By Seun Ibiyemi The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has deepened its strategic partnership with the United Kingdom’s customs authority following a high-level bilateral meeting aimed at boosting trade facilitation and transparency between both countries. The engagement, held in London on March 18, 2026, brought together the Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, and Ms Megan…
…as Dangote Refinery reshapes oil trade By Seun Ibiyemi Nigeria’s crude oil exports declined by 14.41 per cent to $31.54bn in 2025, down from $36.85bn recorded in 2024, as the operations of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery significantly altered the country’s oil trade dynamics. This was revealed in the Balance of Payments report released by the…
By Seun Ibiyemi Mastercard has announced plans to acquire stablecoin infrastructure firm BVNK in a deal valued at up to $1.8 billion, marking a major step in its expansion into blockchain-based payments. The transaction, which includes up to $300 million in contingent payments, is expected to close before the end of 2026, subject to regulatory…
For years, the Idiroko border in Ogun State has been synonymous with smuggling and illicit cross-border trade. But a new enforcement drive by the Nigeria Customs Service is beginning to alter that narrative. Since assuming office as Acting Customs Area Controller of the Ogun I Command, Oladapo Afeni has intensified intelligence-driven operations that have led…
By Seun Ibiyemi Even as Nigeria’s food inflation rate eased sharply in February, millions of households continue to face acute hunger and food insecurity, a stark reminder that headline price data does not always reflect the daily struggles of ordinary Nigerians. According to the latest figures from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), food inflation…
By Seun Ibiyemi Dangote Industries Limited has signed a $4.2 billion natural gas supply agreement with GCL Group to power a major fertilizer plant in Ethiopia, the company announced on Monday. The deal, signed by Aliko Dangote in Lagos, guarantees a 25-year energy supply to the fertilizer complex, ensuring uninterrupted operations once the plant becomes…
By Seun Ibiyemi Nigeria’s headline inflation rate eased slightly to 15.06 per cent in February 2026, according to the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) report released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). The report, published in Abuja on Monday, showed a marginal decline of 0.04 percentage points from the 15.10 per cent recorded in…
By Seun Ibiyemi Nigeria and the United Kingdom are set to formalise a £746 million financing agreement aimed at upgrading key maritime infrastructure at the Lagos Port Complex (Apapa Quays) and Tin Can Island Port Complex, as President Bola Tinubu begins a historic state visit to the UK. The deal, to be signed between UK…
By Seun Ibiyemi The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Apapa Area Command, in collaboration with the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), has intercepted two containers loaded with thousands of cartons of codeine-containing syrup concealed in household utensils at Apapa Port. The seizure came barely five days after the Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, visited…
By Seun Ibiyemi Nigeria’s headline inflation rate eased marginally to 15.06 per cent in February 2026, down from 15.10 per cent recorded in January, according to the latest data from the National Bureau of Statistics. The data showed that the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which measures the average change in prices of goods and services…
