General News
Nigeria can Easily Transit to eTransactions – Chuma Ezirim
Chuma Ezirim is head, eBusiness group in First Bank Plc that is in charge of developing and managing eChannels and Card business in the bank. He holds a B.Sc in Industrial Chemistry, University of Nigeria, Nsukka and M.Sc. (in the same field), University of Ibadan. He also has a MBA from Nsukka. He is also alumnus of the prestigious Lagos Business School. Ezirim, pioneered the introduction and use of the Smartcard Payment System in Afribank Nigeria Plc as a young banking officer and served in the steering and marketing committees of the Nigeria Smartcard Scheme, where the broad product strategies for the scheme were set. He also has broad experiences from Prudent Bank, where within two years, he took the bank from 27th to the number one position in the Valucard Scheme. Ezirim, was also an assistant general manager at Skye Bank, from where he joined First Bank in November, 2010. He works directly with the group managing director of First Bank to reposition eBusiness as an important source of earnings diversification for the bank. He spoke with miebi senge, excepts:
Overview of Cashless Lagos
I am sure that we all know the objectives behind the cashless policy. We think that the policy is coming at the right time considering all that is happening in the country and I am happy that all the stakeholders have embraced that policy and then of course they are also committed to its success. Last year the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) recognized the need to bring all stakeholders in the payment industry together to look at ways of reducing the amount of cash in the country and that concern was based on the risks of carrying cash and of course the cost involved in managing cash. There is also the convenience associated with using electronic payment channels to make payments.
The pilot started in Lagos on January 1 and we have had some hiccups, which are being addressed by the relevant stakeholders. CBN has also recognized the challenges in terms of rolling out the scheme; that is why they have moved implementation of the service fees to April 1, 2012 in Lagos. Between now and the end of March, all stakeholders would have had the opportunity of addressing some of these challenges.
In terms of awareness, the CBN and other stakeholders also are doing very good job in sensitizing the public. There have been several town hall meetings with key stakeholders like traders, artisans, religious groups, etc, where the policy was extensively discussed and demonstrations of the alternative channels like POS terminal were made. The sessions have been largely successful.
We think that it is still too early to start assessing performance of the policy but the good thing we have noticed is that there is a whole lot of awareness. We are getting calls from our corporate and retail customers asking us to come and talk to them about the policy, including organizing awareness sessions with their key distributors and suppliers.
Breaking Tradition of Moving Cash Around
The truth is that we cannot eliminate cash. Even in advanced markets, we still find that cash transactions account for more than 50 per cent of transactions in those markets so we cannot totally eliminate cash. The challenge we have in Nigeria is that we have a situation where we have more than 90 per cent of our transactions done with cash. For us, that is a challenge, with huge implications on key performance indices in our economy. I will like to look at it from the point of view of all key stakeholders – the economy, business, banking industry and then of course, the customers. Three things the policy aims at addressing; one is safety, convenience and cost.
For the economy, for instance the CBN spends so much printing cash. Even the cost of managing the distribution or the circulation is also a major cost.
Studies have shown that if you are able to improve on the efficiency of your payment system, it could lead to savings, which could be as much as one per cent of the GDP of a country. For me that is an achievable goal. This industry spent over 90billion in 2009 managing cash. If we can even reduce that amount by half there would be a saving that translates into investments in infrastructure to improve the quality of services we render to customers. It would also lead to reduction in the cost of funds.
For the business we know that today security is a major concern in this country. Why would a business accept cash in the office or shop, with all the attendant risks. The bad thing about cash is that once it is lost, it is lost. For me, safety is also a major issue for businesses. For those that are into retail businesses like supermarkets, it is a major issue.
For the customers, you are looking at the convenience of carrying and transacting with cash. Why would I want to carry a Ghana must go bag when access to that sum of cash is in my wallet? We know that people attack homes because of cash that is kept at home.
Are we going to make progress with this policy? The answer is yes. This country has also proved with mobile phones that though we might not be numerate but we’re not illiterates. We have over 90 million active mobile phone subscribers now in Nigeria. The truth is that if you are able to use a mobile phone, you should be able to use cards to settle for your transactions at the POS terminal or withdraw money from the ATM. It is easier to use cards than mobile phones.
I think that this country has all it takes to move from paper based transactions to e-based transactions.
Meeting Point Between Banks and Mobile Money Operators
Mobile money is one of the schemes that would support the cashless policy. There are several players in the industry and what the CBN has done is to licence some operators to operate mobile payment schemes. I know that their operations also affect this policy in the sense that instead of just depending on PoS terminals, ATMs, etc for transactions, you use your mobile phone. I think that the scheme would complement what we are doing at least in addressing some of the cash challenges we have and reaching the under-banked and unbanked.
FirstBank and the Cashless Policy
I am sure you are aware that we are the clear leader in the Nigerian payment industry. FirstBank processes about 31 per cent of transactions on the InterSwitch network. One out of every three Verve cards in the market today is a FirstBank First card. We have the highest number of active ATMs in the market. We have the highest number of active PoS terminals in the market. We have the highest number of mobile banking subscribers in the market.
I can go on and on. The truth is that we are well prepared from the acceptance point of view; we have more devices out there than any other player in this market.
In terms of cards, we have issued more cards than any other player in this market. So when we are talking of cashless policy, FirstBank has a major role to play.
The other way to look at it in terms of level of preparedness is that today we are the only bank in Nigeria where you could walk in as a customer and a card would be issued to you and activated within 15 minutes. A customer can walk into a First Bank branch, open an account and be issued a card within 15 minutes, which is also activated on the spot. We have completely eliminated the use of PIN mailers in card issuance. We also have very robust mobile and online banking platforms.
Investment in Cashless Policy
Our investment in e-channels has been on for several years and is still on-going. What we are trying to do now is to look at our processes and increase our presence in some locations by deploying more ATMs, more PoS terminals and enhancing our mobile internet banking platforms. These are basically what we are doing now. I might not be able to tell you how much we have spent in specific terms because these are investments we have made over time.
Job Loss with cashless Policy?
There would not be loss of jobs with the cashless policy. Efficiency enhances productivity. There would be cost savings and more money for people to invest in other productive sectors.
Assurance to customers
All the stakeholders with the support of the CBN have invested a lot in terms of resources and efforts in ensuring that this policy works. Most of the challenges that we have in the industry are being addressed. We are very optimistic and committed to achieving the objectives of the cashless policy.
Nigeria as hub of Cashless in Sub-Sahara Africa
Yes, Nigeria can be a financial service hub in Africa. It is a matter of planning and allocation of the right resources. The CBN is very committed to this, and working closely with banks to ensure that we deploy very efficient and secure electronic payment systems in the country. My Group Managing Director is personally driving all our alternative payment service delivery initiatives in the bank.
Dangote Petroleum Refinery is reportedly nearing completion of a $2.5 billion private placement that values the company at about $40 billion ahead of its planned public listing.
Private placement is the direct sale of company shares or bonds to pre-selected investors instead of the general public and it is used to raise money quickly while avoiding strict public reporting rules.
People familiar with the transaction said investors acquired as much as 6 per cent of the refinery, according to a BusinessDay report.
The reported terms would value the business at approximately $40 billion.
Neither Dangote Group nor the refinery has publicly announced the final amount raised, the identities of most subscribers or the precise percentage sold.
The figures should therefore be treated as transaction details supplied by unnamed sources rather than confirmed company disclosures.
The reported $2.5 billion total is nevertheless significant as it indicates strong demand for exposure to a privately controlled refinery that has rapidly become central to Nigeria’s fuel supply and an increasingly important exporter of petroleum products.
The placement was said to have attracted more demand than the available shares, allowing the company to secure substantially more than the amount initially associated with the fundraising exercise.
Femi Otedola, chairman, First HoldCo, is the only major participant publicly identified in the report.
He reportedly committed $100 million to the transaction and sold his investment in Geregu Power Plc to finance the acquisition.
Nigeria’s pension industry was also reportedly cleared to participate.
Access to more than $17 billion in retirement assets would broaden the refinery’s potential investor base beyond wealthy individuals and conventional institutional buyers.
Participation by Pension Fund Administrators would, however, require careful attention to valuation, liquidity and portfolio-concentration limits.
Retirement funds must balance the attraction of a large Nigerian industrial asset against their responsibility to protect contributors’ savings.
The implied $40 billion valuation represents investor expectations about the refinery’s future earnings rather than only the physical cost of constructing the facility.
Its ability to process 650,000 barrels of crude daily gives it a central role in supplying Nigeria and other markets, but its commercial performance remains connected to crude availability, product prices, exchange rates and regulation.
The refinery has struggled to obtain all the Nigerian crude it requires under the government’s naira-for-crude arrangement.
It has consequently purchased some feedstock internationally and recently moved local petroleum-product pricing into dollars to align sales revenue more closely with its foreign-currency expenses.
Those constraints will be important during any public offering.
Prospective shareholders will want greater clarity on crude-supply contracts, debt, operating margins, export revenue and the company’s relationship with Nigerian regulators.
It is also unclear whether the private placement involved newly issued shares, a sale by existing owners or a combination of both.
That distinction determines whether the reported $2.5 billion becomes fresh capital for the refinery or proceeds received by selling shareholders.
The transaction could provide a useful price reference for the planned initial public offering.
Federal government will next month launch Nigeria’s first national organized crime strategy to strengthen the country’s response to terrorism, cybercrime, human and drug trafficking, kidnapping, illicit financial flows, and other forms of organized crime.
Major General Adamu Laka, national coordinator of the National Counter Terrorism Centre under the Office of the National Security Adviser, disclosed this in Abuja during the validation of the strategy document.
He said the strategy provides a coordinated national framework for tackling organized crime through improved intelligence sharing, stronger collaboration among security agencies, and closer cooperation with the criminal justice system, civil society organizations, and international partners.
Major General Laka explained that the document was developed through a partnership involving the Federal Government, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the United States Government, and other stakeholders.
Speaking at the event, Cheikh Toure, UNODC representative, said the strategy would strengthen Nigeria’s capacity to combat transnational crimes, including drug trafficking, cybercrime, human trafficking, kidnapping, and illicit financial flows.
Also speaking, Douglas Grane, acting director of the United States Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, reaffirmed the U.S. government’s support for Nigeria’s efforts to tackle organized crime through stronger inter-agency and international cooperation.
Representatives of the National Institute for Strategic Studies, the Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit, and the National Cyber Security Centre also endorsed the initiative, describing it as a major step towards improving Nigeria’s fight against organized crime.
FATE Foundation, with funding from the Citi Foundation, has launched the Youth Entrepreneurship Incubation Programme to equip young people in Nigeria with financial literacy and entrepreneurship skills.
Delivered through free, safe, and accessible platforms, the programme supports the incubation and scaling of youth-led enterprises, enabling income generation and job creation.
In October 2025, FATE Foundation was selected as a recipient of Citi Foundation’s 2025 Global Innovation Challenge to Accelerate Youth Employability. Joining the cohort of 50 organisations globally, the Foundation will receive $500,000 over two years to advance its youth employability initiative.
“We are excited to be selected for Citi Foundation’s 2025 Global Innovation Challenge,” said Ayomide Akindolie-Igwe, Executive Director of FATE Foundation.
“This support enables us to equip young entrepreneurs in Nigeria with the financial literacy and skills needed to build and scale sustainable businesses.”
The programme addresses youth employability by tackling Africa’s growing jobs crisis. By 2030, the African continent will be home to 40% of the world’s youth, and with one in three under 35 already unemployed, this initiative will support Nigerian youth with a two-phase approach. It begins with financial literacy training before progressing to entrepreneurship development, incubation support, and access to tools needed to build viable, job-creating businesses.
“Through this innovative initiative, FATE Foundation is supporting low-income Nigerian youth to develop essential financial and entrepreneurial skills using accessible platforms.
“This support is not just helping individuals to succeed; it is building a solid foundation for sustainable enterprises that will drive job creation and contribute significantly to our nation’s economic vitality. This initiative is empowering and investing in the future of Nigeria, one youth at a time,” said Nneka Enwereji, MD/CEO Citibank Nigeria Limited.
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