E-Financial
Sekibo, Obi, others Harp on Security, Leadership for Economic Prosperity
Ifie Sekibo, managing director/ceo of Heritage Bank Plc, and other notable Nigerians have affirmed that the apt way to boost economic prosperity and peace in the country is to start addressing leadership challenges and insecurity.
L-R: Prof. Oyelowo Oyewo; Coordinator of the Nigerian Association of Constitutional Law (NACL); Dr. Oruene Finebone – Secretary, Mediacal Women Association of Nigeria, Rivers State Branch; Barrister Sotonye Inyeinengi-Etomi, President of the Men’s League of Christ Church Port Harcourt; Very Rev. (Dr), Ivan Ekong, Asst. Resident Minister, Christ Church Port Harcourt; Figbene Briggs, Regional Head, South South 1 & 2 Zone; Dr. (Amb.) Victoria Ekhomu, Group MD/CEO of Trans-World Security Systems Ltd.; Very Rev. Jonathan Udofia; Pastor Ituah Ighodalo, Trinity House, International Christian Worship Center; Elder (Engr.) Stanford Tassie and Alabo (Arc) Duboye Donald Graham-Douglas, during the 2nd Edition 2022 Forum, one-day International Colloquium organized by The Men’s League of Christ Church Port Harcourt, tagged, “What do Nigerians Want?”, held in Port Harcourt.
Sekibo and other notable Nigerians like the Presidential aspirant of Labour Party, Peter Obi, Pastor Ituah Ighodalo, Prof. Oyelowo Oyewo, Dr. Victoria Ekhomu and Barrister Sotonye Inyeinengi-Etomi, during the 2nd Edition 2022 Forum, one-day International Colloquium organized by The Men’s League of Christ Church Port Harcourt, tagged,
“What do Nigerians Want?”, extensively brainstormed on the kind of leadership the country needs and how to rescue the country from its current debacle.
Speaking on the topic, “The Economy Nigeria Needs to Break Forth,” Sekibo stressed that of important to achieving the transformation the country needs, there was urgent need to address insecurity, which according to him, is the foundation of prosperity, as no nation can achieve much where the is no peace.
Sekibo, represented by Segun Akanji, divisional head, Strategy & Business Solutions, emphasized that for security purposes, there must be an established functional and value adding identity system in place.
“On a higher note, I think one of the things that we need to achieve as a country is the issue of functional and value adding identity management, which is still far away from us, although, some people know that we have BVN, NIMC and a few other identity capture systems but they have not been as functional and value adding, like the social security number that most people in advanced economies carry,” he stated.
Sekibo further explained that to achieve a prosperous economy, Nigeria needs to find ways and means by policies to build dual circulation economy which thrives on three pillars.
According to him, we need to focus on building dual circulation economy where we can expand domestic production and demand by making sure that the masses are employed.
“We need to make our people are productive and stop putting subsidy in unproductive zones. When you give subsidy to people with inadequate or no income, they really cannot add value to the economy, and money has a way of flowing away due to import of consumables from other countries and because of this, a larger portion of every consumption or cash given as subsidy gets out of the country,” said Sekibo.
The bank’s helmsman further explained that to expand the domestic production, government must give the private sector support to drive employment creation, technology, which is riding on innovation and manufacturing must be in place and, the population which is an added advantage must be well educated.
He highlighted the need to examine how the country could add value to primary production for global export, emphasizing on reduction of over dependence on foreign markets but rather increase local production for export, whilst also increasing demand on local products.
Sekibo further affirmed that if states could function as proper federating units and take the lead of the competitive comparative advantages therein, wealth creation would be achieved that would bring about the desired changes.
The former governor of Anambra state and presidential aspirant, Peter Obi lamented the huge indebtedness of the country, which he blamed on unproductivity due to the inimical situation of high unemployment rate resulting to over 80million Nigerians being jobless.
He blamed the cumulative failure of government over the years on insecurity, failure to migrate from sharing formula to production formula and lack of will to transform the power sector and the need to focus and support the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
In his paper titled, “The President Nigeria Needs”, Pastor Ighodalo harped on the need for leadership change.
He argued that what the country needs now are leaders who have vision and are ready to sacrifice for the common man, stating, “things must be done differently”.
Ighodalo believed leadership remains the bane of Nigeria’s transformation, stressing that once we get good leadership other things will fall in place.
Prof. Oyewo while speaking on the topic “Restructuring and True Federalism” was of the view that some responsibilities need to be decentralized like the police, power provision and railway.
Once there is decentralization, he believes that the state will have less dependence on the centre, “rebalancing of the constitution in terms of power and security. So, there is reason for state police.”
Oyewo maintained that regions are closer to the people, thus it will boost security, the economy and sense of belonging by the populace.
He also identified data and planning as key factors in ensuring that programmes are tailored towards the people.
Benedict Ikechukwu Anekwe, an Enugu-based lawyer, and C.K.C. Idu, a magistrate, have been accused of allegedly conspiring to fraudulently withdraw ₦3.5million from the corporate account of Ohha Microfinance Bank Limited through what the bank described as a manipulated garnishee court process.
Ohha Microfinance Bank is a financial institution based in Enugu, Nigeria, committed to providing accessible and reliable banking services to individuals and small businesses
Ohha Microfinance Bank in a petition dated March 6, 2026 and submitted to the Chief Justice of Nigeria and Chairman of the National Judicial Council, demanded disciplinary action against the lawyer and the magistrate.
In the petition signed by Philip Onwukwe, managing director of the bank, the institution accused Anekwe of “using the instrumentality of the court to steal” from its corporate account.
“We write to you… seeking your urgent intervention and action in respect of this complaint which borders on fraud, stealing and unprofessional conduct of Benedict Ikechukwu Anekwe Esq.,” the petition read.
According to the petition, the controversy began with a judgment delivered on July 11, 2025 by Chief Magistrate O.P. Okoro in Enugu in Suit No. CME/1087/2023, involving Okoye Sunday and Ifesinachi Nnam.
The court reportedly awarded ₦2.5 million in favour of Okoye Sunday.
To enforce the judgment, Anekwe filed garnishee proceedings against 14 banks, including Ohha Microfinance Bank, seeking to attach funds belonging to the judgment debtor, Ifesinachi Nnam.
On July 29, 2025, the court issued an Order Nisi directing banks to attach any money belonging to the debtor.
The order stated that: “All monies in possession of the Garnishees belonging to Ifesinachi Nnam… be attached to satisfy the judgment sum of ₦2,500,000 together with the cost of this garnishee proceedings.”
However, the bank said the order applied strictly to the account of the judgment debtor and not to the corporate account of the bank itself, moreover, the judgement debtor has no financial account with the bank.
“It is crystal clear from the wordings of the Order that the Order Absolute made by His Worship Okoro was made against the account of Ifesinachi Nnam… but not against the corporate account of Ohha Microfinance Bank Limited,” the bank said.
The bank alleged that instead of serving the order on the bank to verify whether the judgment debtor had an account with it, Anekwe allegedly initiated another garnishee action directly against the bank before a different magistrate.
The fresh suit, CME/1554M/2025, Okoye Sunday v. Ohha Microfinance Bank Ltd, was filed before Magistrate C.K.C. Idu, his close associate, after the judgement debtor had filed notice of appeal and got a stay of execution in the previous court.
The petitioner explained that despite the pending appeal and stay of execution, on October 10, 2025, Magistrate Idu granted another Order Nisi attaching ₦3.5 million from the bank’s corporate account held with Ecobank Plc.
The bank said neither the plaintiff nor the judgment debtor had any account relationship with the microfinance institution, wondering how a Magistrate could issue such an order.
“Ohha Microfinance Bank has no business relationship with the judgment creditor and the judgment debtor in the suit,” the petition stated.
It added that both Okoye Sunday and Ifesinachi Nnam “are not customers of Ohha Microfinance Bank Ltd.”
Upon discovering the court order, the bank’s lawyer filed a motion asking the court to set aside the garnishee order, arguing that it was obtained through misrepresentation.
The motion stated that the order wrongly targeted the corporate funds of the bank rather than the account of the judgment debtor.
However, according to the petition, Magistrate Idu refused to vacate the order.
Instead, on February 27, 2026, the magistrate reportedly made the order absolute and authorised the withdrawal of ₦3.5 million from the bank’s account.
The bank further alleged that after securing the court order, Anekwe personally served it on Ecobank and instructed the bank to transfer the funds to his personal account.
“That same day, the learned Chief Magistrate signed the Order Absolute and handed it over to Benedict Anekwe Esq., who rushed to Ecobank Plc and served the order,” the petition stated.
The lawyer allegedly followed up with a written instruction directing the bank to pay the money into his personal account at First Bank of Nigeria instead of a client account.
Ohha Microfinance Bank alleged that the magistrate and the lawyer acted in concert to perpetrate the alleged fraud.
“This is daylight stealing perpetrated by Benedict Ikechukwu Anekwe Esq.,” the petition stated.
The bank further alleged that Magistrate Idu ignored the clear wording of the earlier judgment issued by Magistrate O.P. Okoro, which targeted only the debtor’s account.
It also claimed that both men had previously worked together before the magistrate’s appointment to the bench.
“Our findings reveal that the learned magistrate C.K.C. Idu before his appointment worked together at CIDJAP Legal Department with Benedict Anekwe Esq., hence the reason he connived with him to perpetrate this fraud,” the bank alleged.
The bank has asked the National Judicial Council to investigate the matter and sanction both the lawyer and the magistrate.
It also demanded that the matter be referred to the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee.
“We demand that this matter be referred to the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee for immediate and necessary action,” the petition stated.
The bank further demanded an immediate refund of the ₦3.5 million allegedly withdrawn from its corporate account.
“We further demand that Benedict Anekwe Esq. refund immediately the sum of ₦3.5million he stole from our corporate account,” the petition added.
Efforts to reach the lawyer and the magistrate were unsuccessful, as both failed to answer multiple calls.
They also did not respond to text messages sent to their verified telephone numbers seeking their reactions.
Credit: SaharaReporters
Quest Merchant Bank Limited has successfully met the ₦50 billion minimum capital requirement mandated for merchant banks by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) strengthening the Bank’s capital base and reinforcing its capacity to support Nigeria’s economic transformation.
This milestone reflects investors’ continued confidence in the Bank’s long-term strategy, strong governance, and sustainable growth outlook. It also marks an important step in the Bank’s post-divestment evolution under its new ownership, positioning Quest Merchant Bank with the balance-sheet strength needed to execute its next phase of growth.
With a significantly enhanced capital base, Quest Merchant Bank is now better positioned to underwrite larger transactions and expand its advisory, capital markets, and structured financing capabilities across priority sectors of the Nigerian economy.
The CBN’s recapitalisation directive, which sets ₦50 billion as the minimum capital threshold for merchant banks, is designed to reinforce the resilience, stability, and lending capacity of Nigeria’s financial system.
By meeting this benchmark, Quest Merchant Bank reinforces its standing as a trusted financial partner in infrastructure, energy, manufacturing, and corporate growth initiatives nationwide.
Afolabi Olorode, Acting Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Quest Merchant Bank, described the achievement as a defining moment in the Bank’s evolution: “This milestone marks a significant step forward for Quest Merchant Bank. Meeting the ₦50 billion capital requirement underscores investors’ confidence in our strategy and reflects the strength of our governance and franchise.
“With this strengthened capital position, we are equipped to play an even greater role in financing key sectors of the Nigerian economy, enabling private enterprise, and supporting sustainable economic expansion.
“Our focus remains clear. We will continue to continue to help our clients succeed, while serving as a trusted long-term partner in delivering sustainable growth.”
Quest Merchant Bank remains committed to responsible growth, innovation, and delivering strategic financial solutions that empower businesses and institutions across Nigeria.
GCR Ratings (GCR) has affirmed African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) international scale long and short-term issuer ratings of A and A2 respectively. The outlook was revised to “Stable” from “Rating Watch Evolving”.
GCR has also affirmed the international scale long term programme rating on the $5 billion Global Medium Term Note (GMTN) Programme of A.
The improved rating reflects GCR’s assessment of a “robust counter-cyclical mandate, underpinned by a strong track record and ongoing preferential creditor treatment (PCT) from shareholders.”
South Africa became the latest country to affirm the Bank’s Establishment Treaty and Preferred Creditor Status when it recently signed the Instrument of Accession to become a full sovereign member of the Bank.
The report continued: “The Bank’s solid capitalisation and diversified funding profile provide significant buffers against emerging credit risks.” The report also acknowledged the Bank’s diverse shareholding base.
The outlook change from “Rating Watch Evolving” to “Stable”, according to GCR, indicates that there is immaterial downside risk related to sovereign debt restructurings.
Commenting on the Rating action, Chandi Mwenebungu, Managing Director and Group Treasurer, Treasury and Markets at Afreximbank said: “We are delighted that GCR has affirmed its credit rating on the Bank and resolved the outlook to ‘stable’, particularly in the light of recent positive credit developments.
“We continue to assert that the Bank’s preferred creditor treatment is enshrined in the Bank’s Establishment Agreement, ratified by all member states. It is not a matter of opinion or convention; it is fact”.
Mwenebungu continued, “It is also pleasing to note that GCR acknowledges the Afreximbank’s strong liquidity and capitalisation, and resilient risk profile. This is testament to the Bank’s financial and operational strength and that it has been able to demonstrate firm resolve in the face of continued macro-economic pressures and a challenging environment.”
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