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Nigerians Sent N2tn Via USSD Codes In Six Months – Report

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The Central Bank of Nigeria’s electronic payment statistics have shown that, between January and June 2024, 252.06 million transactions, which amounted to N2.19tn, were carried out via Unstructured Supplementary Service Data codes.

This is a significant milestone compared to the full-year data for 2023, which showed that N4.84tn was transacted via USSD codes across 630.6 million transactions.

The N2.19tn recorded in the first half of 2024 represents 45.3 per cent of the total value of USSD transactions in 2023 and 40 per cent of the total transaction volume for the same year.

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Initially developed by telecom companies for providing airtime and subscription services, the USSD service has been widely adopted in the banking sector because it does not require an Internet connection.

READ ALSO: CBN Plans To Raise Fines On Erring Banks

USSD codes continue to play a crucial role in Nigeria’s financial inclusion strategy, offering a platform for users with limited internet access to make quick and convenient transactions.

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This is especially important in rural areas, where internet connectivity remains unreliable.

However, this form of transaction has been threatened by over N250bn debt, which has been a contentious issue for the past six years, prompting past interventions from the Central Bank of Nigeria under Godwin Emefiele’s leadership and the former Minister of Communications, Isa Pantami, but no lasting solution has been reached.

The Chairman of the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria, Gbenga Adebayo, earlier lamented that banks have been profiting from USSD services without fulfilling their payment obligations in the last six years.

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READ ALSO: CBN Threatens Sanction Over Cash Scarcity At ATMs

Last month, it was reported that telecom operators in Nigeria were seeing some progress in the repayment of the N250bn debt tied to Unstructured Supplementary Service Data services, with smaller banks beginning to settle their obligations.

However, tier-one lenders responsible for the bulk of the debt are yet to make significant payments.

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At the time, the ALTON chairman disclosed that while some repayments have been recorded, they fall short of expectations.

READ ALSO: CBN Plans To Raise Fines On Erring Banks

While USSD remains a dominant channel amidst existing challenges, other electronic payment methods have also seen substantial growth.

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Automated Teller Machine  transactions have experienced a remarkable volume, with N12.21tn transacted in the first half of 2024 for 496.44 million transactions.

Point-of-sale transactions are also significant, indicating the country’s ongoing shift towards cashless payments.
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Fixed Income: CBN Announces Fresh Regulations To Control Nigerian Market

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The Central Bank of Nigeria has announced sweeping regulations to take control of the Nigerian fixed income market.

The regulations expected to begin in November are aimed at boosting transparency across Nigeria’s financial sector.
The apex bank disclosed this in a recent statement.

CBN noted that the intervention is a key part of broader financial market reforms.

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READ ALSO:CBN Establishes New Unit To Tackle Financial Crime

Accordingly, it said its core objective is to enhance regulatory oversight and strengthen the market’s ability to effectively support the transmission of monetary policy and, ultimately, foster economic growth.

This transition will enable the CBN to assume direct responsibility for the management of the trading platform and handle end-to-end settlement activities under the bank’s established settlement system for financial market transactions,” the statement read.

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According to DAILY POST, Fixed income securities refer to investments which provide a return in the form of fixed periodic interest payments and the eventual return of the principal at maturity.

 

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Confusion Over Euro-Africa CCI’s $250m Investment In Edo

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The $250m investment deal Governor Monday Okpebholo claimed to have secured during his recent trip to Scotland is generating ripples over capacity of the European African Chamber of Commerce and Industry (EACCI) to make such a huge investment.

The EACCI, headed by a Drector General, Dr. Kingsley Obasohan, is not known to have made any prior investment in Edo State or any part of the country.

Obasohan, who attended the Edo State Global Investment Summit virtually, announced the $250m investment.

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He said the investment would be made for a period of three years.

An online search was launched to unravel the EACCI as well as the man Obasohan.

READ ALSO:Okpebholo Warns Companies Against Fuelling Edo–Delta Boundary Dispute

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A number on the site was answered by a lady who claimed not to understand English language.

Several foreign partners were listed on the site as board members and advisory council.

Some closed associates of Obasohan said he would have to get clearance from the Board members before talking to journalists on the issue.

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Spokesman for the Edo Peoples Democratic Party, Daniel Noah Osa-Ogbegi, said the party would hold Governor Okpebholo accountable to Edo people and demanded clarity on the $250m investment from Glasgow.

Osa-Ogbegi said the proposed investment has become a source of embarrassment to Edo people because of unfolding information about EACCI.

READ ALSO:JUST IN: Okpebholo Nominates Another 5 Persons As Commissioner-designates

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He said the party would shine light on fiscal management practices that appeared to ignore transparency and responsibility.

Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Umar Musa Ikhilo, had earlier said those that attended the Glasgow summit were interested in keying into the SHINE agenda of Governor Okpebholo.

One of the chambers of commerce that attended, the European African Chamber of Commerce and Industry signed an MoU with the Edo State Government to invest a sum of $250 million over the next three to five years.

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“Last year, diaspora remittances were the second-highest source of foreign income in Nigeria after crude oil, over $20 billion, but only 2% of that went into investment. We are creating a vehicle to help convert more of that into direct investments.”

He added that a delegation from Scotland was expected to visit Edo State in the coming months to explore specific investment projects as a follow-up to the summit.

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Dangote Hits Out At PENGASSAN, Says Union ‘Serial Saboteurs, Serving Oligarchs’

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The management of Dangote Petroleum Refinery has berated the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), accusing the union of decades-long sabotage of Nigeria’s oil and gas sector and serving the interests of its leaders rather than ordinary Nigerians.

In a statement issued at the weekend, the refinery described PENGASSAN’s latest directive to cut crude oil and gas supplies to the facility as another act of economic sabotage designed to inflict untold hardship on Nigerians.

“Indeed, over time, the Association has consistently proved itself as serving interests other than those of Nigerians and Nigerian workers,” the statement declared.

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Dangote recalled that in 2007, when the Federal Government sold its moribund Port Harcourt and Kaduna refineries to Blue Star Consortium, led by the Dangote Group, for $750 million, it was PENGASSAN and its ally, the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), that sabotaged the deal. “It is now obvious to everyone that the FGN’s decision at the time was the right one and that PENGASSAN and NUPENG ignominiously wrote their names on the wrong pages of history,” the company said.

READ ALSO:Dangote Fuel Sells Cheaper In Togo Than In Nigeria – Falana Laments

The refinery also faulted the union’s role in the much-publicised rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt Refinery, describing it as a “ruse” which PENGASSAN “knowingly celebrated despite being a scam on Nigerians.” The statement further accused the union of opposing amendments to the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) that would have freed up federal liquidity and attracted private-sector funding into Nigeria’s upstream oil ventures.

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Beyond policy obstruction, Dangote Refinery accused the association of mismanaging billions of naira in annual check-off dues to allegedly bankroll the “lavish lifestyles” of its leaders, without accountability to members. By contrast, the refinery highlighted its own record of economic contributions within a short period, citing road construction, worker training, the creation of thousands of Nigerian jobs, and a compensation structure that “outdistances the best in the Nigerian oil and gas industry.”

“The Dangote Group is the highest employer of labor in Nigeria and the highest contributor to the tax revenues of Nigeria and its sub-nationals. What comparable social responsibility has PENGASSAN, with its billions of Naira in annual check-off dues and subscriptions, lived up to?” the statement queried, challenging the union to publish its audited accounts for the past ten years. “Can it publish publicly its account for the last 10 years and list out its corporate responsibility activities within that timeframe?”

READ ALSO:Dangote Refinery Reduces Fuel Price Nationwide, Provides Update On Petrol Distribution

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The refinery insisted that PENGASSAN’s recent directive to withdraw services and cut off essential fuel supplies, including but not limited to petrol, diesel, kerosene, cooking gas and aviation fuel was reckless, lawless and dangerous. It said the order is not about protecting Nigerian workers, but it is about a cabal of oligarchs weaponising hardship against over 230 million Nigerians.

In the process, it (PENGASSAN) cares little if at all about the unbearable hardship and terror it would thereby inflict on all Nigerians, including but not limited to the provision of essential services in our hospitals and medical facilities, schools (nursery and right up to tertiary and research institutions), emergency services, communications facilities, transportation systems, etc,” it said.

Dangote Refinery called on the Federal Government and security agencies to step in immediately to protect the facility and the nation’s energy security, stressing that the union must not be allowed to “bully Nigerians into chaos and economic sabotage.”

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According to Tribune Online, the federal government has announced readiness to broker peace between Dangote Refinery and PENGASSAN, inviting both to a meeting scheduled for Monday.

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