associates. The Lagos event was the theme ’12th Edition National Economic Outlook: Implications for Businesses in Nigeria in 2026′. CBN Deputy Governor, Economic Policy Directorate, Dr Muhammad Abdullahi, said real GDP growth was…
ADAUSD Falls as Crypto Market Bill Delay Hurts Altcoins Cardano (ADAUSD) experienced a decline of 4.6% over the past 24 hours, prompted by selling activity driven by negative sentiment following the delay of the cryptocurrency market bill, which led to altcoin sell-offs on Thursday. ADA significantly underperformed Bitcoin (+1.4%) and the broader crypto market index amidst widening losses that reflected sell-offs. Trading data showed that ADA hovers around $0.4 amidst huge volume decline. Crypto analysts said ADA’s drop reflects sector-wide caution, technical profit-taking, and Bitcoin’s safe-haven appeal. While development milestones, offer long-term upside, short-term traders continue to monitor the $0.395…
Africa’s $205B Crypto Wave Reshapes Trade and Financial Access You’ve witnessed cryptocurrency revolutionise payments—now it’s unlocking Africa’s trade corridors. Sub-Saharan Africa processed $205 billion in on-chain value through mid-2025—a 52% jump fueled by traders using stablecoins to hedge against inflation. The question isn’t whether this matters to your portfolio. It’s whether shaky regulations will throttle the rally before you benefit. A Lagos importer needs to pay for a $50,000 shipment from Accra. A decade back, that meant a week of waiting and $400 in wire fees. Today, she fires off USDT, settles in three minutes and pays under $5. From…
Prisoners Population in Nigerian Prisons Rises by 17% – NBS The total inmate population in Nigerian prisons rose by about 17%, from 69,946 in 2017 to 81,710 in Q2 2025, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said in a report. The NBS said this in its Nigerian Correctional Service Statistics for 2017 to Q2 2025, released on Wednesday in Abuja. It said that the Q2 2025 figure of 81,710 represented a 16.82 per cent increase from the 69,946 recorded in 2017. The bureau said that the report presented data from the Nigerian Correctional Service covering 2017 to Q2 2025, which…
African Eurobond Yields Fall as Oil-Linked Issuers Rebound Recovering from seller market conditions, the African Eurobond yields dipped in the international market as oil-linked issuers experienced increased demand for their borrowing notes. Trading activities were influenced by rising global oil prices on account of an imbalance between demand and supply outlook with persistent geopolitical tensions. Oil-linked issuers’ bonds were broadly bullish, note, supported by improved risk appetite and a pullback in U.S. Treasury yields, which encouraged selective buying across emerging market sovereign credits. Portfolio buyers re-entered at attractive levels across the curve. Peer sovereigns like Ghana and Angola also posted…
Nigeria, UAE to Host Joint Investment Confab in Lagos — Tinubu President Bola Tinubu says Nigeria will co-host Investopia with the United Arab Emirates in Lagos in February to attract global investors and boost sustainable investment inflows. Tinubu announced this on Tuesday at the 2026 Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week (ADSW). He spoke on the sidelines of Nigeria’s conclusion of a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) with the UAE. This is contained in a statement issued by Presidential spokesperson, Mr Bayo Onanuga, on Tuesday in Abu Dhabi. The CEPA is aimed at deepening cooperation in renewable energy, infrastructure, logistics and digital…
MTN, UBA Drive NGX Momentum, Investors Gain N1.66trn Boosted by MTN Nigeria, UBA and other risers, the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) maintained an uptrend on Tuesday as trading data showed that equity investors’ portfolio value surged by N1.66 trillion. Trading details obtained from the local bourse revealed that the NGX All-Share Index advanced BY 1.59% to 165,837.32 points, supported by interest in telecom, banking and other sectoral indices. Stockbrokers reported that market capitalisation grew by ₦1.66 trillion to ₦106.18 trillion. Positive sentiments in MTNN (+10.00%), NB (+3.67%), and UBA (+4.43%) drove the market’s strong performance. Market breadth also reflected the bullish…
BTCUSD Climbs to $92K on Net Whale Accumulation Bitcoin (BTCUSD) rose 1.71% to $92,159 as the world’s largest digital asset faces counterbalancing pressures: whale distribution hints at caution, while Gold ETP innovation broadens institutional pathways. BTC price edged higher on a 23.31% spike in trading volume, valued at $37.42 billion, supported by net whale accumulation. The crypto market recorded significant interest from whales, while on the other side it was a seller’s market for some other significant account holders. This lifted the world’s largest digital asset market capitalisation to $1.83 trillion at the press time. Trading data revealed that BTCUSD…