In a bid to foster accurate public discourse as well as protect the stability of the financial sector, the Association of Corporate and Marketing Professionals in Banks (ACAMB) has stepped in to educate renowned content creator, Unofficial Osas, following his misrepresentation of facts concerning the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) recapitalisation drive, and subsequent invitation by the Nigerian Police Force.

ACAMB

The intervention by ACAMB led to the successful retraction of a misleading video regarding the CBN recapitalisation policy, demonstrating the Association’s commitment to its core mandate of public enlightenment.

In his official apology video, the content creator stated, “I was invited by the Nigerian police force national cyber crime centre in Abuja over the video I posted on the 15th of December, where i spoke about 12 banks that were shut down in relation to the CBN recapitalisation policy. I would like to offer an official retraction of that video and want to reiterate that no bank is shutting down.

“As a matter of fact, most of the banks have now met the ₦500 billion minimum capital base for banks with international and the N200bn for national banks recapitalisation requirements, so no bank is shutting down.

“I want to specifically appreciate ACAMB. They were very professional in handling this case and did well to educate and enlighten me on the recapitalisation process. I am now better informed and know better”

Commenting on the resolution, President of ACAMB, Jide Sipe, reinforced the Association’s dedication to protecting the integrity of the banking sector. “ACAMB stands for the restoration of professional banking ethics and public confidence through seamless information management and public enlightenment.

“We believe that an informed public is an empowered public. By engaging Unofficial Osas, we ensured that accurate information regarding the resilience and strength of our banks was disseminated to the millions of Nigerians who follow him.”

The Intervention shows ACAMB is dedicated to evolving strategies that enhance and sustain a good image for the nation’s banking sector as well as assist in fostering better banking habits among Nigerians.

Banks and telecommunications operators in Nigeria have ended a four-year dispute over nearly N300bn owed for Unstructured Supplementary Service Data services (USSD), with the debt now fully cleared, according to Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON).

Gbenga Adebayo, chairman, announced the resolution on Thursday during an official visit to Idris Olorunnimbe, chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).

He credited the intervention of the NCC, led by Dr Aminu Maida, executive vice chairman of the commission, with bringing the long-standing dispute to a close.

“When Dr Maida assumed office, he inherited significant industry challenges,” Adebayo said.

“One of the most difficult was the USSD debt crisis, a debt burden that grew over four years to nearly N300bn. It had become a systemic risk to our sector and the digital financial ecosystem.

Through firm leadership, structured engagement, and decisive coordination, Dr Maida and his team resolved this issue.

Today, there is no outstanding USSD debt. The ecosystem has fully migrated to end-user billing. What was once a looming crisis has been converted into a sustainable framework.”

The clearing of the debt ends years of accusations and counter-accusations between banks and telecom operators, which had threatened the stability of digital financial services in the country.

Adebayo praised the NCC’s leadership for steering the telecom sector through one of its most delicate periods, noting other interventions, including last year’s approval of a 50 per cent USSD tariff.

He described the resolution of the debt crisis as a milestone for the telecom and digital finance ecosystem, ensuring sustainability and predictability for operators and service providers.

Nigeria’s telco and bank billing for USSD services transitioned to the end-user billing model in mid-2025, moving charges from bank accounts to customers’ mobile airtime, which is deducted directly by telecom operators.

This shift resolved the long-standing dispute in which banks owed operators up to N300bn in unpaid USSD fees.

The transition arose from years of tension between telecom operators, including MTN and Airtel, and banks over USSD revenue sharing, with debts peaking at N250–300bn by 2024.

The NCC, in collaboration with the Central Bank of Nigeria, developed the EUB framework to standardise billing, enhance transparency, and support financial inclusion for unbanked users who rely heavily on USSD codes.

Under the EUB system, charges are now deducted directly from mobile airtime at N6.98 per session lasting up to 120 seconds, with user consent prompts issued before each deduction. Banks no longer bill for USSD services; telcos handle them exclusively, with regulatory safeguards preventing double-billing. Users can opt in or out of the service, and banks are required to notify customers in advance of any USSD session charges.

Migration to the EUB model began between June 3 and 18, 2025, following partial debt repayments amounting to N171bn. By February 19, 2026, banks had fully cleared the remaining debt, solidifying the EUB rollout.

The model improves user control through immediate airtime deductions and session notifications, similar to voice and SMS billing. While some critics have expressed concern over potential burdens on low-income users, the transition strengthens telecom revenue sustainability and contributes to the stability of Nigeria’s digital financial ecosystem.

Credit: Punch

National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has issued an urgent cybersecurity warning about a serious Microsoft Office vulnerability (CVE-2026-21509) that attackers are actively exploiting.

This advisory, shared through Nigeria’s Computer Emergency Response Team (CERRT.NG), highlights the risks of this flaw and recommends immediate action to protect systems.

Microsoft has released quick security updates to fix this vulnerability, which has a severity score of 7.8, showing it is a serious risk. Attackers have already used it in targeted attacks.

CVE-2026-21509 affects multiple versions of Microsoft Office, including Office 2016, Office 2019, Microsoft 365 Apps, Office 2021, and later versions.

This flaw allows attackers to bypass security features meant to stop harmful Object Linking and Embedding (OLE) controls. OLE is an older Microsoft technology that can be used to embed links or content, but it has often been exploited by malware.

By exploiting this flaw, attackers can create specially designed Office documents.

When a user opens these documents, they can run malicious code or gain further access to the system.

Exploitation requires user interaction, meaning attackers often trick people into opening harmful Word, Excel, or other Office documents. Common methods include using email attachments or files from untrusted sources.

Because Microsoft confirmed that the vulnerability is being actively exploited, they have made emergency security updates available outside their usual schedule. Users and organisations should:

1. Install the latest Microsoft Office security updates for all affected versions.
2. Restart Office applications for Office 2021 and later to ensure that the updates take effect.
3. Use registry-based settings for protection if updates can’t be applied right away.
4. Follow good cybersecurity practices, like using endpoint protection and filtering emails.

Microsoft’s updates for Office 2021 and newer versions are automatically applied, but need a restart of the applications to be active.