News
Nigeria loses N755Bn per Month to Weights
Nigeria loses N755 billion every month due to inaccurate metering and measurements, according to Mr.Olusegun Aganga, minister of Industry, Trade and Investment.
Aganga disclosed this at the launching of the Legal Metrology web-portal of the Weights and Measures Department of the ministry in Abuja.
The minister said the amount is the aggregate loss incurred by both government and corporate organisations on a monthly basis due to imprecision of weights and measures in the country.
Aganga said that the effective implementation of legal metrology would ensure proper inspection, verification and certification of meters and billing systems for electricity, water, hydrocarbon, and telecommunications. He added that it would also result in the establishment of credible and reliable database for oil and gas exports/imports data for proper reconciliation of revenues from oil and gas as required by the Pre-shipment Inspection Act.
“The implementation will eliminate the loss of N755.72 billion due to inaccurate measurements at billing points every month by Nigerians. It is widely accepted that the status of a country’s measurement system is a good indicator of its development level. The inauguration of this portal this morning is therefore another major step towards the actualisation of the transformation agenda of President Goodluck Jonathan.
“The importance of legal metrology in developing nations cannot be over-emphasized, especially as it enhances confidence in domestic trade, protects consumers, strengthens confidence in imported goods and products, and facilitates acceptance of exported goods and products globally.
“In realisation of this, therefore, the federal government came up with the initiative to launch the implementation of the program in Nigeria in line with the provisions of the enabling laws, which are: The Federal Republic of Nigeria Constitution, exclusive list item 65 of 1999; the Weights and Measures Act Cap W3 LFN 2004 and the Pre-shipment Inspection of Export Act Cap. P25 LFN 2004. There are other subsidiary legislations in force.
“And in line with international best practice, the weights and measures department of the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment has been repositioned to effectively supervise and monitor weighing and measuring devices used in trade transactions in all sectors of the Nigerian economy,” he stated.
Alhaji Bashir Zoru, , Director, Weights and Measures in the ministry, stressed that Legal Metrology is critical for economic advancement. “This is because it instills confidence in the domestic trade, protects the consumers, as well as confers integrity to imported goods and products, and facilitates acceptance of exported goods and products globally.
Consumers, Traders, Industries, Government regulators and Collectors of taxes and duties make decisions on a daily basis based on measurement, and these affect economic and personal well-being of the society. From a consumer’s perspective, a kilogram of rice must be a kilogram and no less, a motorist needs to trust the volume delivered by a petrol pump, a mobile telephone user must be assured in the knowledge that one minute of airtime must be one minute and no less”
Zoru said the department is recruiting over 200 young Inspectors and the first batch of private companies who will work as Independent Service Providers (ISPs) – providing Calibration, Testing and Verification services to cover the millions of Weighing and Measuring devices used.
Xora Finance has announced it will no longer consider job applicants from Nigeria.
Xora Finance is a digital bank founded by Joren Lundgren, in February 2026 and allows users to deposit and earn interest on their XRP cryptocurrency.
Lundgren, founder, in an announcement on X (formerly Twitter), cited an ongoing pattern of misconduct, such as dishonesty and theft, from previous Nigerian hires as the reason for the decision.
This sudden blanket ban came just days after the company’s official career page was aggressively recruiting remote workers for marketing and content roles.
The announcement generated heavy backlash online, with many people upset that a blanket rule punishes honest job seekers.
Some lawyers have said that victims of Ponzi schemes have legal remedies, although recovering lost funds and prosecuting perpetrators remain major challenges.
A Ponzi scheme is an investment fraud that pays existing investors with funds collected from new participants rather than from actual profits.
Operators lure victims by promising high returns with little to no risk.
The scheme inevitably collapses when the flow of new investors slows down.
Some lawyers who spoke to News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) separate interviews with on Sunday, said that victims could pursue civil actions to recover their money.
Mr Chibuikem Opara, a lawyer at Justification Chambers, Ikeja,said many Nigerians continued to fall victim to Ponzi schemes in spite of repeated warnings.
Opara said it was wrong to attribute participation in Ponzi schemes to a lack of investment opportunities, noting that promoters often exploit investors’ greed through promises of unrealistic returns.
“What you cannot take away is the fact that many Nigerians have fallen and continue to fall victim to these schemes every time,” he said.
According to him, victims may individually or collectively institute civil actions against the beneficiary company for breach of contract or refund arising from failure of consideration.
Opara said victims could also unite to seek an order from the Federal High Court to wind up the beneficiary company.
He, however, noted that such efforts might yield little benefit if perpetrators had already siphoned the funds and left behind an empty shell.
The lawyer said available remedies largely depended on the actions of relevant authorities, adding that recipient accounts could be frozen to facilitate fund recovery and support winding-up proceedings.
Opara said regulators and law enforcement agencies often became aware of Ponzi schemes only after substantial losses had occurred.
According to him, victims frequently failed to report suspicious schemes early enough to enable timely intervention.
He added that funds are sometimes moved outside the country before authorities become aware of the fraud.
Opara also cited inadequate information and the deceptive nature of the schemes as major obstacles to investigation and prosecution.
“Most times, everything about the schemes is made to appear elusive, just like the profits promised to victims,” he said.
Also speaking, Mr Vincent Aminu of A.F. Aminu and Co. advised that victims of investment scams should report such cases to appropriate law enforcement agencies on time.
Aminu said victims could petition the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) or file reports with the police.
He said that after investigation, prosecutors could bring charges against suspects under relevant fraud-related laws, including provisions of the Criminal Code and the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act.
Beyond criminal prosecution, Aminu said .victims could pursue civil actions to recover their money
According to him, such actions may be based on breach of contract, unjust enrichment, or fraudulent misrepresentation, depending on the circumstances.
He added that victims could petition the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which could investigate illegal operators, shut down unauthorised platforms, and freeze assets.
He identified the anonymity of online fraudsters as one of the biggest challenges confronting investigators.
According to him, many operators concealed their identities through fake digital profiles and technologies that made tracking them difficult.
Aminu also noted that victims who delayed taking legal action risked losing opportunities for redress.
He added that prolonged court proceedings often delayed justice for victims.
“Many fraud-related cases take years before the court reaches a verdict, thereby delaying justice for victims,” he said.
Also, Mr Chris Ayiyi of Ayiyi Chambers, Apapa, described Ponzi schemes as a gamble that benefited early participants at the expense of later investors.
Ayiyi said some early entrants received returns on their investments, thereby encouraging others to join the schemes.
He said the schemes eventually collapsed, leaving late investors to bear the losses
The lawyer called for a complete ban on Ponzi schemes or sustained public enlightenment campaigns against them.
He urged the National Assembly to enact laws that would strengthen regulation and provide greater protection for investors.
According to him, stronger legal safeguards are necessary in a country operating a capital-based economy.
PalmPay Group (“PalmPay”), a multinational fintech company providing digital financial services across high-growth emerging markets, is pleased to appoint Samuel Oluyemi as Chief Operating Officer (“COO”) of its Nigeria practice, effective immediately.
The appointment comes at a pivotal moment for PalmPay as it looks to reach more underserved communities and continuously strengthen the reliability and security of its services. It also comes as Nigeria’s broader financial services sector continues to modernize, bring millions more Nigerians into the formal financial system, and strengthen the cybersecurity and fraud-prevention standards that underpin public confidence in digital payments.
As COO of PalmPay Nigeria, Mr. Oluyemi will oversee PalmPay’s Nigerian operations — where the company provides a full suite of digital financial services to individuals and businesses — and communicate with regulators to ensure the company’s growth happens harmoniously with the country’s financial, digital, and social inclusion goals.
Mr. Oluyemi brings more than two decades of experience at the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (“NIBSS”). During his tenure as the Business Development Lead, he championed the development of key national payment services — including the Digital Validation of Nigerian International Passport (e-Passport Validation), Electronic Dividend Mandate Management System (“e-DMMS”), and the Electronic Pensions Contribution Collection System (“EPCCOS”) — and played a pivotal role in introducing and driving early adoption of NIBSS Instant Payment (“NIP”), Nigeria’s first online, real-time, inter-bank transfer system in 2011 and its subsequent extension to the Other Financial Institutions (“OFI”) segment of the Nigeria Payments System.
He holds an MSc in Monetary Economics from the University of Ibadan with extensive local and international professional training.
“Samuel joins PalmPay at an important stage in our journey to strengthen the foundations that will support our long-term goal of driving financial inclusion,” said Chika Nwosu, Managing Director of PalmPay Nigeria. “His extensive experience makes him well positioned to help us scale sustainably while maintaining the operational discipline, governance and customer-first culture that define PalmPay.”
“PalmPay has established itself as one of the most impactful fintech companies in emerging markets by making financial services more accessible and affordable for millions of people,” said Mr. Oluyemi.
“I am excited to join the company and look forward to working alongside an exceptional team to strengthen operational excellence and support PalmPay’s vision of building a leading digital financial services platform. Together, we will continue delivering secure, reliable, and customer-focused financial solutions while contributing to the continued evolution of Nigeria’s digital financial ecosystem.”
As Nigeria’s digital financial services sector continues to mature, this appointment reflects a broader commitment guiding PalmPay across all markets it serves: building financial services that are secure, reliable, and effective enough to earn a permanent place in people’s everyday lives.
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