E-Financial
AfDB Supports Development of ECOWAS Common Migration Policy
The African Development Bank (AfDB) has said that any migration policy that will be meaningful to the lives of West Africans needs to have a West African outlook.
The bank spoke at a brainstorming workshop for migration experts and stakeholders from Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) member states it held in partnership with the sub-regional body in Dakar, Senegal recently.
The workshop, organized by the Regional Integration and Trade Division of the AfDB and supported by the Nigerian Technical Cooperation Fund, provided the basis for the development of a common regional migration policy.
The common migration policy, when developed, will provide critical materials for the review and modernization of the ECOWAS Protocol on the Free Movement of Persons and the Rights of Residency and Establishment.
The implementation of the Protocol, which was crafted in 1979, has shown weaknesses that a modernized Protocol would need to address.
Critical issues to address include skills shortages, harnessing region-wide talent, improving remittance transfer mechanisms, as well as addressing the issue of dual citizenships, while improving the protection of migrant populations around the region in line with international conventions.
Mamadou Seck, adviser to minister for Foreign Affairs of Senegal, who represented the minister at the opening ceremony, noted that “with its mutual and human riches, economic potential, historical and cultural affinities of its people, ECOWAS constitutes a homogeneous entity. A common migration policy elaborated and implemented in such a geographic space can only promote growth and development. That is why the Government of Senegal strongly supports this great initiative.”
Capturing the migration dynamics in the region, Inye Briggs of the AfDB re-iterated that more than 7.5 million West Africans (about 3 per cent of the region’s population) currently circulate within the sub-region – compared to 0.5 per cent of Europeans who circulate within Europe. These numbers do not include border dynamics or seasonal migration.
“These figures,” he continued, “show that West Africa cannot afford to ignore this trend, as the livelihood of a sizable part of its citizenry depends on intra-community migration. It also means that any migration policy that will be meaningful to the lives of West Africans needs to have a West African outlook.”
Briggs recalled that in 2009 the Bank launched the Migration and Development Initiative supported by a Fund to help maximize the development impact of remittances by channeling them into productive investments, promoting business opportunities and creating jobs at the grassroots level.
On migration and employment, N’Fally Sanoh, ECOWAS director of Free Movement and Tourism, spoke of what he terms “the ECOWAS Preference”, which should apply to employment in all sectors. “It is important to create a regional job market within ECOWAS, which could be a short term solution to the lack of skilled workers in specific industries in all ECOWAS countries. It is also a possible alternative to emigration towards the global north,” he said.
“We are witnessing a strong momentum today, with nine West African countries developing migration policies, as well as ECOWAS progressing towards a common migration policy. This should be based on moving from immigration control to migration management of the rising numbers of youth in West Africa, and moving towards pro-active regional skills pooling, mainly through a harmonization of qualifications in order to facilitate recruitment of ECOWAS citizens within the sub-region,” said Anne Sofie Olsen, an AfDB migration expert who was also a participant at the workshop.
Delegates from ECOWAS countries shared their experiences of managing migration, interacting with their diaspora and developing national migration policies.
Four key issues arose during the deliberations that delegates would expect a common regional migration policy to address.
These are lack of mutual recognition of qualifications for professionals, lack of data on intra-regional remittances as well as lack of understanding of their development impact, lack of outreach to the diaspora within the sub-region to increase cross-border investments, and lack of cross-border trade facilitation.
Participants also discussed the cost of remitting money to West Africa, where 70 per cent of all transfers is handled by one money transfer operator, pointing to lack of competitive marketplace for money transfers.
Competitiveness is a function of the regulatory environment, capacity and resources, all areas the region must revisit in the future.
The market is also evolving, with a large informal component and new technologies, leading to new remittance distribution channels such as mobile transfers and retail outlets that represent new challenges for regulators.
A key resolution was that ECOWAS indeed needs a common migration policy that is in tune with modern day realities and that would provide the framework for addressing the migration dynamics in the region in a way that is beneficial to its citizens.
Debt Management Office (DMO) said the federal government spent N3.14 trillion on servicing its domestic debt in the first quarter of 2026.
The office disclosed the data in its latest domestic debt service report for Q1 2026.
The figure comprises N2.97 trillion in interest payments and N169.68 billion in principal repayments.
The agency said in January, the government spent N741.82 billion on domestic debt service, while the figure rose to N967.67 billion in February.
Debt service increased further to N1.43 trillion in March, bringing the total for the quarter to N3.14 trillion.
The March figure was 47.7 percent higher than the N967.67 billion recorded in February and 92.7 percent above the N741.82 billion spent in January.
Also, the debt office said interest payments accounted for about 94.6 percent of total domestic debt service during the quarter.
The DMO said treasury bills accounted for the largest share of interest payments at N1 trillion, while interest on federal government bonds stood at N1.96 trillion.
The agency said the government also paid N4.24 billion in interest on FGN savings bonds during the period.
The DMO said the principal component of the debt service comprised N169.68 billion in repayments on local-denominated promissory notes.
Overall, the government’s domestic debt service rose sharply through the quarter, with March accounting for almost half of the N3.14 trillion spent between January and March.
Nigeria’s public debt increased by 0.01 percent to N159.35 trillion in the Q1 of 2026.
Interswitch Group, an integrated digital payments and commerce company, together with global banking software provider, Temenos have reassured the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) of their commitment to advancing the modernisation of Nigeria’s financial services sector.
Interswitch and Temenos had earlier in June announced a strategic partnership across Africa which would see Interswitch leverage Temenos solutions – across core banking, digital banking, payments, wealth management and financial crime mitigation – to provide cloud-hosted and on-premises managed services to banks and financial institutions across Africa.
This will enable institutions to progressively transform their banking platform and evolve to more customer-centric business models. The service will initially support key African markets including Nigeria, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, Kenya and others.
The recent regulatory visit to CBN headquarters in Abuja, was led by the Founder and Group Chief Executive Officer of Interswitch, Mitchell Elegbe, and Managing Director for the Middle East and Africa (MEA) at Temenos, Santhosh Rao, as part of the ongoing efforts by both organisations to deepen collaboration with Central Banks across the African region on the future of digital banking infrastructure across Nigeria and key African markets.
Discussions centred on the strategic partnership between Interswitch and Temenos, and how it will enable Nigerian financial institutions to progressively modernise their core banking platforms and transition to more customer-centric business models.
The two organisations also explored opportunities to work with the CBN in charting new frontiers in Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) innovation, leveraging resilient financial networks and decentralised application platforms to support the issuance and management of CBDCs.
Commenting on the visit, Elegbesaid: “Our partnership as Interswitch with Temenos and our continued engagement with the Central Bank of Nigeria reflect a shared commitment to building banking infrastructure that is resilient, inclusive, and ready for the next phase of Africa’s financial evolution.
We are proud to be at the table as these conversations shape the future of digital banking technology and innovation across key Africa markets…”
The Bank of Industry, through BOI Financing SPV Plc, has opened subscriptions for its inaugural Series 1 Fixed Rate Bond worth up to N250bn under its $1bn multi-currency instruments programme, seeking to raise long-term capital to finance businesses across Nigeria’s priority sectors.
The offer, which opened on 5 August and closes on 11 August, is being arranged by Chapel Hill Denham as the lead issuing house. The five-year bond is priced within a yield range of 17.35 per cent to 17.50 per cent and will be listed on the FMDQ Securities Exchange.
According to the offer document, proceeds from the issuance will be deployed to finance eligible businesses and projects across sectors, including agriculture and food processing, healthcare, engineering and technology, renewable energy, petrochemicals, oil and gas, creative industries and solid minerals, in line with BOI’s development finance mandate.
The lender said the financing is expected to improve access to medium and long-term funding for Nigerian enterprises, expand productive capacity, create and preserve jobs, deepen local value addition, support import substitution, boost exports and strengthen domestic value chains.
BOI, Nigeria’s foremost development finance institution, said it has provided funding to more than one million businesses across the country and disbursed over N1.27tn between 2023 and 2025. The institution operates across 34 states and the Federal Capital Territory and is jointly owned by the Ministry of Finance Incorporated and the Central Bank of Nigeria.
The bank also highlighted its financial performance, reporting a 36 per cent compound annual growth rate in gross earnings between 2021 and 2025.
Interest income rose 64 per cent to N884bn in 2025 from N538bn in the previous year, while its capital adequacy ratio stood at 39 per cent, nearly four times the regulatory minimum of 10 per cent. Its non-performing loan ratio was 1.7 per cent, below the CBN’s prudential limit of five per cent.
The bond has been assigned AAA ratings by Agusto & Co. and Intelligence Africa, reflecting the issuer’s strong capitalization, profitability, liquidity and ownership structure.
The issuance is open to institutional and qualified investors with a minimum subscription of N5m and additional investments in multiples of N1m. Interest will be paid semi-annually at a fixed rate, while principal repayment will begin in the third year through equal semi-annual amortised instalments until maturity in 2031.
The bond is also exempt from tax, making it an attractive investment option for investors seeking stable returns amid expectations of declining interest rates.
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