General News
Banks’ Chiefs, Others Carry Out Insider Abuses- CBN
Godwin Emefiele, governor, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), has expressed the apex bank’s dismay over the level of corporate governance abuses perpetrated by the top echelon in banks, and warned that the regulator would punish offenders.
He spoke at this year’s edition of the CBN-Financial Institutions Training Centre (FITC) Continuous Education Programme for Directors of Banks and Other Financial Institutions.
Emefiele, who spoke on the theme: “The Next Level of Corporate Governance Practice”, said fit and proper persons should be appointed into the boards of banks, adding that corporate governance is undoubtedly an essential pillar in financial system stability.
He said the failure of banks’ boards in carrying out their oversight functions by checking management excessive risk taking, conflict of interest, undue concentration on short term gains and excessive executive compensation fundamentally affect the ability of financial institutions to meet their core mandates.
To Emefiele, a safe and sound financial system is dependent on the quality of corporate governance practices, which in turn depends on the quality of the board of directors and their ability to discharge their responsibilities honourably.
The CBN boss directed independent bank directors to rise up to their responsibilities and be the conscience of their institutions in the interest of depositors and minority shareholders. “Independent directors do not need to be friends of the managing directors. They can’t fire you but the CBN can remove you if you don’t do your job well,” he said.
Emefiele said banking needed independent directors who “are bold, sound and experienced to do what we want them to do.”
Emefiele said the CBN will get tougher on insider related loans, adding that many bank chiefs and executive directors borrow from the banks at very low interest rates.
He said banks are not owned by shareholders who he said were simply used by God to establish them. He said depositors funds are 10 times higher than shareholders’ funds, hence the interest of the depositors should be paramount. “A bank managing director who feels he set up the bank has only been used by God to set up such bank. The real owners of the banks are depositors,” he said.
In Emefiele’s view, even though shareholders are important to banking, the most important stakeholders are the depositors. “It is important for us to ensure we all protect them. That is why in the programme, we said that independent directors must remain independent and perform their roles and responsibilities, no matter how tough it is. They have to look at insiders who are shareholders and tell them what is good and what is not right. Yes, we are going tough because it is a dynamic environment and we will continue to take drastic actions against that insider abuse,” he said.
He spoke of a bank with 4.5 million depositors that the CBN is monitoring but has decided the lender will not be allowed to go down.
“If we allow the bank to go down, how can we explain to the 4.5 million customers that their money is lost? The impact of such closure on the economy will be tough,” the CBN boss said.
To him, running an efficient and sound bank is all about strong governance, adding that weak governance ensues when shareholders employ inexperienced or unenlightened people to run their banks.
“Weak governance will ensure that liquidity position in banks is eroded. We want to make sure that banks remain strong by ensuring that strong governance exists. It is also about checking your conscience to tell yourself, have you performed your role diligently, that you are not only serving your own interest as shareholders but also serving the interest of larger stakeholders? These are some of the issues we will be looking at going forward because those depositors are very important,” he added.
”It encompasses the protection of minority shareholders, disclosure provisions, the role and structure of the board, complexity on the definition of related parties, compensation structures and much more. Therefore weak corporate governance can undermine financial stability by heightening vulnerability of financial institutions to external shocks,” he said.
He said institutions with sound corporate governance and effective board oversights are more resilient to shocks and operate more profitably. “Given the crucial financial intermediation role which banks and other financial institutions play in the economy, corporate governance for financial institutions is, arguably, of great importance in contrast to governance in non-financial companies,” he said.
He said that prior to the global financial crisis of 2007 to 2009, it was taken for granted that the banking sector in Nigeria was safe and sound. However, this trust proved to be misplaced as it was realised that none of the 25 banks that scaled the CBN consolidation exercise was immuned from failure if they operated in a poor corporate governance environment.
Accordingly, the 2014 CBN Code of Corporate Governance for Banks and Discount Houses (an improvement on the 2006 Code) was one of many responses to the industry’s post-consolidation corporate governance challenges arising largely from the integration processes. The mass enlightenment on corporate governance in the industry today could very well be attributed to the issuance of the CBN Code. The implementation of the Code largely addressed ineffective board oversights; overbearing influences of chairmen on MDs/CEOs; weak internal controls and prolonged tenure on the board amongst other anomalies.
“While appreciable momentum had been attained in corporate governance practices in the Nigerian Banking Industry, we need not rest on our oars as vulnerabilities are still evident. The recent economic recession has shown that the financial industry still harbours weaknesses in governance, exemplified by instances of unclear rendition of returns, corporate governance abuses, such as unreported losses, huge exit packages for directors, insider non-performing loans, over-domineering executive management, contravention of regulatory/prudential guidelines and lending limits, poorly appraised credits and weakening of shareholders’ funds among others. Overall, the huge challenge of ‘key-man’ risk abound in our industry,” Emefiele said.
Emefiele stressed that ensuring good governance is a responsibility of all stakeholders.
Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has projected that the pump price of petrol would hover around N950 per litre in the year 2026.
The CBN stated this in its 2026 Macroeconomic Outlook for Nigeria.
In its outlook for the domestic economy, the bank made what it called baseline projections predicated on assumptions like crude oil price at an average of $60 per barrel in the fourth quarter of 2025 and $55 per barrel in 2026 and the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market exchange rate at an average of N1,451.63/$ in Q4 2025 and N1,400/$ in 2026 (supported by a more efficient foreign exchange market, higher capital inflows, a current account surplus, and a broad-based improvement in economic activity).
The CBN stated that domestic crude oil production is assumed to be at about 1.5 million barrels per day throughout the forecast period, as premium motor spirit is expected to sell around N950, an amount higher than the current pump prices.
“The baseline projections are predicated on the following assumptions: crude oil price at an average of $60/barrel in Q4 2025 and $55/barrel in 2026 (consistent with the US EIA’s outlook that rising global crude oil inventories and supply glut would moderate prices); NFEM exchange rate at an average of N1,451.63/$ in Q4 2025 and N1,400/$ in 2026 (supported by a more efficient FX market, higher capital inflows, a current account surplus, and a broad-based improvement in economic activity).
“Furthermore, domestic crude oil production is assumed at about 1.5 mbpd (excluding condensates) throughout the forecast period. PMS price is expected to hover around N950 per litre in 2026. Government expenditure is projected to follow the 2025-2027 MTEF/FSP path, reflecting an expansionary fiscal stance aimed at supporting the $1tn economy initiative. MPR and CRR are assumed at 27.00 and 45.00 per cent, respectively. The baseline projections were generally supported by the assumption of continued improvement in business optimism and stronger investor sentiment,” the CBN said.
The Federal Government has reaffirmed its commitment to grassroots artisans to upgrade local skills to meet both national and international benchmarks and compete in the global markets.
Speaking recently during the Skill-Up Artisans (SUPA) zonal rally, Dr Afiz Ogun, director-general of the Industrial Training Fund (ITF), stated that the initiative is designed to professionalise the sector.
The rally was designed to raise awareness of the programme throughout the North-West region.
The rally saw a diverse turnout of professionals, including those in construction and engineering such as welders, fabricators, plumbers, and carpenters.
Those in the technical service comprised of electrical installers and automobile mechanics, while those in the creative and digital space were fashion designers and ICT technicians.
Represented by Muhammad Aminu, the former zonal director of the ITF, Ogun explained that the SUPA scheme seeks to convert traditional craftsmanship into sustainable livelihoods.
He emphasised that the goal is to transform artisans from job seekers into employers of labour.
“We are calling on artisans across the North-West to embrace the SUPA programme,” Ogun remarked. “This is an opportunity to enhance productivity, increase earnings, and ensure our workforce can compete on a global stage”.
According to the DG, the initiative aligns with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, focusing on restoring dignity to manual and technical work.
He noted that a competent artisan class forms the essential foundation of a productive economy.
He further called upon traditional rulers, community leaders, and trade associations to assist the ITF in disseminating information about the programme to ensure high participation rates.
“We are here to engage the technicians, the tradespeople, and the young talents who serve as the backbone of our economy,” he added.
Nancy Ekong, director of the Technical Vocational Skills Training Department, highlighted the programme’s recent successes. She revealed that over 30,000 artisans were trained and upgraded during the initial SUPA cycle in 2025.
The ITF remains optimistic that the continued expansion of SUPA will bridge the existing skills gap in Nigeria’s industrial sector.
American billionaire businessman Bill Gates, has paid $8 billion to his ex-wife, Melinda French Gates’ charity, five years after their split over his affairs with other women.
Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates
Gates made the $7.88 billion donation to Melinda French Gates’ Pivotal Philanthropies Foundation in 2024, The New York Times revealed.
The sum, one of the largest public donations ever recorded, was revealed in a new tax filing, which shows the first specific financial terms of the couple’s high-profile split in 2021.
Melinda resigned from The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in May 2024. Despite leaving the charity, she suggested her ex donate $12.5 billion to a new charitable foundation she intended to create.
A representative for Pivotal told the Times the $12.5 billion agreement has been fulfilled, and the nearly $8 billion donation was part of that agreement.
Melinda set up her Pivotal Philanthropies Foundation in 2022, the year after the divorce. At the end of 2023, it had $604 million on hand.
The billionaire pair split after 27 years together in 2021, embarking on what is considered the most expensive divorce settlement in the world. Melinda later received approximately $76 billion in assets.
Months later, details of Gates’ affair with a Microsoft employee were exposed.
The woman penned a letter to the company’s board in 2019, divulging details about the fling which began in 2000 and demanded that his wife, Melinda “read it”.
Microsoft’s board investigated the women’s claims and deemed the relationship “inappropriate”, the Wall Street Journal reported at the time.
Gates suddenly quit the board in March 2020 while the investigation was still in progress – and before the board could make a formal decision on the matter.
Two further bombshell reports were then revealed, alleging Gates had routinely hit on staffers at Microsoft and at the philanthropic foundation he founded alongside his wife.
A separate shocking report claimed that Gates had sought marriage advice from Jeffrey Epstein, with whom he reportedly shared a “close” relationship, having first met the convicted sex offender in 2011.
Gates’ and Epstein’s friendship first came to light in 2019, months after Epstein killed himself in his Manhattan jail cell while awaiting trial on charges of child sex trafficking.
The two men reportedly spent time together on multiple occasions, flying on Epstein’s private jet – dubbed the “Lolita Express” – and attending late-night gatherings at his Manhattan home.
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