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CBN Partners AGRA to Stimulate Agric Financing

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The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN ) has signed a landmark agreement with the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) to develop a new innovative mechanism for unlocking billions of Naira of financing to serve the needs of all farmers, especially smallholder farmers, agro-processors, agribusinesses and input suppliers in the agricultural value chain.
AGRA is an Africa based organization working in partnership with governments, agricultural research organizations, farmers, private sector, civil society and other rural development stakeholders to significantly and sustainably improve the productivity and incomes of resource poor farmers in Africa.
As part of the agreement, the CBN will work with AGRA, UNIDO and other key stakeholders in Nigeria to develop an innovative financing mechanism, tagged Nigeria Incentive-based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL ) which will be aimed at providing farmers with affordable financial products, while reducing the risk of loans to farmers under other financing programmes offered by the financial institutions. The initiative will build capacities of banks to expand lending to agriculture, deploy risk sharing instruments to lower risks of lending and develop a bank rating scheme to rate banks based on their lending to the agricultural sector.
While signing the agreement, Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, the CBN governor explained that in Nigeria, agriculture accounts for over 40 percent of GDP, yet it receives only one percent of total commercial bank loans. Unlocking access to bank financing for agriculture and developing risk-sharing approaches is therefore critical for stimulating innovations in agricultural lending and increasing food production noting that “a productive and efficient agricultural sector is the foundation for the food and economic security of our nation.”
He further said that “the Central Bank of Nigeria has embarked on major reforms of the banking sector to bring it in line with our priorities for sustainable economic growth. Agriculture is one of the key sectors. Financing agriculture is central to Nigeria’s economic future. NIRSAL is our home grown instrument for achieving this transformation.”
In his comments, Namanga Ngongi, president of AGRA said that “the Central Bank of Nigeria is clearly showing that it can spur new opportunities in agriculture through leveraging financing from commercial banks for agricultural value chains. This is the kind of example that, if successful, can set the tone for the rest of Africa.”
He added that “Agriculture is no different from any other businesses and agriculture is a business not a way of life.”
The key to success Ngongi stated is to provide farmers with access to improved farming technologies with financial resources and market linkages. They also need financial literacy to help them use financing better.
In the same vein, the country representative of UNIDO, Patrick Komala commended the CBN for the bold initiative and that UNIDO is proud to be a partner in the alliance for this laudable project. He said that UNIDO looks forward to a time in the future when Nigeria shall be referred to as the champion of agriculture in Africa and therefore thanked the CBN Governor for the initiative.

The Minister of Agriculture, Professor Sheikh Abdullahi said that agriculture is a major way to create wealth in Africa and congratulated Mallam Sanusi for championing the initiative to develop value chain for agriculture.
AGRA, CBN, UNIDO and other stakeholders will also work together on developing innovative insurance products that are affordable to farmers, to complement the support to be provided for banks and other financial institutions, in order to further reduce the risk of lending.
The initiative whose design phase was announced in Abuja is part of a larger effort initiated by AGRA and partners to leverage billions of dollars in support of agriculture across the continent.


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Court Remands Akujobi, Ex Access over alleged Theft of N294.5m

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Chinonso Akujobi, former staff of Access Bank in Lagos, has been remanded in Ikoyi prison after she was arraigned on a five-count charge bordering on stealing to the tune of N294.5m.

Court Remands Akujobi, Ex Access over alleged Theft of N294.5m

Akujobi who is being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) was arraigned before Justice I.O. Ijelu of the State High Court sitting in Ikeja, Lagos.

EFCC alleged that Akujobi stole the money between January and December 2025 while under the employment of Access Bank Plc.

As stated in one the charges, the defendant stole the money through unauthorized payments from the general ledger of Access Bank to her account number 0036668871 with the name Chinonso A., Uchechi A. and Florence A., thereby committing an offence of stealing, contrary to Section 280 and punishable under Section 287 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.

‎The defendant pleaded “not guilty“ to the charges when they were read to her.

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‎In view of this, S.M.Yabo, prosecution counsel, asked the court for a trial date and also prayed for the remand of the defendant in a Correctional centre.

Justice Ijelu, thereafter, adjourned the case till October 8, 2026, for the hearing of the bail application and the commencement of trial.

The Judge also ordered that the defendant be remanded in the Ikoyi correctional Centre.

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NSIB Faults Runway Identification, Reveals Cockpit Disagreement in Asaba Jet Incident

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The Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) says the flight captain of the VMO Aero aircraft that landed on a roadway near Asaba Airport in Delta State told investigators that the observer pilot mistakenly identified the paved road as the runway before touchdown.

The bureau disclosed this in a preliminary report released on Thursday on the June 10 incident, which prompted the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) to ground the private jet.

The aircraft had seven people on board, including the pilot-in-command (PIC), second-in-command (SIC), an observer pilot, a cabin crew member and three passengers.

According to the report, the aircraft was cleared by Air Traffic Control (ATC) to approach Runway 11 at Asaba Airport after the crew requested a right orbit.

The crew initially discontinued the approach, executed a missed approach and repositioned for a second landing attempt.

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NSIB said the crew reported that the aircraft’s navigation systems indicated it was correctly established on the published RNAV Runway 11 approach.

“The PIC and SIC reported that the observer pilot identified the paved surface ahead as the runway,” the report stated.

However, the observer pilot gave investigators a different version of events.

According to NSIB, he said the aircraft remained inside cloud until late in the approach and that the Ground Proximity Warning System (GPWS) repeatedly issued “TERRAIN, TERRAIN, PULL UP” alerts.

He also said he observed a telecommunications mast directly ahead and instructed the flight captain to abandon the approach and climb immediately.

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The bureau further disclosed that a cabin crew member reported that one of the passengers became concerned after overhearing discussions among the pilots and asked whether one of them was undergoing training. The passenger was reportedly reassured that all three pilots on board were experienced captains.

NSIB said no abnormal events were reported in the cabin before touchdown.

The aircraft eventually landed at about 8:57 a.m. on an under-construction paved roadway near Asaba Airport instead of the designated runway.

The bureau said its investigation into the incident is ongoing, while the preliminary report highlights conflicting accounts among the cockpit crew over the circumstances that led to the erroneous landing.

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EU warns Meta over addictive Facebook, Instagram designs, threatens fines

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European Union has warned Meta Platforms Inc. that it could face a significant financial penalty unless it changes what regulators describe as the “addictive design” features of Facebook and Instagram.

EU warns Meta over addictive Facebook, Instagram designs, threatens fines

The European Commission issued the warning in preliminary findings released on Friday, saying Meta had failed to sufficiently address risks posed by its platforms, particularly to children and vulnerable users.

The Commission said features such as infinite scrolling, personalised content recommendations and automatic video playback were designed in ways that encouraged excessive engagement with the platforms.

EU Executive Vice-President for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy, Henna Virkkunen, said protecting the physical and mental well-being of European citizens should be a priority for social media companies.

The Commission said Meta should consider introducing design changes, including disabling autoplay and infinite scrolling by default, providing effective screen-time reminders and adjusting recommendation systems to reduce the focus on maximising user engagement.

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The findings were issued under the European Union’s Digital Services Act (DSA), which sets obligations for major online platforms to address risks associated with their services.

Meta, however, rejected the Commission’s conclusions, saying it disagreed with the findings but would continue engaging with European regulators.

The company said it had already implemented measures aimed at protecting younger users, including Teen Accounts that allow parents to manage screen time limits and restrict access during night hours.

The EU said its investigation, which began in 2024, found that existing time-management tools on Facebook and Instagram could easily be bypassed, while parental controls required technical knowledge that limited their effectiveness.

Regulators also expressed concerns over children’s nighttime use of the platforms and the possibility that features such as Reels and Stories could encourage compulsive behaviour.

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If the Commission’s preliminary findings are confirmed, Meta could face a fine of up to six per cent of its annual global revenue under the DSA.

The warning comes as the EU steps up efforts to strengthen online safety measures for children, with an expert panel established by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen expected to present recommendations on protecting minors online.

Several EU member states, including France, have also supported discussions on restricting social media access for children, following Australia’s decision to ban users under 16 from accessing social media platforms.

Meanwhile, the Commission is continuing a separate investigation into whether Meta’s recommendation algorithms create “rabbit hole” effects by directing users towards increasingly extreme content.

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