Business
FG To End Petrol Subsidy June 2022, World Bank Condemns N2.9tn Funding
The World Bank has decried the continued spending by the Nigerian government on petrol subsidy, which it said is on track to gobble up N2.9tn this year.
Its Country Director for Nigeria, Shubham Chaudhuri, who spoke on Monday at a panel session during the 27th National Economic Summit, said the country could channel the money being spent on subsidy to primary healthcare, basic education and rural roads.
“This year, Nigeria is on track to spend N2.9tn on PMS subsidy, which is more than it spends on health,” he said.
Also speaking at the session, the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, said the Federal Government had made provision for petrol subsidy till the end of June next year.
“In our 2022 budget, we only factored in subsidy for the first half of the year; the second half of the year, we are looking at complete deregulation of the sector, saving foreign exchange and potentially earning more from the oil and gas industry,” she said.
The World Bank director, who likened Nigeria to a malnourished individual needing urgent treatment, said some critical decisions need to be made now for the country to realise its potential.
He said, “I think the urgency of doing something now is because the time is going in terms of retaining the hope of young Nigerians in the future and potential of Nigeria. The kinds of things that could be done right away – the petrol subsidy; yes, I hear that six months from now, perhaps with the PIA(Petroleum Industry Act) coming into effect, this will go away.
“But the fact is can Nigeria even afford to wait for those six months? And there is a choice: N3tn to PMS subsidy which is depriving states of much-needed revenues to invest in basic services.”
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The Chairman, Presidential Economic Advisory Council, Prof. Doyin Salami, said he had argued for a long time that subsidy really needed to go.
He said, “With the PIA essentially it makes illegal petrol subsidy and yes, there is a period where NNPC and the new regulatory agencies must calibrate themselves, but at the end of this period – and I think it is about six months, which explains why the minister has said for the first half of the year, there is provision.
“My view will be if we could get it done sooner than that, it will be excellent. It releases money. The key point is simply this: we are now, any which way, at the tail end of that conversation, except if we choose not to obey the law. My sense is we will obey the law and subsidy will be gone.”
(PUNCH)
Business
CBN Retains Interest Rate At 27%
The Monetary Policy Committee of the Central Bank of Nigeria has voted to retain the benchmark interest rate at 27 per cent.
CBN Governor, Olayemi Cardoso, announced the decision on Tuesday following the apex bank’s 303rd MPC meeting in Abuja.
Cardoso stated that the committee also resolved to keep all other monetary policy indicators unchanged.
READ ALSO:CBN Issues Directive Clarifying Holding Companies’ Minimum Capital
He noted that the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) remains at 45 per cent for commercial banks and 16 per cent for merchant banks, while the 75 per cent CRR on non-TSA public sector deposits was equally maintained.
Cardoso added that the Liquidity Ratio was retained at 30 per cent, and the Standing Facilities Corridor was adjusted to +50/-450 basis points around the Monetary Policy Rate.
The decision comes as Nigeria records its seventh consecutive month of declining inflation, which eased to 16.05 per cent in September 2025.
Business
CBN Issues Directive Clarifying Holding Companies’ Minimum Capital
The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, has issued a definitive directive detailing how financial holding companies should calculate their minimum paid-up capital, following weeks of confusion that delayed the release of some banks’ half-year and nine-month financial statements.
In a circular dated November 14, 2025, the apex bank acknowledged “divergent interpretations” of the term minimum paid-up capital as stated in Section 7.1 of the 2014 Guidelines for Licensing and Regulation of Financial Holding Companies.
To eliminate ambiguity, the CBN ruled that minimum paid-up capital must be computed strictly as the par value of issued shares plus any share premium arising from their issuance.
READ ALSO:CBN Sets POS Maximum Transactions In Fresh Guidelines
“All Financial Holding Companies are required to apply this definition in computing their minimum capital requirement—without exception for subsidiaries,” the circular stated.
The regulator added that the directive takes immediate effect, noting that any previous interpretation that does not align with the new clarification “should be discontinued forthwith.”
The move is expected to calm market anxiety and provide clarity for lenders navigating ongoing regulatory capital requirements.
Business
Naira Records Massive Week-on-week Depreciation Against US Dollar
The Nigerian Naira recorded massive week-on-week losses against the United States dollar at the official foreign exchange market.
The Central Bank of Nigeria’s exchange rate showed that the Naira dipped significantly to end the week at N1,456.73 on Friday, November 21, 2025, down from N1,442.43 traded on November 14.
This means that on a weekly basis, the Naira shed N14.06 against the dollar at the official market.
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However, at the black market, currently battling with low patronage, it remained stable at N1,465, the same rate traded last week.
The development comes despite Nigeria’s foreign reserves rising by 1.25 per cent to $43.64 billion in the last week.
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