Author: Ogochukwu Ndubuisi

Presidential Pardon: Trump Denies Knowing Binance Founder CZ US President Donald Trump has sparked controversy after granting a presidential pardon to Binance founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, despite claiming he doesn’t know him personally. In a CBS News interview, Trump stated, “I don’t know who he is,” when asked about Zhao’s pardon, adding that he had been told Zhao was a victim of a “witch hunt” by the Biden administration. The pardon, issued on October 23, 2025, lifted restrictions that had barred Zhao from running financial ventures. Zhao had pleaded guilty in 2023 to violating anti-money laundering laws and served a…

Soludo Tells Trump: Nigeria’s Crisis Isn’t Religious Anambra State Governor, Chukwuma Soludo, has responded to US President Donald Trump’s threat of military action in Nigeria, stating that the crisis in the Southeast region is not religiously motivated. According to Soludo, the people involved in the violence in the Southeast bear Christian names, indicating that the issue goes beyond religious categorization. Soludo made this statement during a media chat, emphasizing that Nigeria will overcome its security challenges and that it will ultimately end in conversation. He noted that the Nigerian government needs to respond with facts in a “deeper conversation” and…

Market Rates Ease over Excess Liquidity in Banking System Money market rates declined as a result of surplus liquidity in the financial system.  The interbank market has been flooded with excess liquidity, and local deposit money banks have been having fun with the above-average treasury bill rate on placement at the Central Bank window. CBN liquidity action slowed down, lifted the funding profile in the market, and kept the short-term interest rates behind 25%. Banks’ placements at the standing depot facility averaged ₦2.88 trillion, up from ₦2.02 trillion the previous week, TrustBanc Financial Group Limited said in a note. Hence,…

Ecobank Partners with Yaba Art Museum to Launch the Lagos Pop-Up Museum Ecobank Nigeria, a subsidiary of the leading Pan-African banking group, in partnership with the Yaba Art Museum (YAM) of Yaba College of Technology, has announced the launch of the Lagos Pop-Up Museum — a dynamic cultural and artistic experience set to run for three months at the Ecobank Pan African Centre (EPAC) in Victoria Island, Lagos. The exhibition opens on November 8, 2025, and will continue until February 10, 2026. The Lagos Pop-Up Museum is conceived as a vibrant, citywide art and cultural advocacy platform. It will bring…

Woodhall Capital Targets $50 Billion in Global Investments Woodhall Capital, under the leadership of its founder Mojisola Hunponu-Wusu, is spearheading efforts to attract $50 billion in global investments aimed at accelerating development projects across Nigeria. In a recent interview, Hunponu-Wusu highlighted the firm’s growing momentum in mobilizing international capital. A key milestone in this journey was a pre-investor forum held at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, where representatives from all 36 Nigerian states engaged with global investors and development finance institutions (DFIs). She emphasized the importance of strategic partnerships in advancing large-scale infrastructure and energy projects. In line with this…

Market Wrap: NGX Shrinks as Equity Investors Lose N964bn The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) shrank as equity investors lost about N964 billion in the local bourse last week. For four out of five trading sessions, bearish sentiment took centre stage, snapping weeks of sustained bullish momentum as investors locked in gains and rebalanced portfolios ahead of the month’s close. Stock market analysts said the pullback came against the backdrop of mixed third-quarter earnings, particularly from the banking sector, which tempered investor optimism. The Nigerian Exchange benchmark index declined by 0.98% week-on-week to close at 154,126.45 points, while the market capitalisation fell…

Ministry, NUPRC, NNPC, Oppose Creation of Decommissioning, Abandonment Commission The Ministry of Petroleum Resources and its two agencies have jointly opposed the bill to establish the National Commission for the Decommissioning of Oil and Gas Installations (NC-DOGI), 2024. The agencies are the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd.) A statement in Abuja by Eniola Akinkuotu Head, Corporate Communications and Media, NUPRC said that the position was delivered at a public hearing organised by the House of Representatives Committee on Petroleum Resources (Upstream). In his submission, the Minister of State for Petroleum…

Five-Year Plan: China Pledges Stronger Nigeria Ties China has reaffirmed its commitment to strengthening cooperation with Nigeria as it embarks on a new development phase under its 15th Five-Year Plan. This was revealed during a dialogue jointly organised by China Media Group (CMG) and the Chinese Consulate on Friday in Lagos. The event’s theme, “Innovation, Openness, Shared Development,” highlighted opportunities for deepened economic, cultural, and technological collaboration between the two countries. It followed the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), held in Beijing from Oct. 20 to Oct. 23. The plenary…

Dry Port: Oyo Govt Hands Over 90 Hectares of Land to FG The Oyo State Government, on Friday, officially handed over 90 hectares of land to the Federal Government for the construction of the proposed Moniya Inland Dry Port, in Ibadan. The state deputy governor, Mr Bayo Lawal, handed over the land, on the Ibadan-Oyo road, Moniya, in Akinyele Local Government Area, to the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Mr Gboyega Oyetola, who was represented by the ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Mr Michael Olufemi. Lawal described the Moniya Inland Dry Port as a project that would not only enhance the…

Meta, Nigeria to Agree Settlement Terms in $32.8m Data Breach Fine The Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) and Meta Platforms, Inc., will, on Nov. 3, adopt the terms of settlement in the dispute on the 32.8 million dollar fine imposed against the latter by the regulatory agency. Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court in Abuja fixed the date following the inability of Meta’s lawyer, Fred Onuobia, SAN, to file the processes on time. Onuobia, on Oct. 3, had informed the court of Meta’s plan to reconcile with NDPC in the suit the American multinational technology company filed seeking…