CAPITAL MARKET
Shareholders hail BUA’s corporate governance
Shareholders have commended the corporate governance leadership style of the chairman of BUA Group, Abdul Rabiu, urging other business leaders to emulate his compassionate approach to staff and stakeholders’ welfare. The shareholders said Rabiu has consistently demonstrated how to translate private enterprise and wealth into public benefits by opening up his companies for public ownership through highly incentivised employee compensation and welfare schemes and customer empowerment. —-Punch
UPDC REIT reports N752.4 million Q1 ‘increase’ on booming rental income
UPDC Real Estate Investment Trust reported a N752.4 million ‘increase attributable to unit holders’ in its unaudited Q1 2026 financial statements, up from N551.7 million in the corresponding period of 2025. The growth was largely driven by stronger top-line performance, with rental income for the period ended March 31, 2026 rising to N759.8 million, up 82.78% from N415.7 million year-on-year. —-Nairametrics
NGX extends trading hours
The Nigerian Exchange Limited has announced the expansion of its trading hours from 9:00am to 4:00pm, effective Monday, 27 April 2026. The move is designed to deepen market liquidity, enhance price discovery, and broaden investor access. Approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission Nigeria, the expansion shifts the market opening earlier from 9:30am to 9:00am and extends the close from 2:30pm to 4:00pm, marking a significant evolution in the Exchange’s market structure. —-Punch
CBN to raise N750 billion in second Treasury Bills auction in April
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has announced plans to raise N750 billion through a Treasury Bills auction scheduled for April 22, 2026, the second in April and in line with the Debt Management Office’s (DMO) borrowing plan. The planned auction was disclosed in an official tender notice issued by the apex bank to traders and seen by Nairametrics. —-Nairametrics
Top 10 Nigerian stockbrokers in Q1 2026 ranked by trade value
The Nigerian Exchange published its Q1 2026 broker performance report, ranking stockbrokers based on the value and volume of trades executed during the period. According to the report, total transactions facilitated by Nigerian stockbrokers reached N4.17 trillion in value, with the top 10 firms accounting for 53.65%, equivalent to N2.2 trillion. The Exchange also reported a cumulative trading volume of 117.9 billion shares, of which 48.59% was executed by the top 10 brokers featured on the volume ranking. —-Nairametrics
Gains by Dangote Cement, 24 others lift capitalisation by N87 billion
The Nigerian equities market extended its positive sentiments as investors’ investments rose by N87 billion on gains in Dangote Cement Plc and 24 others. The all-share index rose by 135.97 points, representing a gain of 0.06 per cent, to close at 218,249.81 points. Similarly, the overall market capitalisation value gained N87 billion to close at N140.523 trillion. The market positive performance was driven by price appreciation in large and medium capitalised stocks which are Dangote Cement, Lafarge Africa, NASCON Allied Industries, UACN and Chemical and Allied Products (CAP). —-Guardian
European stocks higher as U.S.-Iran ceasefire deadline looms
LONDON — European stocks edged into positive territory on Tuesday as investors gauge developments ahead of the expiry deadline for the two-week ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran. The pan-European Stoxx 600 gained 0.1%, with a majority of sectors in positive territory, while the region’s major bourses were also mainly trading higher by 8:30 a.m. in London (3:30 a.m. E.T.). —-CNBC
BUSINESS AND ECONOMY
Wale Edun out as Tinubu elevates Taiwo Oyedele to Finance Minister
President Bola Tinubu has elevated Minister of State Taiwo Oyedele to the position of Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, as his predecessor, Wale Edun, officially leaves the Federal Executive Council. This was disclosed in a statement issued by Yomi Odunuga, Special Adviser, Media and Publicity to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation. The removal of Wale Edun came just a day after the outgoing Minister marked his 70th birthday on April 20, 2026. —-Nairametrics
CBN tightens grip as interbank deficit hits N4.1tn
In a strategic move to curb rising food and fuel prices, the Central Bank of Nigeria has tightened its grip on the financial system, pushing the interbank deficit to N4.1tn. By vacuuming out excess liquidity through high-yield government bills, the CBN is betting that a short-term drought in the banking system is a necessary sacrifice to stabilise the naira and prevent inflation from spiralling out of control after its recent jump to 15.4 per cent. —- Punch
Naira weakens to N1,349/$ as US dollar falls on Iran talks
The naira depreciated to N1,349/$ on Monday, down from N1,342.5/$ recorded at the close of trading on Friday. This is according to data published on the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). The currency’s decline comes amid contrasting global currency movements, as the U.S. dollar weakened against major peers on the back of renewed optimism over potential peace talks linked to the Iran conflict. —-Nairametrics
Stakeholders Tackle Key Challenges Reshaping Nigeria’s Tax System
The Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN) has said that the upcoming 28th Annual Tax Conference will gather stakeholders at all levels to examine critical issues shaping Nigeria’s tax system. President and chairman of the Council of CITN, Innocent Ohagwa, disclosed this in Lagos ahead of the CITN’s 28th Annual Tax Conference scheduled to hold in Abuja. —-Leadership
CBN, NCC unveil committees to safeguard consumers from fraudsters
The Committee on Payment Systems and Consumer Protection and a Joint Committee on Telecoms Identity Risk Management System (TIRMS) Portal. The move was sealed through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by both parties yesterday in Abuja. The pact also opens opportunities for the parties harness the potential of the telecommunications and financial sectors for better development of the country. —- TheSun
IMF/World Bank Meetings: Dangote Champions Infrastructure As Catalyst For Growth
Africa’s leading industrialist and President and Chief Executive of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, has reaffirmed the central role of infrastructure development, job creation, and private sector investment in accelerating Africa’s economic transformation. Dangote made this assertion during a series of high-level engagements with global financial leaders on the sidelines of the recently concluded International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank Spring Meetings in Washington, D.C. —-NewTelegraph
OIL AND GAS
Nigeria buys 61.7m barrels US crude amid bulk exports
Nigeria imported about 61.7 million barrels of crude oil from the United States between January 2024 and January 2026, underscoring the country’s growing rel ianceon foreign feedstock to support domestic refining despite being a major oil producer. This is despite the fact that Nigeria exported over 300 million barrels of crude in the first 10 months of 2025 and 55.39 million barrels in January and February 2026. —-Punch
Nigeria exports 55.39m barrels as Dangote battles crude shortage
Nigeria exported 55.39 million barrels of crude oil in the first two months of 2026, even as the Dangote Petroleum Refinery continues to struggle with inadequate domestic feedstock supply. According to the latest data from the Central Bank of Nigeria, the country shipped out 31.31 million barrels in January and 24.08 million barrels in February. In January, crude production averaged 1.46 million barrels per day with exports at 1.01 mbpd. In February, production fell to 1.31 mbpd while exports averaged 0.86 mbpd. —Punch
DisCos remit N77.99 billion in Q4 2025, performance dips to 91.19% – NERC
Nigeria’s electricity distribution companies (DisCos) remitted a total of N77.99 billion in the fourth quarter of 2025, representing 91.19% of their financial obligations to the market. This is according to the latest quarterly report released by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC). The performance reflects a slight decline compared to the third quarter of 2025, raising concerns about liquidity and operational efficiency within Nigeria’s power sector. —-Nairametrics
Two Decades of Erha Field: A playbook of long-term value creation
March 27, 2026, marked 20 years since first oil from the Erha Field on Oil Mining License (OML) 133. While the milestone is often assessed through production and revenue, Erha’s greater significance lies in what it demonstrates about long-term value creation – how regulatory clarity, capital discipline, and Nigerian Content consideration can convert complex offshore resources into enduring national assets. —-Guardian
TECHNOLOGY
Flutterwave denies $75m government investment, says IPO not imminent
Africa’s leading fintech company, Flutterwave, has denied reports that Nigeria’s federal government approved a $75 million investment in the company, describing the claims as inaccurate and misleading. The company’s response follows tweet from a special assistant to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and earlier reports that Bola Ahmed Tinubu had authorised the investment through the Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MoFI). —-BusinessDay
Meet Apple Inc.’s new CEO, John Ternus, to lead $4 trillion tech giant
Apple Inc. has named John Ternus as its next chief executive officer, marking a significant leadership transition at the $4 trillion technology company. Ternus will take over on September 1, 2026, succeeding Tim Cook, who is set to move into the role of executive chairman. In a statement, Apple said the decision was unanimously approved by its board and is the result of a long-term succession planning process. —-Nairametrics
Anthropic takes $5B from Amazon and pledges $100B in cloud spending in return
Anthropic announced on Monday that Amazon has agreed to invest a fresh $5 billion, bringing Amazon’s total investment in the company to $13 billion. Anthropic, for its part, has agreed to spend over $100 billion on AWS over the next 10 years, obtaining up to 5 GW of new computing capacity to train and run Claude. —-TechCrunch
WhatsApp’s premium pivot divides free, paid users
WhatsApp, a Meta-owned messaging platform, is currently testing a new premium subscription service known as ‘WhatsApp Plus’, introducing a range of features that will not be available to regular users on the free version. The optional plan, currently rolling out to a liM