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United Capital Group Unveils First Digital MicroFinance Bank, UCEEU
nited Capital Group (UCAP) has unveiled the first digital MicroFinance Bank in the country.This is in an effort to bridge financial inclusion gap in Nigeria and increase access to financial services.With this, UCAP has become the first digital microfinance institution to start Microfinance Bank in Nigeria.
UCEE is a subsidiary of UCAP, which began operations in Lagos and is adopting a hybrid banking model by integrating technology of a neo bank with an operational infrastructure of a traditional bank. Mr Peter Ashade, the Group Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of United Capital, said the introduction of the Microfinance Bank was inspired by promoting financial inclusion as a tool for economic empowerment and to improve lives across Africa.Ashade described the opening of the bank as a significant milestone in the journey of United Capital services industry, marked by legacy, growth and transformational business success.He said: “Our activities here today mark not only the unvieling of a new financial institution, but the beginning of a vision that aims to redefine banking experience in Nigeria to bring about positive changes in the lives of our people.“The opening of UCEE is a crown to the sixth decade journey of UCAP, which started as a department with the United Bank For Africa ecosystem”.According to him, the group is determined to replicate the success story of UCAP at the newly birth Microfinance Bank.He said the Microfinance Bank, since its inception, has grown to understand the plight of strong spirited Nigerians living in rural areas.Ashade noted that data revealed that approximately 40 million Nigerians remained formally excluded from financial ecosystem.“It will be our joy to see the entire ecosystem do more to provide the last man access and focus on deepening financial inclusion.In her remark, Ms Esther Adeola-Balogun, Managing Director/CEO, UCEE Microfinance Bank, said the financial institution was opened to democratise access to credit and innovative banking solutions.Adeola-Balogun stated that the bank would redefine banking to be more than just transactions, but to serve as partner in supporting and enhancing the quality of lives of customers.She explained that financial institution’s medium of reaching the public is through its Mobile Application, which is a one-stop shop for all its services and products for both public and private sector salary earners as well as traders.“The bank has already hit the ground running especially in the heart of the Lagos Island market, where we are located.“We are already selling our MSMEs products to the market traders.“The mobile bank is the first stop centre for the bank, but there is a banking hall for customers who are not technologically savvy to walk in and transact,” she said.She said that the bank’s customers would enjoy access to wide range of services which includes: loans, savings, deposits, cardless withdrawals and bill payments, among others.The managing director added that the microfinance bank would provide personalised financial solutions, from saving plans to budgeting tools, to help its customers not only manage their money, but to empower them.Also speaking, Mr Tony Elumelu, Chairman, Heir Holdings, lauded UCAP for its forward-thinking initiatives and impressive track record.Elumelu commended the company’s role in advancing “Africapitalism” by promoting prosperity and economic transformation in Africa.He expressed his support for UCEE’s mission to serve Micro, Small, and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs), which reflects his own passion for supporting growing businesses.Sir Stephen Nwadiuko, Chairman, UCEE Microfinance Bank, said the bank chose to operate largely digitally because that is what drives business currently.Nwadiuko added that the bank would leverage other physical platforms to increase its market share in the industry.He said: “We believe that everyone regardless of their background or financial standing deserves equal access to financial empowerment.“This fusion enables us provide unparallel financial solutions; by breaking down barriers and bridging gaps, we provide inclusive, innovative, convenient and accessible banking services. NANCOVER
281 Inmates Missing from Custodial Centre after Borno Flood
By David Torough, Abuja
Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) has declared 281 inmates missing from the Medium Security Custodial Centre, Maiduguri, Borno State.
NCoS said this followed an evacuation after the flood that engulfed the state capital.
A statement onby the Service Public Relations Officer (SPRO), Mr Abubakar Umar yesterday in Abuja said seven other inmates had been recaptured.
Umar said that the service was in custody of the details of the missing inmates, including their biometrics.
“The flood brought down the walls of the correctional facilities, including the medium security custodial centre Maiduguri (MSCC) as well as the staff quarters in the city.
“Upon the evacuation of inmates by officers of the service with support from sister security agencies to a safe and secure facility, 281 inmates were observed to be missing.
“However, it is important to note that the service is in custody of their details, including their biometrics, which is being made available to the public.
“The service is working in synergy with other security agencies as both covert and overt deployments have been activated to look out for them.
“Presently, a total of seven (7) inmates have been recaptured and returned to custody, while efforts are on ground to track down the rest and bring them back to safe custody.“While this effort is on, the public is assured that the incident does not impede or affect public safety,” he said.
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NNPCL Lifts Petrol from Dangote at N898 Per Litre
By Tony Obiechina, Abuja
After controversies, trucks from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL) yesterday lifted petrol from the Dangote Refinery.
NNPCL revealed that Dangote Refinery sold the fuel at N898 per litre.
The national oil company began loading yesterday after moving about 300 trucks to the 650,000 capacity refinery Dangote Refinery located in Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos State.
Its spokesman, Olufemi Soneye was quoted as saying, “We successfully loaded PMS at the Dangote Refinery today [Sunday].
”“The claim that we purchased it at N760 per liter is incorrect.
“For this initial loading, the price from the refinery was N898 per liter.
”At least, over 70 trucks had loaded at the time of this report.
This marks an end to the month-long debate over the quality and sale of the Dangote petrol.
Speaking to newsmen at the refinery, the Vice President of Oil and Gas at Dangote Industries Limited (DIL), Devakumar Edwin described the commencement of the petrol lifting moment of pride to every Nigerian.
He said, “My President has been showing presentations that 52 years ago, we were trying to see how to solve the problem of PMS supply and the queues. Now, after 52 years, we have a solution.
“And the solution is local production of PMS and it is from a Nigerian oil company. And as EPC contractor, it was constructed by a Nigerian company.
“So, it’s a matter of pride that a Nigerian oil company, constructed by a Nigerian-owned company, is able to generate PMS from the local crude and daily will not only to meet the entire requirement of Nigeria, but can also have surplus to export. So, it is a time and moment of great pride to every Nigerian.”
Edwin said 44 percent of the PMS production from the Dangote refinery can meet the requirement of the entire country.
“If you look at the refinery as a whole, PMS alone, every day, 650,000 barrels of crude if we’re processing, we can generate more than 54 million litres of PMS.
“And, of course, the refinery has the capacity to produce various other products too. 44% of the production can meet the entire requirement of the country, 56% of the production has to be exported. “So, it is a huge refinery. So, it is not only going to be doing import substitution, but it is also going to make Forex generation through export revenue.
“The gantries are actually 86 and they can load 86 trucks at a go,” he said.
Last Friday, in Abuja, a member of the Presidential Committee on the Sale of Crude Oil and Refined Product and Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Zacch Adedeji confirmed that the NNPCL remains the sole buyer of petrol from the Dangote refinery while willing off-takers are free to lift diesel and other products from the refinery.
According to Adedeji, the NNPCL would further distribute to other independent marketers after lifting from the refinery.
He said the nation’s oil company will commence the sale of crude oil to the Dangote refinery in naira from October 1.
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CBN Issues 30-day Deadline to Payment Service Providers on PoS Transactions
By Tony Obiechina, Abuja
Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has issued a new directive to Payment Service Providers (PSPs), requiring them to comply with enhanced routing guidelines for Point of Sale (PoS) transactions.This move is aimed at strengthening the monitoring of electronic transactions across Nigeria.
The directive issued on Wednesday aims at strengthening the monitoring of electronic transactions across Nigeria following CBN’s initiative to diversify the Payment Terminal Service Aggregator (PTSA) structure, which previously operated through a single aggregator. In a circular signed by Oladimeji Yisa Taiwo on behalf of the CBN Payments System Management Department, the apex bank mandates that all PoS transactions from merchant and agent locations—whether physical or electronic—must now be routed through any CBN-licensed PTSA.The directive is part of efforts to decentralize PoS transaction routing and address concerns over the centralization of such transactions under a single entity.In Aug. 2011, the CBN initially granted a PTSA license to the Nigeria Interbank Settlement System (NIBSS) Plc to serve as the sole aggregator of PoS transactions.However, to promote competition and enhance service delivery, the CBN awarded a second PTSA license to Unified Payment Services Limited (UPSL) on April 19.This development aims to reduce the dependence on a single aggregator for the management of PoS transactions, promoting transparency and operational efficiency in Nigeria’s growing electronic payments landscape.