E-Financial
Heritage Bank Joins WHO to Champion Elimination of Malaria Endemic by 2030
Heritage Bank Plc has joined the world to commemorate the 2020 World Malaria Day, amid fears that paying much emphasis on the novel Coronavirus Pandemic could reinforce progress on the mosquito-borne disease, especially in Africa.
The theme of the World Malaria Day 2020, is entitled, “Zero Malaria Starts with Me,” which was a grassroots campaign, first launched in Senegal in 2014.
In canvassing for fight against the malaria scourge and calling on all stakeholders to take proactive action in renewing their focus on eliminating malaria by 2030 as targeted by World Health Organisation, Ifie Sekibo, MD/CEO of the bank, said that zero malaria starts with every one of us working together for a more prosperous and healthy future for all.
This call is coming against the backdrop of the global rise in malaria cases with the recent warning by WHO that the number of deaths caused by malaria in Sub-Saharan Africa could double to 769,000 this year, as efforts to curb the disease are disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to WHO, in 2018, there were 213 million malaria cases and 360,000 related deaths in the African region, accounting for over 90 per cent of global cases.
The WHO said if the focus on slowing the spread of the new virus leads to a reduction by three quarters of access to anti-malaria medicines, deaths could double to 769,000.
“Countries across the region have a critical window of opportunity to minimise disruptions in malaria prevention and treatment and save lives at this stage of the COVID-19 outbreak,” the WHO said in a statement.
It further alarmed that the doubling of the number of deaths represents the worst case scenario, which also assumes the suspension of all distribution of treated mosquito nets due to the pandemic.
However, Sekibo stated that malaria in Nigeria and Africa as a whole has been an unceasing prevalence and dilemma for communities, posing a challenge that has made eradication seem almost impossible.
In his call for collaboration to eliminate the disease in various society, Sekibo emphasized that to attain the global targets on malaria and the goals of Nigeria’s national malaria tactical plan would only be feasible through greater investment and expanded coverage of core tools to prevent, diagnose and treat malaria.
Sekibo stated that as part of the bank drive to support the fight against malaria, Heritage Bank proposes to focus on how malaria makes people susceptible to the present pandemic (COVID-19) in the world, whilst sensitizating the public on its social media platforms on COVID-19 as it relates to malaria.
He further hinted that the overly concerns of exposure to COVID-19, as malaria and the virus have some symptoms in common which includes fever, headache and body pain, hence measures normally taken for malaria interventions have been suspended, which leaves vulnerable population (pregnant women and children) at a greater risk of contracting it.
Sekibo stressed that early detection of malaria and proper management will reduce the mortality risk associated with COVID-19, whilst noting that community sensitization and mobilization around the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of malaria is of great importance.
Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has launched a new digital platform to track every foreign exchange transaction involving Bureaux De Change (BDC) operators, marking a major step in its efforts to improve transparency and strengthen oversight of the country’s retail forex market.
In an operational guidance issued on July 15 to authorised dealer banks and licensed BDCs, the apex bank introduced the FX BDC Purchase Tracker (FXBT), a centralised electronic portal designed to monitor foreign exchange purchases by BDCs from the point of request through approval, settlement and eventual sale.
The CBN said the portal will require BDCs to upload real-time or same-day data on all FX purchases made through the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market (NFEM), giving the regulator transaction-level visibility across the retail FX market.
According to the bank, the platform is designed to prevent abuse by making it easier to detect operators attempting to exceed the weekly purchase limit of $150,000, obtain allocations from multiple banks or divert foreign exchange outside approved channels.
The launch of the tracker builds on the CBN’s February policy that restored direct access for licensed BDCs to purchase foreign exchange from authorised dealer banks through the NFEM. While that policy improved access to official FX, the new platform provides the digital infrastructure to monitor how the funds are used.
Under the new framework, authorised dealer banks must conduct comprehensive Know-Your-Customer (KYC) and customer due diligence checks before selling foreign exchange to any BDC.
The new guideline also says banks must verify beneficial ownership information, retain incorporation documents and carry out enhanced due diligence for higher-risk operators.
Any BDC that fails these checks will not be allowed to access official foreign exchange.
The guidance also requires banks to acknowledge BDC purchase requests submitted through the FXBT portal within two business hours and immediately notify operators whether their requests have been approved or rejected.
To discourage speculation, the CBN directed that any forex purchased through the NFEM but left unused must be sold back into the market within 24 hours after the expiration of the utilisation period.
BDCs are also required to disclose any previously unused balances when submitting fresh requests.
In addition, all foreign exchange transactions between banks, BDCs and customers must be settled through registered accounts with licensed financial institutions.
Third-party transactions are prohibited, and any transfer outside a BDC’s registered settlement account will be treated as a regulatory violation.
The apex bank also said all authorised dealer banks and licensed BDCs are expected to comply with the new regulatory guidance and operational procedures with immediate effect.
President Bola Tinubu has signed the Presidential Executive Order on Virtual Assets Coordination, 2026, introducing a coordinated framework to regulate Nigeria’s fast-growing virtual assets sector, combat fraud and strengthen oversight without creating a new regulatory agency.
The Executive Order, which took immediate effect, establishes a Virtual Asset Council to harmonise the activities of financial, revenue and capital market regulators while promoting responsible innovation in the digital economy.
According to a statement issued on Friday by the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, the order was signed pursuant to Section 5 of the 1999 Constitution to address growing regulatory gaps as virtual assets increasingly blur the boundaries between currencies, commodities, securities and payment systems.
The Presidency said the fragmented regulatory landscape had exposed Nigeria to risks including money laundering, terrorism financing, cybercrime, data privacy breaches, fraud and significant revenue losses, with fraudulent operators exploiting loopholes to defraud unsuspecting investors.
Under the new framework, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) will chair the Virtual Asset Council, while the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will serve as vice-chairmen. Other members include the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) and the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA).
The Council will coordinate policy, strengthen collaboration among regulators and work with the Attorney-General of the Federation to develop a harmonised legal framework that aligns virtual asset regulation with Nigeria’s economic, security and social priorities.
The Executive Order also establishes a Virtual Asset Office, domiciled at the CBN, to serve as the Council’s operational secretariat. The office will coordinate information sharing, applications and reporting among participating agencies through an integrated supervisory technology platform while allowing each institution to retain control over its data.
The Presidency stressed that the order does not establish a new regulator or transfer statutory powers from existing agencies. Instead, it creates a coordination mechanism under which regulatory responsibilities will depend on the nature of the virtual asset or activity involved.
Under the arrangement, the SEC will continue to regulate virtual assets classified as securities, while the CBN will oversee payment, settlement, custody and other non-security virtual asset services. The Council will resolve jurisdictional disputes where responsibilities overlap.
As part of the reforms, the CBN will launch a regulatory sandbox that will allow eligible firms to test virtual asset products and blockchain-based solutions under close regulatory supervision before they are introduced into the wider market.
Similarly, the Nigeria Revenue Service will issue a dedicated tax policy for the virtual assets sector to clarify tax obligations, improve voluntary compliance and ensure the rapidly expanding industry contributes fairly to government revenue.
The Federal Government is also finalising a comprehensive Virtual Assets White Paper, which will outline Nigeria’s long-term policy direction for the sector.
President Tinubu directed the newly established Council to produce a Harmonised Implementation Framework within 30 days to facilitate the immediate implementation of the Executive Order and strengthen confidence in Nigeria’s digital economy.
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has commenced a nationwide enlightenment campaign to help Nigerians recover unclaimed dividends and other monies arising from capital market transactions.
The campaign, which began with a town hall meeting in Lagos on Thursday, is aimed at sensitising investors on the existence of unclaimed monies, the role of the National Investor Protection Fund (NIPF) and the procedures for verifying and recovering legitimate claims.
Emomotimi Agama, director-general of SEC, who was represented at the event by Hafsat Rufai, director, Registration and Exchanges, Market Infrastructure Department, said the initiative was necessary to ensure that funds belonging to investors were returned to their rightful owners.
Agama said unclaimed monies administered by the NIPF included return monies from public offers, scheme consideration from mergers, acquisitions and corporate restructuring transactions, as well as other funds belonging to investors that had remained unclaimed.
He noted that the Commission considered it unacceptable for investors’ funds to remain unclaimed, adding that many investors and their families were either unaware that such monies existed or did not know the procedures for recovering them.
Agama said the SEC Board had approved a nationwide public enlightenment campaign to sensitise Nigerians on unclaimed monies, the role of the NIPF and the process for making legitimate claims.
He said the Lagos programme marked the commencement of the outreach, which would subsequently cover the six geopolitical zones and the Federal Capital Territory.
The director-general said the campaign would also address the transmission of securities following the death of an investor, noting that families were often unaware that their deceased relatives owned shares or other capital market investments.
He said even when beneficiaries were aware of such investments, many lacked knowledge of the legal and administrative procedures required to obtain probate or letters of administration and transmit the investments to the rightful beneficiaries.
Agama said the Lagos programme included an expert session on probate administration and the transmission of securities to demystify the process and provide practical guidance to investors and their families.
He urged investors to maintain proper records of their investments and encouraged families to take steps to preserve inherited wealth.
The SEC DG also warned Nigerians against Ponzi schemes and other fraudulent investment arrangements, saying fraudsters continued to exploit economic pressures and digital platforms to lure unsuspecting members of the public with promises of guaranteed and unusually high returns.
He urged the public to be cautious of investment opportunities offering risk-free returns, stressing that investor education and vigilance remained critical to combating financial fraud.
Speaking on behalf of Lawal Pedro, attorney-general and commissioner for Justice,Lagos State, Olujoke Ogunojemite, deputy director in the Ministry of Justice, commended the SEC for extending the campaign to Lagos and recognising the role of legal institutions in resolving issues relating to unclaimed dividends and other assets.
She said the issue had a practical impact on beneficiaries who were unable to access assets after the death of their loved ones.
Ogunojemite said the ministry was committed to ensuring that legal processes did not become barriers to beneficiaries seeking to recover legitimate assets.
She described the SEC’s outreach as commendable, saying it would help restore assets to their rightful beneficiaries.
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