Author: Olu Anisere

Tinubu to Present 2026 Budget to NASS on Friday President Bola Tinubu will on Friday present the 2026 Budget to a Joint Session of the National Assembly at 2:00 pm. This is contained in a letter by the Clerk to the National Assembly (CNA), Mr Kamorudeen Ogunlana and signed on his behalf by the Secretary, Human Resources and Staff Development, Essien Eyo Essien. The letter reads: “I am directed to inform you that the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, His Excellency, Bola Tinubu is presenting the 2026 proposed Budget a Joint Session…

Ethereum Sinks by 5% as Institutional Investors Pull Back Ethereum (ETHUSD), the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalisation fell by about 5% in 24 hours, trading at $2809 due to negative investors’ sentiment. Significant exchange-traded fund outflow has continued to dampen, especially with institutional exits. The global crypto market is bleeding out value amidst broad-based sell pressures across top 10 digital assets. The global crypto has lost about 3% to $2.88 trillion as investors closed leverage positions ahead of Bank of Japan interest rate tightening this week. Hence, Ethereum fell 4.74% over 24h, underperforming the broader crypto market. More than…

Naira Softens over Sustained FX Liquidity Tightening The naira softened against the US dollar at the official window as the market continues to grapple with tight FX inflows in the official window. International payments eclipsed the US dollar volume level amidst sustained intervention by the Apex Bank which keeps the naira’s exchange rate outlook positive. The Central Bank daily FX update released today highlighted that the naira fell by 3 basis points as foreign portfolio investors, exporters and non-bank corporate contributions continue to drag. The naira weakened to N1,455.50 per dollar at the CBN FX window. In the parallel market,…

Naira Depreciates to N1,456 as FX Demand Eclipses Supply The naira’s official exchange rate fell to N1456 per dollar due to FX shortage in the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market (NFEM).  The currency market transactions were conducted amidst US dollar shortfall amidst rising international payments. This happened due to thin US dollar inflows from exporters, non-bank corporate, foreign portfolio investors and absence of immediate intervention of the Central Bank to strengthen supply. According to official data, the naira spot FX rate depreciated against the dollar amidst limited supply outweighed by demand pressure. The NFEM rate weakened by ₦4.38 per US dollar…

CBN Revokes 2 Mortgage Banks’ Licenses over Capital Infractions The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has announced the revocation of operating licences of two mortgage banks – Aso Savings and Union Homes – citing breach of capital and prudential guidelines. In a circular issued on Tuesday and signed by its Ag. Director, Corporate Communications Department, Hakama Ali, the apex Bank, noted that the move was part of its efforts to reposition the mortgage sub-sector and promote a culture of compliance with relevant laws and regulations. It cited Section 12 of BOFIA 2020 and Section 7.3 of the Revised Guidelines for…

Nigerian Senate Raises Concern over Multiple Budget Implementation The Senate on Monday expressed concern over the Federal Government’s multiple budget implementations within the 2025 fiscal year. Senators from the Committee on Finance raised the concern at an interactive session with the federal government economic management team on the 2026-2028 Medium Term Expenditure Framework ( MTEF)and Fiscal Strategy Paper ( FSP) . Sen. Danjuma Goje, in his remarks, said that the practice of implementing multiple budgets in a single year was unacceptable to Nigerians. ” This ugly situation we found ourselves on multiple budget implementations should please end by this year.…

Oil Prices Climb as US-Venezuela Tensions Escalate Oil prices increased in the global commodity market on Monday amidst escalating tensions between the United States (U.S.) and Venezuela, raising concerns over supply. Brent crude was trading at $61.23 per barrel, up around 0.3% from the previous close of $61.02. US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) also increased by about 0.4% to $57.54, compared to $57.33 in the prior session. US President Donald Trump confirmed last week that his administration seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela as tensions with President Nicolas Maduro continue to escalate. “We’ve just seized a…

Access Holdings Lost 6.5% as Investors Sentiment Deteriorates Diversified financial services group, Access Holdings Plc, lost 6.5% of its market value due to sell pressure on the financial company stocks in the local bourse. The financial group share traded at about 31% below its 52-week high in the equities market on Friday, delivering about a 16% negative return year to date to shareholders. Data from the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) revealed that Access Plc share price stopped breadth at N20.1 following a significant trading volume seen throughout last week in the Nigerian bourse. The company exhibited significant volatility, reflected in an…

Bitcoin Falls to $88k over Bank of Japan Rate Hike Fears Bitcoin falls to $88k on Sunday as the market anticipates the Bank of Japan’s interest rate cut expectation to trigger negative trading activities. The crypto market fell 1.57% in the past 24 hours, extending a 9.68% monthly decline. Traders brace for potential Bank of Japan (BOJ) rate hikes while Bitcoin hovers below $89k. BTCUSD trades negative as data from CoinMarketCap.com signals declining trading volume. The world’s largest cryptocurrency has lost 2.33% in 24 hours to settle at $88,082 with 50.86 billion in trading volume. Over the day, Bitcoin trading…

Oil, Gas Free Zones Seeks 10-Year Exemption from New Tax Law The Oil and Gas Free Zones Authority (OGFZA) has urged the Federal Government to grant operators in oil and gas free zones a 10-year exemption from the new tax law. The Managing Director of OGFZA, Mr Bamanga Jada, in a statement on Sunday in Abuja, said this would help to sustain over $24 billion in investments attracted into the sector. He said the proposed exemption would provide operators with the needed transition period to adjust to evolving tax requirements. While meeting with some officials of Federal Inland Revenue Service…