Nairareports

01/08/2026

IMF Warns on Rising Financial Repression

LAGOS, August 1 – Governments burdened by rising public debt are increasingly relying on policies that suppress returns for savers and channel private funds toward public borrowing, with financial repression reaching its highest level in decades, according to a new International Monetary Fund (IMF) working paper. The IMF found that financial repression has intensified since the 2008 global financial crisis, arguing that governments facing mounting debt and limited political support for spending cuts or tax increases may increasingly resort to policies that lower borrowing costs by directing domestic savings into government debt....

30/07/2026

Femi Otedola expands First HoldCo stake to 25.87%

Billionaire investor and Chairman of First HoldCo, Femi Otedola, has acquired an additional 1.779 billion ordinary shares in the financial holding company for approximately ₦222.2bn. What Regulatory Filings Show About First HoldCo Transactions Official regulatory filings submitted to the Nigerian Exchange show that Femi Otedola purchased 1,779,094,976 ordinary shares of First HoldCo at a price of ₦124.90 per share. The transaction expands the beneficial shareholding of Femi Otedola to 11,763,018,192 ordinary shares, representing 25.87% of the total issued share capital of First HoldCo....

Billionaire investor and Chairman of First HoldCo, Femi Otedola, has acquired an additional 1.779 billion ordinary shares in the financial holding company for…

29/07/2026

Nigeria’s payment system trust score falls to 5.4

The Nigeria electronic payment system processes over ₦1.07 quadrillion in annual transactions, but executive confidence in system trust resilience has fallen to a rating of 5.4 out of 10. What Bridgforte is Saying About the Digital Payment System According to a policy report titled Trust Architecture in Platform-Led Finance by advisory firm Bridgforte, public confidence in digital financial services has failed to match the rapid expansion of electronic transactions....

29/07/2026

Nigeria’s foreign exchange inflows reach $109.9 billion

Nigeria recorded total foreign exchange inflows of $109.86 billion in 2025, representing a 13.81% increase compared to the $96.53 billion recorded in 2024. What the Central Bank of Nigeria is Saying The Central Bank of Nigeria published these figures in its 2025 Annual Report and Statement of Accounts. The monetary authority reported that aggregate foreign exchange outflows also expanded during the year, rising by 27.83% to reach $49.05 billion from $38.37 billion in 2024....

29/07/2026

Nigeria shifts value added tax sharing to consumption

Nigeria has altered its national revenue distribution framework under the 2026 tax reform to allocate value added tax based on actual consumption location rather than corporate head office registration. What the Federal Government of Nigeria is Saying About Tax Reform President Bola Tinubu signed the updated tax reform law to establish a more equitable distribution mechanism for revenues generated across the thirty-six states....

28/07/2026

United Capital’s H1 profit jumps 79.6% to ₦24.77 billion

United Capital Plc reported a pre-tax profit of ₦24.78 billion for the first half of 2026, a 79.6% surge from ₦13.79 billion in the same period last year, and declared an interim dividend of 30 kobo per ordinary share. The group’s unaudited results, filed with the Nigerian Exchange, show that profit after tax climbed 77.5% to ₦21.10 billion, compared with ₦11.89 billion in H1 2025....

United Capital's H1 2026 pre-tax profit jumped 79.6% to ₦24.77 billion, driven by soaring trading income, as the firm declared a 30 kobo interim dividend.

28/07/2026

Ecobank Transnational Incorporated’s pre-tax profit hits ₦584 billion in H1 2026

Ecobank Transnational Incorporated posted a pre-tax profit of ₦584.02 billion for the first half of 2026, a 5.8% decline from the ₦620.23 billion recorded in the same period a year earlier. The drop was driven by a sharp rise in net impairment charges on loans, which more than offset gains from stronger net interest income and a stable cost base, according to the group’s unaudited financial statements filed with the Nigerian Exchange....

28/07/2026

Manufacturing PMI stalls at 50.1 in June

Nigeria’s Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) slipped to 50.10 in June from 49.6 in May, according to the latest PMI data, signalling that the sector is barely holding above contraction as soaring energy, raw material and financing costs crush producer margins. The reading means that after a strong start to the year, factory output, new orders and production activity have now declined for three consecutive months on balance, with manufacturers warning that conditions are becoming unsustainable....

Nigeria's Manufacturing PMI stalled at 50.10 in June, barely above contraction, as soaring energy and borrowing costs extend the sector’s decline for a third straight month.

28/07/2026

U.S. urges Nigeria to leave International Criminal Court

The United States State Department has explicitly called on Nigeria and all other signatories to the Rome Statute to withdraw from the International Criminal Court (ICC), describing the tribunal as a “flawed institution” that strips nations of their sovereignty. The call, delivered through the Bureau of African Affairs on Monday, followed Chad’s formal notification that it was quitting the global war crimes court....

27/07/2026

El Niño could cost Africa $20bn, AfDB warns

A severe El Niño weather pattern could wipe between $10 billion and $20 billion off the gross domestic product of Africa’s most exposed countries while triggering mass displacement and a sharp rise in food prices, according to the African Development Bank. The warning comes months after the AfDB projected Africa’s economy would grow by 4.2% in 2026 and 4.4% in 2027, forecasts that did not factor in a potential intensification of the climate event....

A severe El Niño weather pattern could wipe between $10 billion and $20 billion off the gross domestic product of Africa’s most exposed countries while triggering mass displacement and a…