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E-Financial

CBN May Allow Telcos to Drive MM Adoption

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Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, Governor, CBN
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Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) may rescind its decision and allow telecoms operators drive the mobile money payment scheme to give fresh impetus to the initiative which has crawled since introduction in 2011, Nigeria CommunicationsWeek has learnt.

Nigeria’s mobile money service is anchored on a bank-led model, which required that only financial institutions could carry mobile money licences.

What it also means is that all the telecoms companies are offering mobile money services in partnership with licence holders.

Nigeria CommunicationsWeek however gathered that the policy shift is in offing as the CBN and Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) have begun talks to involve telecommunications operators as key drivers to increase the adoption of the system in the country.

Paul Mosimabale, head, product and business development, First Bank of Nigeria, gave hints of such talks and urged CBN and NCC to come up with a framework to increase awareness of the system among Nigerians.

Mosimabale, who stated this at NigeriaCom conference, held in Lagos last week added that the operators also noted that the involvement of telcos will help banks to leverage on the telcos dealers and customer care outlets as mobile money agent networks.

He explained that because of the low amount of commission involved in the transaction most agents are reluctant to accept mobile money transactions.

“Robust and strong Agent distribution is very key for any mobile money initiative to be successful.” the bank executive added.

Nigeria CommunicationsWeek gathered that as income; illiteracy; affordability; poor access channels; and  inadequate distribution or agency networks are major challenges affecting the emerging industry.

Mr. Emmanuel Okoegwale, principal associate, Mobile Money Africa said that mobile money was a mass market product that would require mass access channels to reach all market segments.

Nodding in agreement, Samson Isa, director West Africa, Clickatell, said that agent network is important in the adoption of mobile money and that banks could not leverage the agent network of telcos because they were excluded from the process.

He called for a synergy between banks and telcos to make the system successful.

Isa also identified cost of Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) platform of telecommunications networks that is use in the transaction process as being high.

Nigeria CommunicationsWeek learnt that some mobile network operators had refused to open up mass access channels like Subscriber Identification Module toolkit and USSD for mobile money providers.

Mobile money is the transfer of monetary value via the mobile phone. The system fundamentally rides on mobile networks.

According to Isa, if there is synergy between banks and telcos, USSD service could be free or reduced to short message service (SMS) rate.

Presently, telecommunications operators charge N10 for a N100 transaction on their USSD platform.

But despite the many roadblocks, mobile money transactions are on the rise as Nigeria CommunicationsWeek had reported a daily transactions value of N8million on the interoperability platform of mobile money services.

Interoperability is basically the ability of the user of one mobile money service to send money directly to the wallet of a user on any other service.

Without interoperability the difficult decision of which mobile money service to choose might be influenced by which members of the customer’s peer group are already using a given service.

Nigeria CommunicationsWeek gathered that transactions among mobile money schemes commenced in March this year after the expiration of the deadline of February 28 Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) gave to operators to connect to National Central Switch (NCS) that is offering the handshake.

The daily transactions value of N8million is carried out over 200 transactions every day. These are specifically transactions from one mobile scheme wallet to another as well as from mobile scheme wallet to bank accounts.

Moreover, transactions within a mobile scheme are not recorded in this value and volume as their transactions are routed through NCS.

Okoegwale, said there are different levels to achieve interoperability. It could be platform, agency or even via other channels like merchants.

“Essentially interoperability enables the acceptance of e-money seamlessly across providers, agency network and event merchants. Interoperability for agent revolves around agents ability to meet the needs of subscribers across multiple providers for cash out and cash in service, same way ATMs don’t discriminate between cards of firms that had entered into interoperability agreements at National or even at international level. It significantly reduces the cost for ecosystem players across agency network,” he said.

He added that when interoperability is achieved in the system a subscriber of scheme provider A, can send mobile money from his wallet to subscriber that is enrolled in scheme provider B and the funds in the wallet can be spent directly at a merchant location or cash out at own agent locations.

It would be recalled that Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had issued licences to 16 companies to operator mobile money transactions.

The CBN had said that the MMOs were licensed to accelerate the transformation of the nation’s payment system which would emphasis use of mobile phones.


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E-Financial

FG to Train 100,000 Youths Annually in Forex Trading and Financial Skills

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Federal Government of Nigeria has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Investonaire Academy to train 100,000 young Nigerians annually in forex trading, financial planning, and risk management.

The agreement, signed in Abuja, was announced by Omolara Esan, Director of Information and Public Relations at the Federal Ministry of Youth Development. According to her, the initiative is part of the government’s broader strategy to reduce youth unemployment and enhance financial inclusion.

At the signing ceremony, Minister of Youth Development, Comrade Ayodele Olawande, described the partnership as a milestone in the ministry’s efforts to equip young Nigerians with practical financial skills. He emphasized that the programme would foster critical thinking, improve digital literacy, and expand access to global economic opportunities.

Speaking on the collaboration, Dr. Enefola Odiba, International Programme Director at Investonaire Academy, highlighted the importance of empowering youth with relevant financial and digital skills. He described young people as essential drivers of innovation and national development.

The ministry assured that the programme would be implemented with transparency and measurable outcomes, ensuring that participants gain practical expertise in forex trading and financial planning.

The Federal Government has recently intensified efforts to boost skill development across various sectors. A separate plan aims to train 100,000 artisans nationwide, following the successful upskilling of 29,000 individuals in previous phases. This initiative seeks to professionalize vocational trades, eliminate quackery, and introduce licensing systems.

Additionally, technicians from specialized institutions will receive industry-standard training to strengthen Nigeria’s labor force and increase self-reliance in skilled professions.

Through these efforts, the government hopes to position Nigerian youth for economic success both locally and globally.


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E-Financial

NDIC Begins Final Settlements to Creditors of Liquidated Premier Bank

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Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) has begun the final phase of liquidation for the defunct Premier Commercial Bank, initiating the payment of liquidation dividends to verified creditors, nearly 25 years after the bank’s closure.

NDIC Begins Final Settlements to Creditors of Liquidated Premier Bank

Premier Commercial Bank had its operating license revoked by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on December 20, 2000, following findings of financial instability and regulatory non-compliance.

Since then, the NDIC has overseen the bank’s liquidation process under a winding-up order from the Federal High Court, which designated the corporation as the official liquidator.

In a public announcement, the NDIC invited all eligible creditors to visit any of its zonal offices between June 2 and June 27, 2025, to verify and claim their entitlements.

This move marks a critical milestone in the final settlement of claims related to the bank’s collapse.

To facilitate the verification process, creditors are required to present proof of deposit or shareholding, such as a passbook, chequebook, term deposit certificate, or bank statement.

Additionally, valid identification documents must be submitted, including a driver’s license, international passport, national identity card, NIN slip/card, voter’s card, or a formal identification letter from a traditional ruler or local government chairman.

The NDIC assured the public that the ongoing settlement is part of a broader effort to bring closure to longstanding claims resulting from Premier Commercial Bank’s liquidation. The process, according to the corporation, has been designed to ensure efficient disbursement to all verified stakeholders.

Premier Commercial Bank is one of 53 deposit money banks whose licenses were revoked by the CBN between 1994 and 2018 due to various violations and signs of financial distress.

These closures were followed by legal procedures appointing the NDIC to manage asset recoveries and creditor settlements.

By initiating this final phase of payment, the NDIC is reaffirming its commitment to financial system stability and depositor protection while calling on all affected individuals and institutions to complete verification processes promptly to receive their due compensation.


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E-Financial

SEC Directs Companies to Honour Unclaimed Dividend Requests

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Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has directed all public companies and Registrars to stop treating unclaimed dividends older than 12 years as “statute-barred”, especially those dating from before the enactment of the Finance Act 2020.

SEC Directs Companies to Honour Unclaimed Dividend Requests

The directive reaffirms the provisions of Section 60 of the Finance Act, which mandates that dividends unclaimed for over six years be transferred to the Unclaimed Funds Trust Fund (UFTF), where they remain accessible to shareholders pending claims.

The Commission said that shareholders are entitled to continue to claim their dividends that are not statute-barred (that is not above 12 years) before December 31, 2020 “when the Finance Act 2020, came into effect.”

According to the SEC in a Circular, “The attention of the Securities and Exchange Commission has been drawn to the fact that paying companies and their Registrars have continued to treat unclaimed dividends of public companies that are older than 12 years as being “statute-barred” without recourse to the provisions of the Finance Act 2020.

“In response to various inquiries on the subject, the Commission hereby clarifies as follows: The import of the provisions of Section 60 of the Finance Act 2020 (December 31, 2020), is that, where dividends declared by a public company quoted on the Nigerian Exchange Limited remained unclaimed for a period of six years or more, such dividends are expected to be transferred to the Unclaimed Funds Trust Fund (UFTF) to be held in trust and managed pending when the shareholder presents a claim for such unclaimed dividends.

“Pending the setting up and operationalisation of the UFTF by the Federal Government, pursuant to its powers under Sections 3 (4) (e) and 93 of the Investments and Securities Act 2025, the Commission hereby directs public companies and their Registrars to continue to honour all requests by shareholders for the payment of unclaimed dividends as described above, with effect from December 31, 2020”.

The Commission therefore directed public companies and Registrars to effect immediate compliance with the directive and submit periodic reports on same in the manner prescribed in the Commission’s Rules and Regulations.


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