E-Financial
Afreximbank Urges African Countries to Strengthen Reserves with Gold
A report by African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has stated that the current “high gold prices offer African countries an opportunity to strengthen their reserve portfolios with a safer asset like gold”.
The report also advised African countries that relied on gold to take advantage of the increasing prices of the commodity in the medium term by investing in their gold sector and improving their value chain in the long-term.
The report forecasted that gold prices could remain high for a long time due to reduction in interest rates by many central banks.
The report, titled, “The Ongoing Gold Price Rally: Macroeconomic Implications for African Producers,” said, “The gold sector is macro-critical in several African countries.”
It added that the African continent produced approximately one-quarter of the world’s gold and generated substantial foreign exchange earnings and fiscal receipts from it, while creating employment opportunities in producing countries.
The report stated that in the medium term, the gold rally was an opportunity for long-term infrastructure and social investments to diversify the production base. It urged governments to implement soft and hard measures to tame the activities of illegal miners.
The report added, “Recently, its value has surged and reached an all-time high. The rally began in mid-February of 2024.
“As of April 12, 2024, the spot price was $2,401.5 per ounce, a 21 per cent increase since mid-February 2024. Considering a longer timeframe, since October 2023, the value of the precious metal has risen by 32 per cent. Future prices are projected to be consistently upward, with 68 months of future pricing quoted at $ 2,776 per ounce.
“The current price rally is attributed to several factors, including the anticipation of monetary easing by major central banks, robust demand from central banks in emerging economies, and ongoing geopolitical instability in the Middle East and Ukraine.”
The report added, “African continent produces about one-quarter of the world’s gold production. According to data from the World Gold Council, African countries produced a total of 979.2 metric tons of gold in 2022.
“Ghana, South Africa, Sudan, Mali, Burkina Faso, the DRC, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Togo, and Côte d’Ivoire are the top 10 producers, which collectively account for 90 per cent of the continent’s production. In 2022, the top 10 producers received $66 billion in gold export receipts.
“These top 10 producers also account for 14.6 per cent of the continental GDP. Any change in the price of gold can have significant macroeconomic implications and trade dynamics for these gold dependent countries and the African continent.”
The said as of December 2020, the World Gold Council reported that central banks held roughly 35,000 tons of gold, amounting to approximately 18 per cent of all the gold in the world.
According to the same source, African central banks held about three per cent of global central bank gold reserves. It said African central banks could exploit the high prices and shore up their reserve holdings by storing the produce reserves or buying on the markets.
It stated that as of 2023, North African countries held the most gold as a reserve asset, with approximately 446 tons, with Algeria holding 174 tons, Egypt holding 126 tons, Libya holding 117 tons, Morocco holding 22 tons, and Tunisia holding seven tons. Elsewhere on the continent, South Africa held 125 tons, Nigeria held 21.4 tons, Mauritius h12.4 tons, Ghana 8.7 tons, and Mozambique held four tons.
The report said, “It is important to note that gold plays a significant role in the exports and GDP of several African economies. Therefore, its price volatility has significant macroeconomic implications.
“In the near term, the recent rally in gold prices is expected to benefit countries whose economies are heavily dependent on the precious metal. However, caution should be exercised to avoid macroeconomic instability, which could arise from the fluctuation of gold prices with its attendant effects.
“While windfall export receipts resulting from increased gold revenue will improve fiscal accounts, it is key to manage them carefully to avoid any extra spending that could destabilise the macroeconomic environment. The growth effect has remained subdued, and more effort may be needed to boost economic growth.”
According to the report, gold is a precious metal that symbolises stability and acts as a secure investment during economic turmoil.
It is an asset that maintained its value over the long term and is frequently utilised as a store of wealth, the report stated.
The report said while inflation eroded the real value of wealth, gold had usually maintained or even increased its value over time. Gold had proven to be a stable or even an appreciating asset during high inflation, making it a valuable secure investment.
Federal court in Lagos has suspended the enforcement of Nigeria’s most comprehensive framework for regulating digital lending apps.
On April 15, Justice Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa of the Federal High Court in Lagos granted an interim injunction blocking the enforcement of the Digital, Electronic, Online, or Non-Traditional Consumer Lending Regulations 2025, better known as the DEON Regulations.
The order followed an urgent ex parte application filed the previous day by the Wireless Application Service Providers Association of Nigeria (WASPA Nigeria), the industry body representing wireless application service providers operating mainly within the telecoms ecosystem.
The suit targets twelve specific provisions of the text, covering licensing, sanctions, compliance obligations and data-handling rules, according to court documentation published by Lawyard.
Until the next hearing on April 27, 2026, the regulator cannot impose sanctions, enforce compliance directives, or issue new instructions to WASPA members.
The judge also barred the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) from interfering with the ongoing commercial operations of association members.
The case pits two actors whose respective mandates the Nigerian legal framework has never clearly separated.
On one side stands the FCCPC — the federal agency established in 2018 to enforce consumer protection and competition — which gazetted the DEON Regulations on July 21, 2025, under sections 17, 18 and 163 of its founding Act.
In a press statement dated September 3, 2025, Tunji Bello, executive vice chairman, FCCPC, justified the rules by citing “a long history of complaints” involving exploitative practices, data breaches, abusive debt recovery, and harassment.
On the other side, WASPA Nigeria contests the very legitimacy of the FCCPC’s intervention, arguing that services tied to telecoms — airtime credit, data loans, mobile-financing products — fall exclusively under the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the telecoms regulator created by the Nigerian Communications Act of 2003.
In the affidavit deposed by Ayo Stuffman, the association contends that the FCCPC is acting ultra vires and creating a regulatory regime parallel to the NCC’s.
A jurisdictional war that stretches far beyond a procedural dispute
The conflict is not limited to a question of legal boundaries. It strikes at the commercial core of the market: who collects the licensing fees, who sets the operational conditions, who governs the financial products embedded in telecom networks.
Nigeria’s consumer credit stock reached 3.82 trillion naira at the end of December 2024, up 21.27% on September, according to Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) data relayed by The Cable and AFP.
In the fourth quarter of 2024 alone, personal loans disbursed amounted to approximately 470 billion naira.
A growing share flows through mobile applications and telecom-embedded lending products — including MTN’s MoMo Airtime Lending, operated by the country’s largest telecom operator.
If the court validates WASPA’s position, these products fall outside the FCCPC’s scope and come under the sole authority of the NCC, a regulator historically less active on consumer protection issues.
Available data on demand illustrate the social stakes. Between 2021 and 2023, the FCCPC recorded more than 11,000 consumer complaints for harassment, data abuse and unethical debt recovery practices, according to the agency.
The number of lending applications approved by the FCCPC rose from 269 in September 2024 to 408 in March 2025, while 47 apps were delisted and 88 were placed on the watchlist, according to data compiled by AFP and OneSafe.
The DEON Regulations were meant to introduce interest-rate caps, precontractual disclosure obligations, continuous supervision of recovery practices and fines of up to 100 million naira per violation, according to Legit.ng. The compliance deadline was set for January 5, 2026, and the FCCPC had issued written compliance notices to operators with an April 16 deadline, according to WASPA’s affidavit.
It is precisely this enforcement pressure that triggered the legal challenge.
Federal government has said that Nigeria has no plans to seek a loan from the International Monetary Fund’s proposed $50 billion support package for economies hit by the Middle East crisis.
Wale Edun, minister of Finance, who stated this, said that Nigeria’s current reliance on domestic economic reforms and fund mobilisation was working.
Edun gave these insights during the African Finance Ministers’ briefing, on Thursday, at the ongoing IMF/World Bank annual meetings, in Washington, DC.
He noted that for over two years, Nigeria’s investment in economic reforms have begun to yield results, restoring policy credibility and strengthening the country’s resilience against global economic shocks.
Edun told the global west and the rest of the world that Nigeria now prioritises market-based adjustments, avoiding administrative controls, particularly in foreign exchange and petroleum pricing mechanisms.
His assertion follows the disclosure by the IMF that a possible $50 billion support to cushion vulnerable economies against the crisis in the Middle East, was on the pipeline.
Despite clarifying Nigeria’s lack of interest in borrowing, Edun, urged the IMF to ensure faster financial assistance for African countries who will need help from the $50 billion global support package.
“Nigeria has no plans at the moment to approach the IMF or any other such body,” Edun said, emphasising that Nigeria’s reliance on market mechanisms had led to smoother economic adjustments, reduced disruptions and is sustaining the country’s macroeconomic trajectory.
“The IMF talked about $50 billion and we all know that the funding will largely go to Africa, because those are the most vulnerable countries. And the reality is that what we’re asking for in this instance, is that the funds and the support be released quickly and at scale.
Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), in collaboration with financial market dealers, has introduced the Nigerian Overnight Financing Rate (NOFR), a standardized benchmark designed to enhance transparency and strengthen monetary policy transmission.
Olayemi Michael Cardoso, CBN gov
Hakama Sidi Ali, spokesperson of the CBN in a statement on Friday, said that the the NOFR is expected to improve price discovery and transparency, while promoting consistent pricing of money market instruments across Nigeria’s financial system.
The regulator noted that the new benchmark positions Africa’s most populous country alongside leading global reference rates such as SOFR in the United States, SONIA in the United Kingdom, €STR in the Eurozone, and TONA in Japan.
“It also complements African benchmarks such as JIBAR (South Africa). Following a stakeholder engagement session held on February 27, 2026, where market participants formally adopted the benchmark, and subsequent regulatory approval, NOFR is now in use, with the CBN serving as the benchmark administrator.
“The bank will ensure governance, transparency, and regular publication of the rate,” CBN stated.
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