News
Buhari’s Men Join Chorus, Criticise PMB for Economic Hardship
Fund managers first expressed their concerns over President Muhammadu Buhari’s handling of Nigeria’s economic crisis by taking billions of dollars of funds from its markets.
Then, multinationals and local industry captains began voicing unease with his government’s policies.
Now Buhari’s senior officials and allies are joining the chorus of criticism, complaining of “paralysis” and a lack of urgency under his leadership in tackling the economic malaise.
Even his wife, Aisha, has spoken up, saying that if things carry on as they are, she will not campaign for his re-election in 2019.
“The whimper is becoming a din — externally and [within government],” said one government minister.
“Naturally we should be quiet, because it’s our government and we want our president to succeed. But a sense of lack of urgency is getting in the way.”
The growing murmurs of discontent highlight the depth of the crisis in Nigeria, which is enduring its first recession since 1991, amid complaints that Buhari is exacerbating the situation rather than leading a revival.
n a speech this month, Mr Buhari acknowledged “how difficult things are” for Nigerians. He insisted he remained “resolutely committed” to good government, and to stopping “the stealing of Nigeria’s resources”.
But the first lady told the BBC that her husband “does not know 45 out of 50 of the people he appointed”.
“I don’t know them either, despite being his wife of 27 years,” Mrs Buhari said. “If things continue like this up to 2019, I will not go out and campaign again.”
The president sought to laugh off his wife’s comments.
“I don’t know which party my wife belongs to, but she belongs to my kitchen and my living room and the other room,” Mr Buhari said.
The fall in oil prices triggered the economic crisis in a nation that depends on petrodollars for 70 per cent of state revenues and 90 per cent of export earnings, and the slump in commodity prices has hit economies across Africa.
But in Nigeria, there are complaints that Mr Buhari has undermined his economic management team and created policy inconsistencies and sent conflicting signals to markets and the public.
As a result, the few major decisions that have been taken, such as the removal of fuel subsidies and relaxing the currency’s peg, have come months too late, officials say.
The former military ruler’s election last year spawned huge expectations in Africa’s top oil producer.
It was the first time an opposition candidate had unseated an incumbent at the ballot box and Mr Buhari, 73, pledged to crack down on rampant corruption and overhaul an inefficient state system.
But a senior presidential aide said optimism had given way to “paralysis”. “Where is the energy? Everyone is waiting for bold decisions,” said the aide.
Capital inflows dropped by 75 per cent in the second quarter, reflecting the negative sentiment of investors who say they cannot bring hard currency to the country because the foreign exchange market is not transparent.
When the central bank did ease the currency’s peg to the dollar in June, causing the naira to fall by 30 per cent, Mr Buhari said he was not convinced a devaluation would help the economy.
This was viewed by investors and bankers as a sign of interference in monetary policy, and added to perceptions that members of the president’s inner circle are giving instructions to the central bank governor Godwin Emefiele to prop up the naira at all costs.
“The governor is independent, so we are told,” said the minister. “The extent to which he is — and where he is taking his instructions from — remains to be seen.”
He said investor confidence would not be restored unless Mr Emefiele was replaced. “We need a shock therapy. The market needs to see some heads roll,” the minister said.
Other top officials, including Kemi Adeosun, finance minister, have complained that the central bank’s refusal to bring down the main interest rate from 14 per cent is choking the economy.
Audu Ogbeh, agriculture minister, said that high borrowing rates had made it impossible for farmers and agribusinesses to scale up production of rice, sugar, milk and other goods imported in huge quantities.
“We’re in trouble because we can’t produce and we can’t import,” he said. “The timing of policy and implementation has to be better organised.”
The presidential aide did cite military gains made against Boko Haram, the Islamist militant group, as a positive.
But he acknowledged that Buhari’s promise of “quick win” reforms, such as an overhaul of the notoriously corrupt state-owned oil company, have yet to happen.
“The key question is whether the president realises this and does the right thing by empowering the economic management team,” said the aide. If not, he said, “we will limp along from crisis to crisis”.
Union Bank of Nigeria has secured certification under the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) version 4.0.1, a global standard for protecting payment card data.
The certification took effect on August 11, 2026, confirming that the bank’s systems for storing, processing and transmitting customers’ credit and debit card information meet stringent international security requirements.
PCI DSS certification is designed to reduce the risk of payment card data breaches and financial fraud while strengthening customer confidence in electronic payment systems.
The assessment covered key areas of Union Bank’s operations, including network infrastructure, card issuance, ATM and POS transactions, payment processing, reconciliation, settlement, chargebacks, dispute resolution and retail banking.
Union Bank was assessed and certified under the Service Provider category.
The certification process lasted a full year and involved quarterly assessments, with support from departmental, business and functional heads across the bank. Digital security firm Digital Encode supported the process, while the final independent audit was conducted by CyberCube, an accredited Qualified Security Assessor.
Yetunde B. Oni, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Union Bank, said the certification demonstrates the bank’s commitment to protecting customer information.
“The security of our customers’ information is central to everything we do at Union Bank. This certification reaffirms that our payment systems and processes meet a rigorous global standard, and it reflects the discipline of colleagues across the Bank who work every day to keep customer data safe.”
The renewal also ensures that Union Bank maintains continuous PCI DSS certification, in line with the Central Bank of Nigeria’s requirement for banks to sustain compliance without interruption.
New data from CFA Society Nigeria is reshaping how the country’s financial sector thinks about talent development, with Access emerging as the single largest source of CFA candidates in Nigeria, distinction industry watchers say signals a deeper shift in how leading institutions are building investment expertise from within.
In its Where Nigeria’s Finance Professionals Work series, published in a national daily, CFA Society Nigeria placed Access first among employers of CFA candidates nationwide, with 82 candidates enrolled in the programme, more than double the 38 recorded at the next-placed institution and well ahead of every other bank or financial services firm on the list.
Access also ranked second among employers of CFA charterholders, with 11 professionals who have completed all three levels of the Programme and met its experience and ethics requirements.
For an industry that has long measured itself by balance sheet size and branch count, the rankings point to a different kind of competition: one over who is building the deepest bench of certified, globally credentialed talent.
CFA Society Nigeria compiled the data from its Salesforce Membership Database as at June 2026, and described the exercise as a way of recognising employers whose people “bring rigour, integrity and global best practices into the workplace every day.”
Analysts following the sector say the outcome is notable less for the ranking itself than for what it suggests about talent strategy across Africa’s financial services industry. A single institution developing more aspiring charterholders than the rest of the market combined raises the floor for professional standards nationally, not just within one balance sheet.
Every candidate who advances through the CFA Programme adds to a shared pool of ethics-trained, analytically rigorous professionals that Nigeria’s capital markets, pension funds and asset managers all eventually draw from.
Access Holdings Group Chief Executive Officer Innocent C. Ike, commenting on the rankings, framed the achievement in terms of institution-building rather than recruitment: “Every candidate on that list represents our commitment to building institutions and professionals that endure.”
The remark echoes a broader thesis increasingly voiced by market observers, that talent depth, not scale alone, is what will determine which African financial institutions earn lasting global credibility.
That distinction sits at the centre of Access’s stated ambition to become the World’s Most Respected African Financial Services Group. If the CFA numbers are any indication, the Group’s route to that goal runs less through square metres of branch network and more through the calibre of the people sitting inside it, a bet that Nigeria’s finance professionals, and the institutions that will one day hire them, are already placing alongside Access.
Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has announced plans to introduce Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) baggage tracking technology across domestic and international airport terminals to tackle the growing problem of delayed, misrouted and missing luggages
Michael Achimugu, director, Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, NCAA, disclosed this at a stakeholder engagement forum in Lagos.
Achimugu said the RFID-enabled system would replace the traditional barcode-based baggage tracking framework and provide airlines and passengers with real-time visibility of checked luggage from check-in to final collection.
According to him, the technology would improve baggage traceability, reduce mishandling and strengthen accountability across the baggage-handling chain.
Unlike conventional barcode systems, RFID technology allows baggage to be automatically scanned at multiple points without requiring direct line of sight, enabling real-time tracking of luggage throughout its journey.
Achimugu said issues involving short-landed, missing, lost or damaged baggage had remained among the major complaints from air travellers, alongside flight delays.
He said the introduction of RFID technology was therefore aimed at improving baggage-handling standards and restoring passenger confidence in the aviation sector.
The NCAA said the initiative also aligns with IATA Resolution 753, which requires airlines to track baggage at key points during the passenger journey.
The authority expects the technology to provide more accurate information on the location of luggage, facilitate quicker resolution of baggage-related complaints and improve the overall passenger experience.
The NCAA said the initiative would also strengthen accountability among airlines and other stakeholders involved in baggage handling at Nigerian airports.
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