By Ayomide Otitoju FirstBank of Nigeria has reached a major milestone with the disbursement of over ₦1 trillion in cumulative instant digital loans, underscoring its leadership in digital banking and financial inclusion across West Africa. The milestone, achieved through the bank’s suite of digital lending products—including FirstAdvance, FirstCredit, and AgentCredit—reflects a significant expansion in access…
By Ayomide Otitoju The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd.), in partnership with the Akwa Ibom State Government and the Gas Aggregation Company Nigeria Ltd/GTE (GACN), has signed a $3.5 billion Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to drive gas industrialisation in the state. The agreement was signed during the opening session of the South-South Gas…
By Ayomide Otitoju President and Chief Executive Officer of Dangote Industries Limited, Aliko Dangote, has called on African entrepreneurs and business leaders to invest boldly in projects that will transform the continent and address long-standing development challenges. Speaking during a visit by participants of the Global CEO Africa Programme, jointly organised by Lagos Business School…
Goldman Sachs reported a 20 per cent year-on-year increase in second-quarter profits on Wednesday, buoyed by a strong rebound in financial advisory services — a development that Chief Executive Officer David Solomon said signals a potential upswing in dealmaking activity. The investment bank posted a quarterly profit of $3.5 billion, exceeding analyst expectations. Solomon, speaking…
By Ayomide Otitoju The Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX Group) reported a strong performance across asset classes in the first half of 2025, with total market capitalisation rising by 16 per cent from ₦112.60 trillion in January to ₦126.73 trillion by the end of June. In a statement released on Wednesday, NGX Group attributed the growth…
By Ayomide Otitoju Nigeria’s headline inflation rate eased to 22.22 per cent in June 2025, down from 22.97 per cent recorded in May, according to the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) report released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). The latest figure represents a 0.75 percentage point decline year-on-year and an 11.97 percentage point…
By Ayomide Otitoju The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has identified electricity distribution companies (DisCos) as being solely responsible for all recorded casualties in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI) during the first quarter of 2025. According to NERC’s Q1 2025 report, DisCos accounted for 100 per cent of the 26 casualties reported during the…
At least 61 people were killed after a devastating fire swept through a newly opened shopping mall in the eastern Iraqi city of Kut on Wednesday night, authorities confirmed on Thursday. According to Iraq’s Interior Ministry, the majority of victims died from smoke inhalation in bathrooms, while 14 of the deceased remain unidentified due to…
By Ayomide Otitoju FirstBank, a leading financial institution in West Africa, has reaffirmed its commitment to sustainable finance through an enhanced partnership with the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC). The renewed collaboration was spotlighted during the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4), recently held in Seville, Spain, and organized by the United Nations…
