News
Broadband Missing in FG’s $2Bn Stimulus Package

When do you think the Nigerian economy will improve?
The answers differ; to some the economy is already on the mend but others think it will take much longer. In all, there is no concrete sign to suggest early recovery for the Nigerian economy hobbled by reckless loose ranting and misplaced priorities.
For instance, the latest plan by the government to take $2billion from its oil windfall fund for an economic stimulus package is wrong.
The package is not focused enough to make an impact because while economic stimulus packages in other countries have targeted infrastructure projects, job creation, and tax cuts for small businesses, the federal government said it will spend half of her own package cash on clearing the debts of federal government contractors.
The rest of the money is to be handed out to states and local authorities, the same crop of politicians who are partly responsible for the present economic chaos because of their record of corruption and financial impropriety.
Removing money from the fund which currently holds about $9 billion and set up as a way to protect Nigeria’s economy from unpredictable movements in the oil price may also backfire if recovery in the global economy suffers a setback.
Like all governments of the world, the federal government should stimulate Nigeria’s economy through massive funding of broadband Internet or at least create the enabling environment.
Broadband is the lifeline of many businesses and it is the only uncharted arm of the country’s burgeoning telecommunications industry.
Nigeria should take a cue from the United States of America which has initiated a $7 billion stimulus programme to narrow the digital gap.
But that is not likely to happen here, no thanks to the claims and counter charges that greeted the initial attempt by the Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) to license four players to operate on the 2.3GHz band.
The 2.3GHz band is considered very important in the race leading up to the broadband revolution because it helps operators to provide mobile Internet that is potentially more transformative than any lone technological item.
It is about a new age in entertainment and communications, as well as a major boost for e-commerce. Voice will only be a value added service as opposed to what currently obtains in the telecom industry.
The irony is that the same government which is pumping $2 billion to improve her comatose economy is sitting idly as more than $2 billion investment in telecommunications and chance to “cheetah pole-vault” her economy is slipping away because of personalities clashes.
The clash over the 2.3GHz licensing began since April this year and is costing Nigeria dearly. With N5.6 billion for all the four spectrums on offer and a minimum investment of $500 million from each of the companies in the medium to long term in their nationwide rollout, Nigeria would have been insulated from the effect of the global recession.
The licensing process was entangled in controversy at the close of the bid when three companies: Mobitel Limited, Spectranet and Galaxy Wireless were said to have met the obligations and later Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) claimed that Galaxy Wireless did not pay up as at when due and allegedly attempted to replace them with Multilinks-Telkom.
Piqued by the torrents of the complaints, Dora Akunyili, minister of information and communications, cancelled the licenses citing improper bidding and auctioning process and ordered a fresh sale, a decision President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua upheld
While it lasted, the dispute threw up serious questions of fairness, accountability, transparency, due process and sad impression that public institutions cannot be trusted and that nothing is certain in official transactions.
And the immediate spin off of the web of confusion is the general lull in the telecom industry as investors watch with caution.
The general lull has also resulted in massive lay off of workers in the industry while vendors, suppliers and contractors bite their nails.
News
NIA Questions Legality of Reps’ Financial Probe

The Nigerian Insurers Association has urged the House Committee on Capital Market and Institutions to respect the constitutional separation of powers as it carries out a probe on over 20 insurance firms.
In a statement on Tuesday night, the Director General/Chief Executive Officer of NIA, Mrs Bola Odukale, said the decision of NIA and the affected firms to approach the court was to seek clarity on the constitutional limits of the House Committee’s probe.
It would be recalled that the House of Representatives on Monday is investigating no fewer than 25 insurance companies operating in the country for various financial infractions spanning financial reporting, claims settlement, premium remittance, and issuance of policies.
The Chairman, House Sub-Committee on Capital Market and Institutions, Kwamoti Laori, during a meeting with the management of the insurance companies at the National Assembly Complex in Abuja, said the meeting was convened following the receipt of a petition on infractions by the insurance companies.
In the statement, Odukale said, “The Association wishes to state unequivocally that all actions taken by the NIA and the affected member companies in response to the Committee’s invitations and pronouncements were based entirely on legal advice by its Solicitors. It was on the firm instruction of legal counsel that recourse was made to the courts.
“The objective of approaching the Court is to seek judicial guidance on the legality, propriety, and constitutional limits of the Committee’s intervention in order to safeguard institutional integrity, uphold regulatory independence, and ensure that legislative oversight remains within the bounds of law.
“The Court action seeks to determine whether the current posture of the Committee reflects an exercise of legislative judgment, which, by constitutional design, is the exclusive province of statutory regulators, such as the National Insurance Commission, Securities and Exchange Commission, Nigerian Exchange, Financial Reporting Council, Nigeria Data Protection Commission, and the National Information Technology Development Agency.
“This raises serious questions about legislative overreach and an erosion of the doctrine of separation of powers, a cornerstone of Nigeria’s constitutional democracy.”
Odukale maintained that the NIA was committed to lawful and constructive engagement with all arms of government, provided that such engagement respects the autonomy of statutory regulators and the boundaries established by the Constitution.
“The NIA will continue to provide its full support to all member companies while upholding the principles of legal compliance and sector-wide integrity,” Odukale concluded.
17 of the companies that went to court were represented by their lawyer, Mr Abimbola Kayode, at the meeting with the committee.
News
Horn of Africa Leaders Seek Enhanced Digital Integration for Increased Regional Growth

Finance ministers and development partners from the Horn of Africa have called for enhanced digital integration to boost trade, drive economic growth and promote regional stability during the 25th Ministerial Meeting of the Horn of Africa Initiative (HoAI).
Held in Nairobi, on July 14, the meeting was co-chaired by the African Development Bank’s Vice President for Regional Development, Integration and Business Delivery, Nnenna Nwabufo and Somalia’s Minister of Finance, Bihi Iman Egeh. Discussions underscored the critical role of digital integration in reducing trade barriers, boosting government service delivery and creating employment — particularly for the region’s youth.
“Digital technologies are shaping today’s economy and tomorrow’s industries. By embedding these technologies into our programs, we can not only improve inclusion but also leapfrog outdated development models,” said Nwabufo.
She called for digital integration a “central enabler” in each of the Horn of Africa Initiative’s pillars – trade, infrastructure, resilience, and human capital,
Learning through experience
Drawing from global and regional success stories, speakers highlighted the transformative potential of technology-led development. The ministers pointed to the Philippines as a strong example, where ICT has generated millions of jobs in business process outsourcing. Similarly, Kenya’s fintech innovation—especially the success of M-PESA—was cited as a model for scaling digital financial services across the region.
Participants urged governments to proactively foster digital ecosystems by capitalizing on the demographic dividend, identifying infrastructure upgrades, tighter regulatory reforms, and digital skills trainings as priorities to enable broader participation in the digital economy.
Minister Egeh reiterated the need for more coordinated regional efforts to create the enabling environment required for accelerated digital integration and expansion. He referenced the HoAI Digital Policy Matrix, adopted in 2023 which provides a blueprint on how to address key obstacles to achieving effective digital integration across the region.
Barack Makokha, Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for National Treasury, underscored the importance of regionally-aligned public private partnerships and advocated for blended financing to reduce investment risk and expand digital access in underserved areas.
World Bank Vice President for Eastern and Southern Africa, Ndiame Diop, called for a comprehensive multi-pronged approach, combining cross-border coordination, large-scale financing, robust policy support, and digital infrastructure investments. He pointed out that such measures could transform digital integration into, “a powerful engine of economic transformation” for the Horn of Africa—ensuring no one is left behind in the digital era.
The meeting concluded with a shared recognition that sustained political will and the determination to implement a multifaceted approach are essential to unlocking the region’s economic potential and driving long-term growth.
The event also welcomed observers from the East African Community, Agence française de développement, and Shelter Afrique, reflecting strong regional and international backing for the HoAI in the development community.
News
CSCS Inaugurates Custodian Portal to Enhance Digital Access, Operational Efficiency

Central Securities Clearing System Plc (CSCS), Nigeria’s capital market infrastructure provider, has launched its Custodian Portal, a user-centric digital solution designed to optimise custodian operations through intuitive, secure and efficient features.
Haruna Jalo-Waziri, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), CSCS, announced this in a statement on Monday.
The CSCS is a Public Limited Company with a diversified shareholder base, which serves as the Central Securities Depository for the Nigerian Capital Market.
It serves as the Central Depository for Equities, Commercial Papers, Corporate Bonds, Sub-National Bonds, certain Sovereign Bonds like the FGN Sukuk and the FGN Savings Bond, Equity-traded Funds, Real Estate Investment Trusts, Mutual funds and Commodities.
Jalo-Waziri said that the custodian portal offered a streamlined experience for market participants with powerful tools that facilitate comprehensive portfolio and trade management, document tracking, share transfer operations, client symbol search, and real-time access to vital data.
He explained that the portal, designed to operate through a flexible subscription-based model, empowered users to manage their records effortlessly and securely through convenient payment channels such as GTPay and Paystack.
According to him, “Digital transformation remains at the core of our strategy to enhance the efficiency, transparency and accessibility of Nigeria’s capital market services.
“The custodian portal is a significant leap in that direction, offering custodians a centralised platform to manage critical processes in real-time.
“We are excited about the value this innovation brings to our stakeholders, and we will continue to evolve the platform in line with users’ needs and industry trends.”
The CEO also explained that the portal was designed with user experience in mind with feature tools like portfolio viewing and downloads in PDF or Excel format.
He further said that it also featured tracking of stock movements across date ranges, inbox messaging and request tracking, as well as robust user management capabilities including role assignment and status tracking.
Similarly, the Divisional Head, Business Technology and Digital Innovation, CSCS Plc, Tobe Nnadozie, said that the portal aligned with CSCS’s drive to automate the market.
“In addition to the normal features, the platform is a part of an omnichannel platform for custodians, and includes API services.
“It also connects to the market-wide workflow, which CSCS has built to ensure secured communication and approvals across all major stakeholders in the market.
“The platform is well secured with best-of-breed cybersecurity solutions and our SOC,” he said.
The Custodian Portal reinforces CSCS’s commitment to leveraging technology to streamline back-office functions and support a more agile, data-driven capital market ecosystem.
All custodians in the Nigerian capital market have now been successfully on-boarded on the Custodian Portal, marking a significant milestone in CSCS’s ongoing drive to enhance collaboration, standardise operational processes, and promote digital adoption across the market.
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