E-Financial
Nigeria Marks 25th Anniversary of world Web with Affordable Internet Access

An innovative and interactive new drive to empower affordable Internet access will today unite the Nigerian government as well as key members of the Nigerian ICT industry with technology leaders from across Africa and the rest of the world on the eve of the 25th anniversary of the Web.
25 years after Web inventor Sir Tim Berners-Lee submitted his proposal for the World Wide Web (March 12, 1989), the world’s broadest technology sector coalition, the Alliance for Affordable Internet (A4AI), is bringing together government ministers, technology innovators, researchers and campaigners to drive forward the policy change, dialogue and investment needed to put internet access in the hands of millions across Africa.
The forum will aim to consolidate support for, as well as build upon ongoing efforts to increase broadband penetration in Nigeria five-fold to 30 percent by 2018.
The Nigerian government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with A4AI and participants at the forum include Mrs. Omobola Johnson, minister of Communication Technology.
The forum will also see the launch of a new multi-stakeholder coalition that will contribute to the development of policies intended to bring in a new era of widespread and affordable internet access.
As laid out in the recently published Nigerian National Broadband Plan, the existing challenges to greater Internet and broadband access in Nigeria will be tackled head-on by: Incentivizing the deployment of a national fiber optic network across the entire country; Developing a framework that ensures the potential benefits of open access and infrastructure sharing are realized.
Others are: addressing high cost points such as spectrum prices and the cost of physical attacks on infrastructure; and Increasing citizen awareness about the possible benefits of the internet and how to use it.
According to the World Bank, eighty-four percent of Nigerians live on less than two dollars per day and 63 percent live on less than $1.25 per day. A prepaid mobile broadband user subsisting on $2 per day who wanted to use 1GB of data per month would have to spend 22 percent of their monthly income to do so.
At present, one third of Nigerians use the Internet, up from 28 percent in 2011 and 24 percent in 2010. However, the broadband penetration rate is only 6 percent.
In Nigeria, fixed broadband currently costs 39 percent of average monthly income, with a 500MB pre-paid mobile broadband plan averaging 13 percent.
The Alliance for Affordable Internet and its 55 members, whose global sponsors are Google, Omidyar Network, the UK’s Department for International Development and the US Agency for International Development, will work hand-in-hand with the Nigerian government and sector stakeholders to support the Government in the implementation of its vision for affordable broadband access to all Nigerians.
Johnson said: “We welcome the opportunity to align ourselves with other forward looking governments and members of the Global ICT industry as well the ‘unified voice and coordinated focus’ that is represented by the A4AI. We are also extremely pleased to note the common approach to tackling the problems of providing ubiquitous, affordable access to the Internet for all Nigerian citizens as is represented by our recently launched Nigerian National Broadband Plan. We view this forum as extremely timely and a key part of our consolidating internal as well as external support for the changes needed to accelerate the needed improvements in our National Broadband network”.
Sonia Jorge, executive director of A4AI said: “On the 25th anniversary of the Web, we are working to unlock the power of the internet in Africa and place it in the hands of those for whom it remains out of reach. Nigeria is one of the fastest growing markets in Africa but overcoming the challenges to increased access will not be solved by a single solution or player. Through collaboration we need to create policy and regulatory environments that reduce cost structures for providers, users and potential users of the internet environments that stimulates investment, increase affordability and encourage internet use. In Nigeria, A4AI will be focusing on reaching rural communities and those living below the poverty line, so all Nigerian women and men can realize the benefits of the Web.”
Funke Opeke, CEO of Main One said: “Main One is delighted to see the Alliance focus on Nigeria with the launch here in October 2013, followed by this forum in Abuja today. We are in agreement that the emphasis on collaboration and open access in Nigeria’s broadband plan will need to be actualized to ensure affordable internet delivery and look forward to working with other industry players and government to make the vision of affordable Internet a reality for all Nigerians.”
A4AI has grown rapidly as an coalition since its launch in October 2013, achieving a membership of over 50 organisations in just four months.
Global sponsors Google, Omidyar Network, the UK’s Department for International Development and the US Agency for International Development have been joined by a host of governments, technology companies and civil society organisations from developed and developing countries.
The group is co-ordinated by the World Wide Web Foundation, Sir Tim Berners-Lee, founded by Web inventor.
It will work in a number of countries across Africa, Asia and Latin America, and has already signed a memorandum of understanding with the governments of Ghana and Nigeria.
A4AI is advocating for open, competitive and innovative broadband markets with a focus on achieving the UN Broadband Commission Broadband Target of entry-level broadband services priced at less than 5% of average monthly income.
E-Financial
NIBBS: Banks Close 29.4m Accounts, Dormant Accounts Hit 33.39m

Banks in Nigeria closed 29.4 million accounts as of March 2025, according to the latest report by the Nigerian Interbank Settlement System (NIBSS).
The figure represents a sharp year-on-year increase of 30.43 per cent from the 22.54 million closed accounts recorded in March 2024.
It also reflects a steady rise in account closures over recent months, with 33.29 million closed accounts reported in February 2025 and 29.43 million in January.
The report also revealed a significant increase in dormant accounts, which surged to 33.39 million in March 2025, up from 19.79 million in the same period in 2024, a 71.3 per cent rise in inactive accounts over the past year.
Despite the spike in closures and dormant accounts, the number of active bank accounts rose from 219.64 million in March 2024 to 320.05 million in March 2025, representing an increase of over 100 million, or 45.7 per cent.
NIBSS defines a dormant account as one that has seen no deposit, withdrawal, transfer, or point-of-sale transaction for a period of six months.
The surge in account closures and dormancy follows the Central Bank of Nigeria’s directive issued in December 2023, mandating commercial banks to restrict Tier-1 accounts not linked to a Bank Verification Number (BVN) and National Identification Number (NIN) by March 1, 2024.
In response to the directive, BVN enrolment increased from 61.6 million in April 2024 to 66.23 million by July 2025, as more Nigerians rushed to meet the CBN’s compliance deadline.
E-Financial
Cardoso, CBN Boss Risks Arrest over Alleged N5.2 Trillion Unremitted Funds

The Joint Committee of the House of Representatives on Public Accounts and Public Assets has threatened to issue a warrant of arrest against Mr. Olayemi Cardoso, governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), over repeated failure to honour its invitations regarding the probe into non-compliance with the Fiscal Responsibility Act 2007 and Finance Act 2020.

Olayemi Cardoso,, Gov, CBN
In a joint statement released on Friday and signed by Hon. Bamidele Salam and Hon. Ademorin Kuye, chairmen of the committees, the lawmakers decried the CBN governor’s continued disregard for legislative summons.
The committee is investigating the non-remittance of operating surplus as well as the mismanagement of unclaimed dividends and dormant account balances.
According to the committee, the Office of the Auditor General for the Federation reported a liability of N5.2 trillion in unremitted operating surplus due to the federal government from 2016 to 2022; a claim corroborated by the Fiscal Responsibility Commission in a separate submission to the National Assembly.
The committee cited provisions of the Finance Act 2020, which mandate that unclaimed dividends from publicly listed companies and dormant bank account balances older than six years be transferred into the Unclaimed Fund Trust Fund. The fund is to be managed by a Governing Council led by the Minister of Finance and the Debt Management Office (DMO).
Contrary to this, the CBN maintains that the Financial Institutions Act 2020 empowers it to manage dormant balances.
However, the committee noted that the Attorney General of the Federation has issued a legal opinion affirming that the Finance Act 2020 remains the valid law guiding the management of such funds.
Following extensive submissions, the committee resolved that the CBN must remit N3.64 trillion, representing 70% of the undisputed N5.2 trillion operating surplus, within 14 days from receipt of its June 27, 2025, directive, pending final reconciliation of the disputed amount.
Additionally, the apex bank was directed to submit a detailed report on the total sum of unclaimed dividends and dormant account balances by June 30, 2025.
The CBN was also ordered to transfer these funds into the Unclaimed Fund Trust Fund within 14 days and furnish the House with evidence of the transaction.
The lawmakers expressed frustration that, despite the clear directives and ample time, the CBN governor has failed to respond or appear before the joint committee to provide an explanation.
“In view of this continued defiance, the Committee will be compelled to exercise its constitutional powers to compel Mr. Olayemi Cardoso to appear before it,” the statement warned.
E-Financial
Moody’s Upgrades Ecobank’s Outlook to Stable

Moody’s has upgraded the outlook on Ecobank Transnational Incorporated’s long-term issuer and senior unsecured debt ratings to stable from negative.
In the latest rating commentary, made available to media on Thursday, Moody’s also affirmed the pan-African banking group’s B3/Not Prime long- and short-term issuer ratings; B3 senior unsecured debt rating; b2 notional Baseline Credit Assessment and b1 Adjusted BCA.
ETI’s subsidiaries operate across 38 countries, including 35 African countries, and total assets of $28.9bn as of March 2025, details from the rating note highlighted. Moody’s said the decision to change the outlook to stable on the long-term issuer and senior unsecured ratings reflects ETI’s resilient financial performance.
The rating upgrade also takes into consideration higher dividends being upstreamed to ETI, resulting in lower double leverage and reduced refinancing risk.
The rating adjustment also reflects an expectation that the recapitalisation process of Ecobank Nigeria Limited will be completed by the end of 2025, with limited impact on the group’s financial fundamentals.
“The stable outlook also captures our expectation that a series of capital-boosting initiatives and actions to cure Ecobank Nigeria’s total capital position will be completed before the end of 2025”, according to the ratings agency.
In May 2025, ETI received shareholder approval to raise $250 million in Additional Tier 1 (AT1) capital and announced the launch of the transaction effective 9 July 2025, of which a portion is expected to be downstreamed to Ecobank Nigeria as AT1 capital during Q3 2025.
Ecobank Nigeria’s plan to raise $200m in AT1 capital was noted in the rating note. The ratings analysts said they consider
“We also note that Ecobank Nigeria’s recent successful offer to tender $150m of its February 2026 $300 million notes and consent to remove the capital adequacy ratio covenant from this bond’s terms alleviates risks of an event of default in Nigeria that would trigger cross default at the ETI level. Over the past year, ETI has shown resilience in its financial performance, which supports our change in outlook to stable. Liquidity risks are being moderated by the group’s gradually improving profitability during 2024 and Q1-2025.
“This has translated into a 22 per cent increase in dividends upstreamed to ETI during 2024, these being received from 22 dividend-paying subsidiaries compared to just 14 in 2021,” the rating commentary revealed.
In turn, albeit high, ETI’s double leverage ratio, which measures the liquidity risk taken on by the holding company, as a result of it borrowing in order to invest in the equity of its subsidiaries, has eased to 168 per cent as of December 2024 from 173 per cent in 2023.
Additionally, the stable outlook reflects reduced liquidity risk at the holding company level with the refinancing of short-term liabilities in 2024 with longer-term funding.
Moody’s said this is underpinned by demonstrated market access, notably through senior unsecured notes issuance of $400m in October 2024 and a tap increase of $125m in May 2025, maturing in October 2029.
ETI’s B3 long-term issuer ratings affirmation reflects the affirmation of the group’s b2 notional BCA; the affirmation of the group’s b1 adjusted BCA as captured by a one-notch uplift for affiliate support, reflecting Moody’s assessment of a moderate probability that the firm’s major institutional shareholders would extend support to the group. Moody’s said asset quality for the group has improved over recent years.
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