Zedvance Finance Limited has appointed Professor Pius ‘Deji’ Olanrewaju as Chairman of its Board of Directors, effective July 1, subject to the approval of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

Professor Pius ‘Deji’ Olanrewaju

The company disclosed this in a statement, describing the appointment as a significant step in strengthening its corporate governance structure and positioning the organisation for its next phase of growth.

According to Zedvance, the appointment reflects its commitment to building a robust governance framework capable of driving innovation, sustainable growth and long-term value creation for stakeholders.

The company said Olanrewaju brings extensive boardroom experience, leadership credentials and expertise in governance, strategy and organisational transformation to the role.

It noted that the strengthened board structure would enhance oversight and support the company’s strategic growth ambitions.

Speaking on his appointment, Olanrewaju expressed appreciation for the confidence reposed in him.

“I am honoured to assume the role of Chairman of the Board of Zedvance Finance.

“The company has established a strong reputation as a trusted financial partner, leveraging innovation and technology to create meaningful impact.

“I look forward to working with the board and management to support the company’s strategic aspirations and deliver sustainable value for our stakeholders,” he said.

Olanrewaju is a legal scholar, banking expert and corporate leader with more than four decades of experience spanning banking, finance, academia and institutional governance.

He holds degrees in Law, Arts and Social Sciences, including a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B), Bachelor of Laws (B.L.), Bachelor of Arts (B.A.), Master of Science (M.Sc.), Master of Laws (LL.M.) and a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.).

He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (FCIB), Fellow of the Institute of Capital Market Registrars (FIMA), Fellow of the Institute of Management and Administrative Technology (FCMR), and Fellow of the Enterprise Risk Management Professionals (FERP).

Olanrewaju is also a member of several professional bodies and served as the immediate past President and Chairman of the Council of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN).

During his more than 35 years of service to the institute, he held several strategic positions, including Chairman of its Capacity Building and Certification Committee.

He is currently a Professor of Banking Law at Babcock University, where he previously served as Provost and Dean of the School of Law and Security Studies.

He has authored and co-authored several academic publications and serves on the boards of a number of organisations, including Babcock University Microfinance Bank.

The company expressed confidence that his experience in strategic leadership, corporate governance and financial services oversight would support its long-term growth and institutional development.

Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has given Godswill Akpabio, Senate President, and Tajudeen Abbas, speaker of the House of Representatives, seven days to explain how over N1.3 billion was allocated in the 2026 Appropriation Act to a presidential council that the Presidency has described as fictitious.

In a Freedom of Information (FoI) request dated July 4, 2026, SERAP asked the National Assembly leadership to release certified copies of all documents related to the approval of the N1,302,978,784 allocation to the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC)/Presidential Economic Advisory Council.

The rights group also called on the National Assembly to invoke its investigative powers under Sections 88 and 89 of the 1999 Constitution to probe the circumstances surrounding the allocation and identify those responsible for what it described as apparent irregularities in the budget process.

SERAP further requested records identifying the lawmakers and committees that considered the allocation, as well as the public officials or representatives who defended the budget proposal before the committees.

The civil organisation also sought clarification on whether the allocation originated from the Executive’s 2026 Appropriation Bill or was introduced during the legislative appropriation process.

It equally demanded to know whether any lawmaker questioned the legal status or operational mandate of the council before approving the allocation.

The FoI request follows a July 1 statement by the Presidency denying the existence of the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council and insisting that the Federal Government never created the body.

Describing the conflicting claims as alarming, SERAP said they raised “serious concerns regarding the integrity of Nigeria’s appropriations process, legislative oversight, public financial management, and accountability.”

The FoI request, signed by Kolawole Oluwadare, deputy director, SERAP, stressed that Nigerians have a constitutional right to know whether public funds were appropriated to an entity that does not legally exist.

SERAP said, “Nobody has a more sacred obligation to obey the law than those who make the law, and that the National Assembly has a constitutional responsibility not merely to approve the Executive’s budget proposals but to rigorously scrutinise them before authorising public expenditure.”

The organisation argued that disclosure of the requested documents would enable Nigerians to determine whether the National Assembly fulfilled its constitutional obligations under Sections 80, 81, 88, and 89 of the Constitution in approving the allocation.

SERAP warned that if the requested information is not released within seven days of receipt or publication of the letter, it would initiate legal proceedings to compel the National Assembly to disclose the documents.

The organisation further maintained that making the records public would strengthen confidence in the National Assembly’s credibility, enhance transparency in the appropriation process, and promote accountability in the management of public funds.

It also cited the Freedom of Information Act, the Nigerian Constitution, the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the Tshwane Principles as legal bases for its demand for full disclosure.

Dr Karl Toriola, chief executive officer, MTN Nigeria, has assured its subscribers that another telecom tariff increase is not imminent.

Dr Karl Toriola, chief executive officer, MTN Nigeria

He also clarified his recent comments on unlimited mobile data, saying they were taken out of context.

Toriola who spoke during an interview on TVC’s Beyond the Headlines, said his remarks at MTN’s Data on Trial public engagement were intended to explain the technical limitations of mobile networks rather than suggest that consumers could never access unlimited data.

According to him, excerpts of his comments circulated online did not reflect the full context of the discussion.

“People took snippets of the conversation, and the entirety of the conversation is available on YouTube. There’s nothing to be hidden there, and they took it slightly out of context,” he said.

Toriola explained that mobile networks are constrained by finite spectrum resources, making unrestricted data usage technically impossible without affecting the quality of service for other subscribers.

“Mobile wireless technology to offer data is limited by one factor—spectrum—and spectrum is a finite resource. You cannot put an excessive load of data traffic onto a mobile network without having a degradation of the quality of service for other people,” he said.

He added that while many telecom operators market data plans as unlimited, such packages are generally governed by fair usage policies, under which internet speeds are reduced after subscribers exceed specified usage thresholds.

Toriola said MTN is working towards introducing similar products but noted that they would also be subject to fair usage limits to protect network quality.

Addressing concerns over rapid data depletion, the MTN chief executive said operators do not deliberately consume customers’ data, attributing much of the usage to background activities such as automatic cloud backups on applications including WhatsApp, Google Cloud and iCloud.

“A significant amount of data that’s consumed on your handsets is done without your realisation,” he said.

He advised subscribers to review their device settings and configure cloud backups to run only over Wi-Fi or at less frequent intervals.

To illustrate the point, Toriola said an audit of the phone of one of MTN’s chief officers, who had complained about unusually high data usage, revealed that WhatsApp was automatically backing up about 120 gigabytes of data.

On telecom pricing, Toriola said another tariff increase is not expected in the near term, although future reviews would depend on prevailing economic conditions and the cost of sustaining network operations.

“The increment is not imminent. But over time, depending on economic conditions, there might be possible tariff increases,” he said.

He maintained that the tariff adjustment implemented in 2025 was necessary to ensure the sustainability of the telecommunications industry after more than a decade without a price review despite rising operating costs.

Toriola also disclosed that MTN invested ₦390 billion in capital expenditure during the first quarter of the year, exceeding its ₦359 billion profit after tax for the same period.

He identified fibre cuts, vandalism, unreliable electricity supply and restricted access to telecom infrastructure as major factors affecting service quality.

“We have more fibre cuts in a day than the whole Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has in a year,” he said.

Responding to calls for sanctions against MTN over recurring xenophobic incidents in South Africa, Toriola said MTN Nigeria is a Nigerian company in ownership and operations, noting that it is listed on the Nigerian Exchange, has only four expatriates in its workforce and has millions of Nigerian shareholders through direct investments and pension funds.

“We unequivocally condemn any form of xenophobia, any form of violence, any form of attacks against any community in the world,” he said.