Nigeria’s mobile money transactions have grown nearly 30-fold over the past five years. Between January and July 2020, mobile money transactions grew from N1.37 trillion to N41.54 trillion in the same period in 2024, according to data from the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS).

Mobile money transactions rose by 2,472.75 per cent to 1.64 billion in 2023 from 63.79 million in 2020. Despite boasting 17 companies licensed by the CBN as mobile money operators (non-bank-led), this growth has been driven by Chinese fintech companies Opay and Palmpay.

“OPay and PalmPay are the most prominent non-MNO-led mobile money providers and have gained significant market share in Nigeria since receiving their MMO licence,” stated GSMA, the global telecom industry body.

They achieved this by tapping into Nigeria’s mobile boom, offering free and fast transfers during their early years and then heavily discounted transfers as they matured. They further gained credibility during a failed Central Bank of Nigeria naira redesign and withdrawal policy in 2022.

Humble Beginnings

OPay began operations in 2010 as PayCom Nigeria Limited, a mobile money platform incubated by Telnet (Nigeria) Limited.  In 2018, it was acquired by Opera, owned by Chinese billionaire Yahui Zhou, and rebranded as OPay.

PlamPay launched later, entering the Nigerian markets in 2019 after raising a $40 million seed round led by Chinese mobile phone maker Transsion. As part of the investment, PalmPay was preinstalled on Transsion’s mobile brands Tecno, Infinix, and Itel.

Market Entry Strategy

OPay gained its way into the hearts of many Nigerians by becoming a super app after Opera’s takeover. The company operated numerous services, including ride-hailing at cheap rates. According to reports, its monthly active users surged from around 100,000 in April 2019 to 5 million a year later (which rose to 30 million in June 2023).

At its peak, the company provided 10 million weekly rides across 18 cities while expanding its agent network to over 500,000 agents. By July 2020, it shut down its other services to focus exclusively on fintech.

PalmPay, leveraging Transsion’s dominance in the smartphone market, rapidly grew its user base, now at 35 million. By 2023, Canalys, a leading global technology market analyst firm, revealed that Transsion and Xiaomi accounted for 85 per cent of the smartphone shipments into Nigeria in the third quarter of 2023.

In 2019, Greg Reeves, PalmPay’s chief executive officer, said, “On channel and access, we’re going to be pre-installed on all Tecno phones. You’re gonna find us in the Tecno stores and outlets. So we get an immediate channel and leg up in any market we operate in.”

By investing in an extensive agent network of around 500,000 agents, PalmPay gained a foothold in urban and rural areas.

“These fintechs were aggressive with their approach to penetrating the market. Most importantly is embracing the agent network model where agents can recruit other agents for all of these operators with very good incentives in place, particularly for Moniepoint,” Victor Olojo, former national president of the Association of Mobile Money and Banking Agents of Nigeria (AMMBAN) earlier told BusinessDay.

Free and Cheap Transfers

OPay and PalmPay employed similar strategies to retain customers: free and low-cost transfers.

OPay offered free transfers until June 2023, after which they introduced a minimal charge of N10 after the third transfer in a day. PalmPay implemented the same strategy, introducing the N10 fee after years of offering free transfers.

Both fintechs achieved this by leveraging fundraising. OPay has raised $570 million so far, while PalmPay has raised $400 million. “Their success can be attributed to first their financial strength. Top players must have deep resources,” noted Olojo.

Failed Naira Redesign

In 2023, OPay gathered journalists in its Ikeja office to explain how its IT investments gave it an edge when Nigerians needed cashless terminals. The company pointed out that its agile IT network enabled rapid capacity expansion, surpassing traditional banks’ capabilities.

He said this against the backdrop of a naira scarcity that had almost crippled the economy. In 2022, the CBN announced the release of redesigned naira notes for higher denominations (N200, N500, and N1000) and a withdrawal policy to encourage cashless transactions.

During the implementation of this policy, traditional banks struggled to handle the surge in demand, leading to widespread transaction failures. This allowed OPay and PalmPay to fill the gap. By March 2023, both apps were Nigeria’s most downloaded finance apps, and OPay became the country’s most-downloaded app by October 2023.

“They made payment methods easier, faster, and better, and people began relying on them for everyday things,” said Adedeji Olowe, founder of Lendsqr.

Boosting Financial Inclusion

Both fintechs powered a boom in microtransactions, enabling more transactions to be cashless. “There was a boom in microtransactions when the cashless issue happened,” noted Nosa Oyegun, VP of product and innovation at Kuda.

The growth of these fintechs drove financial inclusion, with more people onboarded into the financial system. “MMOs have succeeded in onboarding unbanked users using lower know-your-customer (KYC) requirements,” GSMA said.

“The future is all about financial inclusion. We want to reach out, especially to the last man. For the people who don’t even use a smartphone,” said Chika Nwosu, the managing director at Palmpay Nigeria. “Our major objective is to use technology to support financial inclusion.”

Nigeria’s mobile money transactions have also contributed to global increases. In 2023, total transactions rose to $1.4 trillion, driven mostly by growth in Nigeria, Ghana, and Senegal, according to Mats Granryd, director general of the GSMA.

[Businessday]

Nigeria has significantly contributed troops and police officers to the United Nations peacekeeping operations worldwide since 1960. That year, the Nigeria Police deployed the first-ever contingent of individual police officers to the UN Mission in the Congo. Assistant Commissioner of Police Louis Edet led the team at the time. In these operations, Nigeria resolutely committed herself to the onerous task of maintaining world peace and security. Some of the country’s gallant officers paid the supreme price, while many were injured and maimed for life. During the military era, particularly during the reign of General Ibrahim Babangida, under the auspices of the African Union and ECOWAS, there was the ECOWAS Monitoring Group, which intervened decisively in Liberia, paving the way for the restoration of civil rule in that country. Rebel leaders had turned Liberia into a theatre of war in their desperate battle for power. 

Nigeria’s troops were also the military backbone of the UN Mission in Liberia from 2003-2018, restoring security throughout that country. 

Since then, Nigeria has been involved in peacekeeping operations in many African countries, including Cote d’Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau, The Gambia, Mali, Sudan, Sierra Leone, Mozambique, Somalia, Rwanda and Burundi. The government has contributed a lot in finance, logistics and civilian experts to these missions. Beyond Africa, the country’s police force participated in operations in Western Sahara, Cambodia, Yugoslavia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, East Timor, Haiti, Kosovo and Afghanistan, to mention but a few.

It is relevant to point out that Nigeria’s engagement is not only in peacekeeping or maintaining law and order across these nations; the country has helped stabilise and strengthen democracy in Africa. For instance, it’s on record that Nigeria’s former President Olusegun Obasanjo played a leading role in the international effort to restore democratic order in São Tomé and Principle when President Fradique de Menezes was toppled by the military in that country in July 2003 while visiting Nigeria. Obasanjo and other foreign leaders reined in the military junta that ousted Menezes. The former Nigerian president took Menezes in his plane, leading him back to power in the oil-rich island republic.

In addition, Nigeria’s effort helped ferry former military leader Yahya Jammeh from The Gambia when he became a stumbling block to constitutional order.

After losing the election his regime organised, Jammeh refused to concede defeat to Adama Baro, who won the poll. The private plane of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, now President Bola Tinubu, was deployed to evacuate the once-dreaded Jammeh out of The Gambia.

I can continue enumerating Nigeria’s efforts to help maintain peace and security worldwide.

It is against this backdrop of the country’s considerable efforts in maintaining peace and deepening democracy in Africa and beyond that the recent demand for a permanent seat for Africa in the UN Security Council be considered. No country in Africa has contributed to global peace and security than Nigeria in terms of human and material resources. The request for a well-deserved permanent seat for the continent was the highpoint of Nigeria’s presentation at the just-ended 79th session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA79) in the United States.

Vice President Kashim Shettima led Nigeria’s delegation to that session and presented the country’s national statement on behalf of President Tinubu. The president stayed back at home to attend to pressing domestic issues. That decision, the first by any Nigerian president since 1999, deserves commendation.

To say that Vice President Shettima ably represented the country is to state the obvious, particularly for those who watched the presentation live or on television. Resplendent in the country’s traditional white flowing babariga with a matching Borno cap, VP Shettima did an excellent job.

Making a case for this all-important seat on the UN’s exalted podium, the vice president said: “Reform of the Security Council is critical if the UN is to strengthen its relevance and credibility in our rapidly changing world. Some permanent members of the United Nations Security Council have offered encouraging, if tentative, indications of support on the issue of reform of the Council. We welcome the change in tone and urge acceleration in momentum to the process.

“The Security Council should be expanded, in the permanent and non-permanent member categories, to reflect the diversity and plurality of the world. We fully support the efforts of Secretary-General Guterres in this regard. Africa must be accorded the respect that it deserves in the Security Council. Our continent deserves a place in the permanent members category of the Security Council, with the same rights and responsibilities as other Permanent Members.”

With a population of over 1.3 billion people and home to the most critical mineral resources that will power the global economy, a permanent seat for Africa in the UN Security Council will ensure inclusivity and a spirit of brotherhood. Given its strategic importance, Africa should join the council’s five permanent members. And more than any other country on the African continent, Nigeria truly merits this seat. It is an entitlement and a matter of right.

First, the seat will serve as due compensation for Nigeria’s labour of service to the world. The country’s active participation in peacekeeping missions helped save countless lives and restore peace and stability to many countries. The UN has acknowledged this important work. In a publication of the world body in February 2019, the UN singled out Nigeria for praise for her service and sacrifice. However, the UN should do more than commendation. The world body should offer Nigeria this much-desired permanent seat to appreciate the country’s contribution.

Second, as indicated earlier, Nigeria contributed the most troops and police to UN missions among African nations. The Nigeria Police Force committed more men and materials to keep the peace in Africa and elsewhere. According to the Minister of Defence, Mohammed Badaru, Nigeria contributed to 41 peacekeeping missions globally and deployed over 200,000 troops to UN operations since her first deployment in the Congo. He spoke in New York at the summit of the Future Interactive Dialogue on the theme: “Enhancing Multilateralism for International Peace and Security.”

The attendant cost to Nigeria’s engagement in these peacekeeping operations is enormous. For instance, official sources revealed that ECOMOG, a regional mediation force put together to end the protracted Liberian civil war, was operated at an estimated cost of $8 billion to the Nigerian government.

Third, and more importantly, with its large population of young, energetic, and creative people and enormous resources, Nigeria can provide the required leadership for Africa at the UN Security Council.

This is a role the country has been performing for many decades. It has the potential to perform this work even better. Nigeria will be the real giant of Africa if it rises to this eminent status.

Former South African President, the highly revered Dr Nelson Mandela, was once reported to have said that the Black Race would not achieve its status until Nigeria sorted itself out.

When President Bola Tinubu’s administration’s reform agenda fully manifests, Nigeria will sort itself out sooner, not later. Then, the country will take its rightful place as the true leader of Africa in the community of nations.

. Rahman is a Senior Presidential Aide.

Residents of Rivers State on Saturday ignored the political crisis in the state and came out en mass to vote for leaders at the grassroots level.

Naija News reported that despite the controversy in the election, the Action Peoples Party(APP) emerged victorious, sweeping 22 of the 23 LGAs.

The Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC), RSIEC chairman, Justice Adolphus Enebeli, announced the election results in Port Harcourt.

He mentioned that the declaration of results for Etche Local Government Area has been put on hold due to the continuous process of tallying the votes.

See the full list below:

1. Abua/Odual – Vincent Reuben Obu

2. Ahoada-East – Chibudom Ezu.

3. Ahoada-West – Iyekor Ikporo.

4. Akuku-Toru – Hon. Mrs. Tonye Oniyide-Briggs (served as Commissioner for culture and tourism under former Gov Wike).

5. Andoni – Lazarus Gogote Nteogwuile.

6. Asari-Toru – Sule Amachree.

7. Bonny – Dame Hon. Anengi Barasua Claude-Wilcox (re-elected)

8. Degema – Harry Agiriye (former permanent secretary)

9. Eleme – Brain Gokpa (serving Caretaker Committee Chairman)

10. Emohua – David Omereji (serving Caretaker Committee Chairman)

11. Etche – Ongoing Collation

12. Gokana – Monday Dumiye

13. Ikwerre – Isreal Abosi

14. Khana – Martins Nwigbo

15. Obio/Akpor –Chijioke Ihunwo (serving Caretaker Committee Chairman)

16. Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni –Prince Isaac Umejuru (served as Commissioner for Urban Development under Gov. Fubara)

17. Ogu/Bolo – Ishmael Oforibika

18. Okrika – Igwe Achese (Former NUPENG President)

19. Omuma – Promise Reginald (serving Caretaker Committee Chairman)

20. Opobo/Nkoro – Enyiada Cookey-Gam (Re-elected)

21. Oyigbo – Gift Okere (former leader of the All Progressives Congress)

22. Port Harcourt – Ezebunwo Ichemati (serving Caretaker Committee Chairman)

23. Tai –Matthew Nenubari Dike (serving Caretaker Committee Chairman)

[NaijaNews]

The Director General of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Brigadier General Yushau Ahmed, says the recent increase in corps members’ allowance has not been implemented due to funds.

Daily Trust had reported how the Federal Government approved the increment of corps members’ monthly allowance from N33,000 to N77,000, effective from July 2024.

The increment, according to a statement by the NYSC on its official Facebook page, was contained in a letter from the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission, dated September 25, 2024 and signed by the Chairman, Mr. Ekpo Nta.

But despite the official announcement, the increment did not reflect on corps members’ September monthly allowance as they received N33,000 instead of the approved N77,000.

But speaking to BBC Hausa service, the NYSC DG explained that although there was approval for the increment, government was yet to release funds to the scheme for the implementation of the new allowance.

He said, “Not only the corps members, even our staff members’ salary has been increased about four to five months ago, but it has not been implemented yet. But we are hopeful that the new pay will be implemented soon, but the funds have not been released to us yet.

“The information we have did not specify when the new allowance will be paid, but we were assured that their monthly allowance has been increased from 29th July 2024.”

[DailyTrust]

Abdulmumuni Abiola, one of the sons of the late MKO, has vowed never to forgive his elder brother, Kola.

He accused Kola of refusing to give Abiola’s children their inheritance despite carrying out blood tests.

Abdulmumuni said Abiola willed £650,000 to his first four wives, but Kola refused to release the money to them.

Featuring on ‘Mic On Podcast’ hosted by Seun Okinbaloye, on Saturday, Abdulmumuni said: “Let me give you some background on that.

“We did blood tests so we had a list of qualifying children. If you look at the will and you see how systematic it is, he names the wives and he apportions the money to them.

“I would like to give you some information on that. My mum was number two (Kudirat Olayinka Abiola). I think she was apportioned £150,000.

“At the time, Kola had sighted the fact that my mum died before my dad died, and because of that, British law would not allow him to release the £150,000 to us.

“He also said that his mum too is dead and he didn’t get the £300,000 for his mother. But you are the one sharing the money, so it’s odd…If he wanted to, he could have given us the money.

“Not to mention my mum’s apartment in the UK, before we knew anything, Kola had sold it without telling my brothers or my sister anything about it.

“So you can see that they were systematic to try to impoverish my mum’s side of the family. And for that reason, I don’t think I will be able to forgive him (Kola).”

[Dailypost]

Chelsea Football Club coach, Enzo Maresca, has named Moses Caicedo the team’s captain.

According to a statement from Fabrizio Romano’s X account on Sunday, the midfielder praised Chelsea’s coach for appointing him captain.

“I’m grateful to Maresca for making me Chelsea’s captain.

“I want to become a legend here, and that’s what I’m working hard to achieve every day.

“It means a lot to captain Chelsea. It’s a dream come true
because I grew up supporting Chelsea,” he said.

Chelsea is set to battle Nottingham Forest on Sunday in the 2024/2025 season.

It should be recalled that Moises Caicedo signed an eight-year deal with Chelsea in a £100m transfer from Brighton, with an additional £15m in performance-related add-ons, after turning down a £111m move to Liverpool.

[Punch]

Every year, the federal government of Nigeria publishes a list of some citizens it has found worthy to honour with national awards of different categories. A hint on those that may receive the highest awards this year which was last week given by president Bola Ahmed Tinubu has elicited some controversies that government quickly resolved.

As we await the full list to be made public soonest, it is probably premature to begin to comment on the few names we have heard or indeed to initiate a critical analysis of what to expect. Today is not the best time for such a critical analysis. In any case, it is not only the national awards that should be a source of worry to Nigerians.

It is indeed time to worry about a new trend in our country in which many people are given undeserved awards. The most prominent of such awards which are organized by the nation’s major newspapers clearly depict an effective marketing design for revenue generation. Other groups and associations are also part of the sale of honours to many Nigerians.

Nigerian universities that have turned their convocation ceremonies into awards of honorary degrees to the highest bidders have become part of the game. Amidst this disturbing trend, there are a few awards that have stood the test of time. One of such awards was the one given to the former governor of Kano state, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso by the Nigerian Union of Journalists NUJ in December 2013. Incidentally, I attended the event.

It all began some two weeks before the ceremony when the NUJ delegation paid me a courtesy visit to request that I serve as Guest Speaker at the event. After a full session of the rationale for the award, I told the delegation to await my response a week later. I then proceeded to undertake extensive research on the activities of the man Kwankwaso whom I had never physically met before then. From the speech I gave at the occasion on December 15, 2023, my findings were overwhelming.

First, I was pleased with the NUJ’s decision because of its specificity. Unlike many generalized unverifiable awards, Kwankwaso was picked as the best Nigerian Governor in the area of Fiscal Responsibility- a concept which refers to openness, discipline and accountability in governance.

Besides, the award was bestowed on only one nominee unlike today’s award where as many as 8 governors are honoured for no specific achievements making it obvious that they were essentially purchased. I agreed with the NUJ because I found concrete evidence that within a few months in office, Kwankwaso had converted Kano into a viable entity by raising its internally generated revenue from N400million naira to N2billion monthly. He then blocked all leakages so that funds in the treasury are always available to be prudently managed to attain fiscal responsibility. Many of today’s governors and other top office-holders have more than such funds but they deliberately create leakages which are then diverted to personal use or at best shared with party chieftains to attract their continued support.

Kwankwaso at the time did not only block leakages but went ahead to abolish frivolous expenditures hitherto incurred in the office of the governor and in the entire state bureaucracy from which he made a saving of N500million every month.He also patronized aggressive revenue drive, must insisted that such must be handled with a human face to avoid the practice of- subjecting citizens to multiple taxes for little or no service. Beyond revenue generation, he prioritized accountability in which all state officials including the governor were required to give an account of whatever they did on behalf of the people who elected them into office. Consequently, everything including any expense on security was accounted for in Kano because Kwankwaso saw security vote as “an avenue for stealing.”

Another reason why the choice of Kwankwaso was apt for the award was his concept of transparency in governance that was premised on open government. Kano at the time had a model in which anyone who cared to know about any government project did not have to labour to get the details as the government published such details in the media every week. Under the circumstance, there was no need for any state agency to avoid requests on the Freedom of Information Act. Those who did not know what was happening in government in the state were restricted to persons who had no interest in the subject. This was the direct opposite of happenings in some states whose governors manipulated the execution of public projects. In such states, no one got to know when bids for government projects were purportedly publicised; contractors who won the bids as well as how and why they won were also not known

One of the attributes of fiscal responsibility is wise spending. This cannot happen in states whose recurrent estimates are higher than capital allocation. In such states, government merely meets personnel emolument while development projects on substantive issues like education, health and agriculture are virtually ignored. In the case of Kano, the budget for 2013 – the year of the NUJ award, merely allocated 25 percent to recurrent expenditure while it wisely reserved 75 percent for development projects. Accordingly, Kwankwaso reportedly established 3 new cities – Kwankwasiyya, Amana and Bandirawo. In addition, the jobs were completed without variations in their costs there- by reflecting strong faith in fiscal responsibility and accountability.

Several government publications which I found at the time of my enquiries confirmed Kwankwaso to be financially responsible because he insisted on keeping to the provisions of an approved budget. There was no room for bogus spending or the practice of succumbing to local pressures and the emotions of the moment to make donations that were not captured in the budget. He was also against engaging in governance by publicity which leads to spending more funds publicizing a project than the cost of executing the project. Rather, the focus was on the real needs of his people and not on frivolities. Hence, education-the key to human capital development received the lion share of the annual budget of the state throughout his tenure.

I ended my speech with a commendation to the then governor for 3 observations- about his approach to governance. The first was the seamless effort he put to establish beyond reasonable doubt that there was no need for bogus unaccountable security votes because the states with huge amounts for security measures turned out to be the ones with the highest security challenges. The second was his departure from the practice in many states where the focus of governors was on the state capital at the expense of rural areas. Kwankwaso discouraged urban migration by turning the 44 local government areas in his state to project sites. The third observation I made with satisfaction was that Kwankwaso was not among the governors who embarked on building new government houses when there was nothing wrong with the old mansions where their predecessors lived.

Exactly one week after the award, the governor sent me a handwritten letter of appreciation in which he invited me to visit Kano even without his knowledge to see for myself two areas my speech did not touch. “First, 300 computer schools as well as primary schools with boarding facilities, free food for students 5times a week, provision of uniforms, desks and multifarious instructional materials, training of 100 Pilots, monthly allowance for medical students and soft loan scheme for teachers. Second, 5kms of roads recently dualized and electrified in each of the 44 local government areas in the state in addition to one Technical School, one School of Islamic Studies, one Garment Industry and one Micro Finance Bank in every local government area.”

I have no doubt that many other analysts especially political opponents could have found certain things wrong with the administration of Kano state between 2011 and 2015. The purpose of this article therefore is not to suggest that the state had a saint for 4 years. Instead, the point to be made is that the tenure of a governor or any political officeholder ought to have specific and verifiable facts which would make the awards given to such leaders to be persuasive. It is therefore expected that the current governor Abba Kabir Yusuf who is an apostle of Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso has no excuse not to out-perform his mentor.

The Rivers State Government will swear in the 23 chairmen declared winners of Saturday’s Local Government Council elections this afternoon (Sunday).

The Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) announced that the Action Peoples Party (APP) won all 23 local government area chairmanship seats in the election.

The State Government also confirmed that the election has concluded, and it will swear in the winners today.

In a statement signed by the Secretary to the State Government, Dr Tammy Wenike Danagogo, it was announced that the chairmen would be sworn in at 4 pm.

The statement read: “His Excellency, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, GSSRS, the Governor of Rivers State, will today, Sunday, October 6, 2024, swear in the newly elected Council Chairmen at the Executive Council Chambers, Government House, Port Harcourt, by 4pm.

The newly elected Chairmen, along with one (1) guest each, are expected to be seated by 3:30 pm.”

Background

Recall the elections took place, yesterday, amid gunshots, bomb explosions and protests in some parts of the state.

The development, which did not fall short of pre-election predictions, left many residents worried, especially as a result of minimal presence of the police across all polling areas.

Sunday Vanguard observed that irrespective of widespread fears of violence across 23 Local Government Areas, LGAs in Rivers, the turnout appeared substantial. In many areas monitored, the exercise kicked off early without the presence of the police following the supply of sensitive and non-sensitive materials by the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission,RSIEC.

The police had earlier said they were not providing security for the polls given a court order restraining them and other security agencies from providing security during the poll. A Federal High Court in Abuja had prevented the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, from releasing the 2023 voter register to RSIEC. It also stopped the Inspector-General of Police and Department of State Services, DSS, from providing security for the exercise.

The matter pitched the camp of Governor Siminalyi Fubara and Minister of Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Nyesom Wike, against each other, thereby heightening tension in the state. However, RSIEC said it had received a copy of the voter register from INEC since last year.

Earlier, Wike’s supporters staged a protest in Port Harcourt, kicking against the election.

[Vanguard]