Broadcasting
How Policy Missteps Weigh Down Nigeria’s Fragile Banking Giants
By Blaise Udunze
Nigeria’s banking sector has always stood at the center of the nation’s economic hopes. Yet, instead of fueling growth and wealth creation, the sector finds itself trapped in a cycle of fragility, weighed down by policies that appear more punitive than progressive. At the heart of this malaise is the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) reliance on blunt instruments such as the Cash Reserve Requirement (CRR), a policy tool that has tied down bank capital in idle vaults rather than channeling it into the real sector economy.
The logic of the CBN is clear enough, which is to mop up liquidity to curb inflation. But the consequences are undeniable. When banks are compelled to warehouse huge reserves that could otherwise be deployed into productive ventures, the real sector, especially small and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs), suffers. These are the very businesses that create jobs, drive innovation, and power inclusive growth. Instead, they are starved of credit because funds remain sterilized at the apex bank in the name of macroeconomic stability.
In times of economic turbulence, inflation control is often the rallying cry of central bankers. In Nigeria, that battle has become an almost singular obsession of the CBN. The preferred weapon? The blunt tightening of monetary policy, raising interest rates and locking away massive portions of banks’ deposits under the CRR. While this might look decisive on paper, in practice it creates collateral damage, leaving banks unable to finance the very sectors that drive jobs, innovation, and long-term growth, most critically, SMEs and entrepreneurs.
The reality is simple, all in the name of fighting inflation, it should not mean strangling credit creation. There are smarter, targeted tools available, and many countries have deployed them with success. Around the world, regulators employ a mix of interest rate adjustments, open market operations, and forward guidance to curb inflation without choking off credit to the real economy. Nigeria must learn from these models and adapt them to its peculiar circumstances.
To tame inflation without choking growth, the CBN could pivot to more sophisticated instruments. Selective credit windows can guarantee lending to SMEs, agriculture, and manufacturing, even under tighter conditions. Differentiated reserve requirements can reward banks’ lending to productive sectors while penalizing speculative lending. Granular open market operations can absorb excess liquidity without suffocating the economy. Macroprudential tools can target bubbles in consumer lending or real estate speculation instead of blanket credit strangulation. And crucially, there must be fiscal-monetary coordination, because inflation driven by food insecurity, energy costs, and government overspending cannot be solved by monetary tightening alone.
Yet Nigeria’s banking fragility cannot be laid at the feet of monetary policy alone. The system’s weaknesses are also rooted in weak governance structures, insider abuses, poor risk management, and an idle treasury management culture. Corporate governance in many banks is treated as a box-ticking exercise rather than a framework for accountability. Boards often lack independence, while regulatory oversight is reactive instead of preventive. This creates fertile ground for insider abuse as directors and their cronies secure loans and contracts without due process or repayment discipline.
The evidence is stark. For eight of the country’s largest Deposit Money Banks (DMBs), total non-performing loans (NPLs) doubled in just one year from about N1.29 trillion in 2023 to N2.59 trillion in 2024. Their average NPL ratio climbed from 3.82 percent in 2023 to 4.99 percent in 2024. Across the industry, the CBN reported an NPL ratio of around 4.5 percent by the end of 2024, only for it to spike to 5.62 percent by April 2025, above the regulatory ceiling of 5 percent. Much of this surge reflects reclassified loans after stricter risk assessments, but it underlines a disturbing trend, showing that fragility is deepening, not abating.
For instance, a customer of the defunct Heritage Bank that was recently liquidated by President Bola Tinubu’s administration, who happened to be the publisher of one of the daily newspapers, was heavily indebted to the bank to the tune of several billions. Following his death during the COVID era, the newspaper outfit struggled to meet its obligations until the eventual shutdown of the bank. Among many cases, this episode shows how a single borrower’s collapse can trigger wider institutional vulnerabilities, worsening the sector’s fragility.
If just one of these economic heavyweights were to collapse, the domino effect could topple multiple banks at once. This is not the hallmark of a robust financial system; it is the mark of fragility. Equally troubling is the poor risk management culture. Credit assessments are often weak, operational risks underestimated, and stress testing neglected until crisis hits. To this is added an idle treasury management culture where banks prefer to park funds in low-yield assets or leave them sterilized under regulatory compulsion instead of channeling them into productive ventures. In a country battling unemployment, weak industrial growth, and inflation, idle treasuries are nothing short of economic sabotage.
One of the starkest contradictions in Nigeria’s economic management lies in the government’s heavy borrowing from the very banking system that the CBN seeks to discipline in the name of fighting inflation. On the one hand, the CBN raises CRR levels and applies other restrictive measures, effectively locking away banking capital to limit credit expansion. On the other, the federal government consistently turns to the same banks to finance its deficit through bonds, Treasury bills, and the now-controversial Ways & Means facility.
The scale of this borrowing is staggering. A Premium Times investigation revealed that CBN advances to the federal government surged by about 2,900 percent in just seven years, peaking at N23.8 trillion, spanning Ways & Means and other credit lines. In one stretch, the government borrowed an additional N3.8 trillion in only six months through the Ways & Means window. Although the CBN has recently reduced such lending by 59 percent in a bid to enforce monetary discipline, the damage to credibility is already done.
Legal borrowing caps, which tie government advances to revenue, have been repeatedly breached with little consequence. To ease pressure, the government has resorted to securitizing parts of this debt, most notably converting the N23.7 trillion Ways & Means facility into longer-term instruments. While this may buy time, it does not erase the contradiction that the CBN sterilizes liquidity with one hand, only for the federal government to pump it back into circulation with the other.
This practice has two damaging consequences. First, it inflates the money supply by redirecting liquidity back into circulation through government borrowing, negating the CBN’s inflation-control measures. Second, it crowds out private sector borrowers, especially SMEs, who are already starved of affordable credit. The result is a distorted system where banks prefer risk-free lending to the government over financing the real economy.
Such policy misalignment undermines trust in the financial system. Stakeholders see a regulator trying to sterilize liquidity while the government injects it back, a tug-of-war that signals confusion rather than coherence. The broader implication is that Nigeria’s inflationary pressures are not merely monetary but structural, requiring coordination between fiscal and monetary authorities. Without such alignment, the fight against inflation becomes self-defeating, eroding confidence in the apex bank’s credibility and deepening economic fragility.
The way forward is not to keep banks in chains but to align policy with growth. Free up productive capital. Enforce strict sanctions on insider abusers and delinquent big borrowers. Strengthen governance and risk management frameworks. And above all, embrace smarter, more dynamic monetary tools that fight inflation without suffocating the economy. Nigeria cannot grow if its banking system remains fragile. And the banking system cannot thrive if the very policies meant to strengthen it are the ones cutting off its oxygen supply.
Blaise, a journalist and PR professional writes from Lagos, can be reached via: [email protected]
Nigeria has launched FreeTV, a broadcasting platform, designed to provide households across the country with free access to digital broadcasting, improved picture quality, and a wide range of local and international content without subscription fees.
The announcement was made in a post on the official X handle of the Presidency, describing the initiative as part of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, which prioritises inclusion, expanded access to opportunities, job creation, support for local enterprise and the use of technology to improve daily life for citizens.
According to the statement, FreeTV forms part of Nigeria’s Digital Switch-Over (DSO) programme and is intended to ensure that no Nigerian is excluded as the country transitions fully from analogue to digital broadcasting.
The platform will offer access to more than 100 national, regional and state-owned channels, covering news, sports, films, music, children’s programming, educational content, as well as dedicated Yoruba, Hausa and Igbo language channels.
The Presidency noted that the service will be accessible through satellite, terrestrial transmission and a dedicated FreeTV mobile application, enabling coverage for users in urban centres, rural communities and previously underserved areas that were not fully captured in earlier DSO pilot phases.
It also clarified that Nigerians will not need to purchase new television sets to access the service. Existing televisions can work with compatible DVB-T2 or DVB-S2 decoders, while users with already compatible free-to-air devices may not require additional equipment.
Speaking ahead of the launch, Charles Ebuebu, director-general, National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), said the initiative reflects the administration’s broader digital inclusion strategy.
“FreeTV speaks directly to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s vision of Renewed Hope towards expanding access, creating opportunity and ensuring that every Nigerian, regardless of location or income, can benefit from the digital economy. With FreeTV, families across Nigeria can enjoy quality digital television without a monthly subscription, while our local content producers, technicians and young creatives gain new platforms and new jobs,” he said.
The statement added that the platform will also strengthen Nigeria’s creative and broadcast industry through regional production hubs in Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Enugu, Kano and Benin, creating employment opportunities for content creators, editors, camera operators, sound engineers and other media professionals.
The Presidency further disclosed that the final analogue switch-off remains scheduled for December 31, 2028, urging Nigerians to begin preparations by confirming decoder compatibility and downloading the FreeTV mobile application ahead of rollout.
Stakeholders in Nigeria’s broadcasting industry have endorsed a hybrid digital broadcasting model that combines Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT), Direct-to-Home (DTH) satellite services, and digital application-based platforms for the country’s Digital Switch Over (DSO) programme,
The resolution was reached at a high-level stakeholder meeting convened by the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) under the supervision of the Federal Ministry of Information and National Orientation at NICON Luxury Hotel, Abuja.
The meeting, chaired by Alhaji Mohammed Idris, minister of Information and National Orientation, brought together regulators, broadcasters, signal distributors, set-top box manufacturers, content producers, satellite operators, and industry associations to chart a sustainable path for Nigeria’s long-delayed digital migration project.
Addressing stakeholders during the closed-door engagement session, the minister described the meeting as a collaborative effort aimed at finding practical solutions to challenges facing the DSO project.
“This engagement is a family discussion aimed at finding practical solutions to ensure the success of the Digital Switch Over project. Government has no hidden agenda, and all decisions will be guided by national interest, stakeholder inclusion, and the long-term sustainability of the broadcasting industry,” he said.
The minister acknowledged concerns raised by industry players regarding stakeholder consultation and participation in previous phases of the project, noting that while broader engagement should ideally have commenced earlier, there remained an opportunity to build consensus and move forward together.
“While there may be differing views on implementation approaches, there is broad agreement that Nigeria must complete its digital migration journey. We must work collectively to achieve this national objective,” he stated.
Mr Charles Ebuebu, director general, NBC, described the stakeholder meeting as “iconic”, noting that it marked a turning point in Nigeria’s efforts to complete the digital migration.
He said the country had spent over a decade on the DSO journey, missing several deadlines, but expressed optimism that a clear implementation plan was now being developed.
Ebuebu said the commission, in collaboration with stakeholders, is working toward a sustainable model that ensures return on investment for industry players while delivering value to the nation.
He said that the outcome of the consultation process would produce a unified framework for implementation and communication going forward.
Mrs Jane Nkechi Egerton-Idehen, managing director, Nigerian Communications Satellite (NIGCOMSAT), said the DSO initiative forms part of broader federal interventions aimed at building a sustainable broadcasting ecosystem.
She explained that government investments had supported satellite coverage, national call centres, and regional production studios across the country.
According to her, the objective is to address gaps in content distribution and ensure that Nigerian broadcasting reflects the country’s linguistic and cultural diversity.
“We are not departing from the original plan. We are innovating on how it is implemented,” she said.
She also highlighted efforts to expand access to production facilities across geopolitical zones to support content creators and reduce dependence on major urban centres.
The meeting attracted 128 participants, including the Director-General of the NBC; Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Information and National Orientation, Dr. BRM Ukire; Director-General of the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), Abdulhamid Dambos; Director-General of the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON), Dr Olalekan Fadolapo; Chairman of the Broadcasting Organisations of Nigeria (BON), Chief Tony Akiotu; Managing Director of NIGCOMSAT Ltd, Mrs Jane Nkechi Egerton-Idehen; and representatives of licensed broadcasters and other industry stakeholders.
During deliberations, stakeholders agreed that the DSO project remains both necessary and desirable for Nigeria, emphasising that the transition should prioritise national interest, industry sustainability, local content development, local manufacturing, and job creation.
Among the key resolutions reached was the affirmation that Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) remains a critical component of the DSO framework and should not be discontinued. Participants also agreed on the need to reconstitute the DigiTeam implementation platform to provide a structured mechanism for consultation, collaboration, and industry participation.
Stakeholders further called for stronger engagement between regulators and industry players, with an agreement that stakeholder meetings would be held at least quarterly to ensure continuous alignment on implementation strategies.
The meeting also welcomed ongoing efforts by the NBC and ARCON to develop a sustainable business model aimed at improving audience measurement systems, strengthening advertising revenue generation, and enhancing the long-term viability of broadcasting organisations.
In addition, stakeholders were assured by NIGCOMSAT of the reliability of satellite infrastructure supporting the DSO platform.
The company disclosed that backup arrangements with alternative satellite operators were already in place to guarantee uninterrupted service and eliminate the need for subscriber dish realignment.
As part of the agreed next steps, the Federal Government, through the Ministry of Information and National Orientation, will reconstitute the DigiTeam stakeholder platform, while the NBC will continue consultations with set-top box manufacturers and other industry stakeholders to address concerns relating to existing investments and future participation in the digital broadcasting ecosystem.
The stakeholders expressed confidence that the renewed collaborative approach would accelerate Nigeria’s digital migration, improve broadcasting services, expand audience reach, attract investment, create jobs, and deliver greater value to Nigerian consumers.
MTN Group has begun rolling out MTN One TV, a new entertainment proposition designed to make digital video content more accessible, relevant, and flexible for customers across African markets.
Introduced in line with MTN’s Ambition 2030 strategy, MTN One TV brings together local storytelling, live channels, international programming, and market-specific viewing options tailored to how customers across the continent access and pay for digital entertainment.
The proposition is designed to give customers greater choice in how they watch content, with viewing models that may vary by market and can include free-to-view content, advertising-funded experiences, pay-as-you-watch access, and subscription offerings.
Depending on local availability, customers may also be able to pay through airtime, Mobile Money, and other locally supported payment methods, helping to reduce common barriers to streaming access.
Beyond enhancing customer experiences, MTN One TV creates new opportunities for African creators, broadcasters, advertisers, and ecosystem partners by helping connect content to wider audiences through MTN’s scale across connectivity, payments, and digital services.
By bringing together a broad mix of content experiences under a single proposition, MTN aims to support greater content discovery, broader audience reach, and sustainable growth across Africa’s digital entertainment ecosystem.
Anchored in MTN’s strategic platforms of Connectivity, Fintech, and Digital Infrastructure, MTN One TV forms part of the Group’s broader ambition to build digital experiences that create value for customers while enabling participation and growth across Africa’s digital economy.
“Entertainment is increasingly becoming an important gateway to digital participation,” said Selorm Adadevoh, MTN group chief commercial, strategy and transformation officer.
“Through MTN One TV, we are leveraging the scale of our connectivity, fintech, and digital capabilities to make relevant content more accessible while creating new opportunities for Africa’s creative and digital economies. This is aligned with our ambition to deliver digital solutions for Africa’s progress.”
MTN One TV is being introduced progressively across MTN markets through a phased rollout approach that reflects local market needs, existing services, and partnership opportunities.
Over time, MTN will bring together a combination of video capabilities, content partnerships, and customer experiences under the MTN One TV brand to create a more consistent and scalable entertainment proposition across its footprint.
Through MTN One TV, MTN continues to extend its role beyond connectivity by combining entertainment, payments, and digital services to deliver experiences tailored to the needs of African consumers.
The rollout supports MTN’s Ambition 2030 vision of leading digital solutions for Africa’s progress while expanding access to digital entertainment across the continent.
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