Category: Business & Money

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has recorded 10,872 convictions and recovered over N1.23 trillion in cash and assets in the last 34 months, its chairman, Ola Olukoyede, said. Olukoyede disclosed this at a media interactive session to mark his three-year stewardship at the commission’s headquarters in Abuja on Monday.

He described the period between October 2023 and July 2026 as a “period of sustained enforcement, institutional reform, prosecution, asset recovery, restitution and stronger collaboration at home and abroad.” The EFCC boss recalled that at his confirmation by the National Assembly, he outlined a three-pronged agenda focused on the commission’s mandate, using the anti-graft war to stimulate economic growth and adherence to the rule of law.

He said that “to the glory of God, we have kept faith with the agenda of proper focus on the mandate of the EFCC in the overall interest of Nigerians. He said, “asset recovery has been another major pillar of our stewardship. “Between Oct. 1 2023 and June 30, 2026, the commission recorded recoveries of N1, 233,612,040,411.11, $684.478,457.32, £373,905.78, €9,343,803.66 in addition to recoveries in other currencies. “Of the naira amount, approximately N397.26 billion (33 per cent) represented direct recoveries for the Federal Government.

“Also, N836.34 billion (67 per cent) represented indirect recoveries made on behalf of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), state revenue services, companies, individuals and foreign victims. “Two out of every three naira recovered were on behalf of beneficiaries other than the Federal Government.” According to him, recovery is only truly meaningful when value is returned to the public interest and to the rightful beneficiaries.

“During the period, N661.32 billion and 492.37 million U.S. dollars were released to beneficiaries. The naira releases included about N325.35 billion, paid directly to individuals and corporate bodies.

Nigeria has two clocks. One counts down to elections. The other counts forward to prosperity. The first moves in four-year intervals. The second move in decades. Much of Nigeria’s economic frustration may come from trying to make the second obey the first. Consider what the economy actually requires. A child entering school today may not become a productive worker for another 15 or 20 years.

An industrial investment may take a decade before it creates an ecosystem of suppliers, skilled workers and exports. Infrastructure can take years before its full economic value becomes visible. Politics does not have that patience. A government has four years to prove itself. A politician must show results before voters return to the ballot box.

The temptation is therefore obvious: prioritise what can be completed, announced or commissioned within a political tenure over what may produce its greatest economic return after that tenure has ended. “A government can inherit the pain of a reform without inheriting its eventual reward. Its successor may inherit the benefits. The political incentive, therefore, can quietly favour interruption.” That is where the incentives begin to diverge. Politics rewards visibility. Development rewards continuity.

Nigeria’s current economic moment makes the distinction especially important. The country has undertaken some of its most consequential economic reforms in years. The IMF says the reforms have strengthened macroeconomic stability and resilience and projects real GDP growth of 4.1% in 2026. Yet Nigeria is now entering another electoral period while those reforms are still working their way through the economy. This creates a difficult political question.

What happens to a reform when its costs are immediate, but its benefits belong to the future? That is the problem with economic time.

Manchester City have opened talks with Chelsea over a potential £120 million move for Argentinian midfielder Enzo Fernandez Manchester City have opened talks with Chelsea over a potential £120 million move for Argentinian midfielder Enzo Fernandez. The Premier League champions have made contact with Chelsea as they explore a late deal for the 25-year-old in what could become one of the biggest transfer stories of deadline day.

City’s interest in Fernandez has intensified despite the club missing Chelsea’s August 14 deadline for an offer. Chelsea had previously agreed with Fernandez’s representatives that the midfielder could leave for £120m before the transfer deadline. However, no bid materialised before the initial deadline. The Blues are now understood to be demanding a minimum of £120m, with negotiations between the two clubs underway over the final valuation.

A deal at that figure would make Fernandez one of the most expensive signings in Premier League history. Fernandez could reunite with Manchester City manager Enzo Maresca, who worked with the midfielder during his time in charge of Chelsea. Maresca is reportedly keen to work with the Argentina international again, while Fernandez is open to the possibility of moving to the Etihad Stadium.

The midfielder joined Chelsea from Benfica in January 2023 for a British-record fee at the time and has since established himself as a key figure for club and country. City’s late approach has therefore set up a potentially dramatic conclusion to the summer transfer window, with Chelsea facing a decision over whether to retain one of their most influential midfielders or sanction a blockbuster sale.

Head of Sports at BusinessDay Media, a seasoned Digital Content Producer, and FIFA/CAF Accredited Journalist with over a decade of sports reporting.Has a deep understanding of the Nigerian and global sports landscape and skills in delivering comprehensive and insightful

Nigeria’s economy grew 4.43 percent in the second quarter of 2026, its fastest second-quarter expansion in five years, but the stronger headline masks a sharp divergence across major sectors, with agriculture and services accelerating while industrial growth weakened significantly. The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said real GDP growth at basic prices increased from 3.89 percent in the first quarter to 4.43 percent in the second quarter, compared with 4.23 percent in the same period of 2025.

The figure was close to BusinessDay’s GDP Nowcast, which projected 4.5 percent ahead of the official release. The 0.07 percentage-point difference gives the nowcast a squared forecast error of just 0.0049. But the more important signal in the official data is what lies beneath the headline: non-oil growth accelerated alongside oil, agriculture strengthened, services remained dominant, while industry failed to sustain last year’s pace.

Industry grew 3.96 percent in Q2, down sharply from 7.46 percent a year earlier, according to the NBS. Agriculture expanded 4.39 percent, compared with 2.82 percent, while services grew 4.60 percent from 3.94 percent. The economy is therefore growing faster, but not evenly. The question for policymakers is increasingly whether Nigeria can turn the improving headline growth rate into a broader expansion of productive capacity.

The Q2 performance extends the improvement in Nigeria’s second-quarter growth rate from 2.51 percent in 2023 to 3.19 percent in 2024, 4.23 percent in 2025 and now 4.43 percent. The latest increase also represents a stronger quarter-on-quarter pace than Q1 2026, when real GDP grew 3.89 percent. The acceleration is not solely an oil story. NBS data show that non-oil growth rose to 4.31 percent in Q2 from 3.94 percent in Q1, while oil-sector growth increased to 7.31 percent from 2.57 percent.

Average daily crude production also rose to 1.72 million barrels per day