News
AAM Alleges SON Double Standard, Seeks Buhari’s Reaction
Officials of Alliance Against Monopoly (AAM), a human rights group, have requested President Muhammadu Buhari to urgently call the management of Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON) to order so as to forestall what they called the organisation’s ‘’avidity to pursuing enlightened self-interest in the guise of public good.”
The group made this call in a special press conference organized in Lagos on Wednesday to disassociate its members from a recent publication in some national newspapers which claimed that the association had planned to demonstrate in parts of the country over some imagined issues against the Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON).
Mazi Omife I. Omife, president of AAM, told journalists that the conference was organized to decry the spate of orchestrated onslaught on the image and integrity of the association.
According to him, “these attacks which have escalated in the past few days are intended to misrepresent AAM and impose on it phantom officers and activities that are alien to our organization.”
Specifically, he mentioned one Mr. Mohammed Aliu Usman who purportedly spoke on behalf of the AAM in the said publications and declared that Usman was not a member of the association and neither was he known to the body.
The AAM boss argued that “obviously, those behind the shadowy and non-existent Mr. Mohammed Aliu Usman are the same people who have consistently spin the lie that AAM is either fronting for a multinational in the construction industry or is being sponsored to propagate interests inimical to public good.”
Omife insisted that “AAM is not being sponsored, influenced or teleguided by any individual or organization as insinuated by faceless groups apparently acting at the behest of a seemingly partial government agency nay regulator. We are neither in the payroll of any organization and do not pursue an agenda that will serve the interest of any vested group. Our goal is and remains the public good.’’
According to him, “AAM remains an anti-monopoly association of Nigerian citizens bonded together for the protection of our mutual social, economic and other existential interest in society from the invidious and destructive forces of monopoly, oligarchy and anti-democratic policies in corporate, industries and social life in Nigeria.’’
As members of a group with national interest as their mantra, the AAM used the opportunity of the conference to restate its commitment to its self-imposed duty of seeking the welfare of fellow Nigerian citizens in accordance with Section 24 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
The association also re-stated its ‘’support to every well-meaning move by those in authority to entrench best practices in the construction industry as long as this move is transparent and not a ploy by the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) to surreptitiously hoist monopoly in the cement industry or indeed in any other sector of the Nigerian economy.’’
With a benefit of hindsight, the AAM boss revealed that the association would continue to resist all overt and covert attempts by perceived hired forces of industrial monopoly to colonise the economy of Nigeria and concentrate it in the hands of one or few individuals or group.
He urged Nigerians “to continue to shun monopoly and the lies of its purveyors, whether they operate as government organs or as private corporations.
He emphasized that “we shall continue to denounce the so called new cement standardization and pigmentation policy of the Standards Organisation of Nigeria as being illegal, anti-people and unreasonable and calculated to send Nigerians to avoidable economic servitude merely to placate the greedy inclination of economic colonists.’’
Obviously not enthused by the antics of those behind the recent publication, Omife told journalists that “notwithstanding the deliberate misrepresentation of AAM by hirelings acting the script authored for them by vested interests who are hell bent on perpetuating unconscionable monopoly on our people, we remain unfazed by these dubious attempts to divert our attention from the real reasons and causes of building collapses and deceive us into chasing shadows while they despoil and take over the cement industry and operate it to our eventual harm.’’
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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