Business
Nigerian govt agencies to unlock $25bn revenue through electricity, digital development
Two Nigerian government agencies, the Galaxy Backbone and the Rural Electrification Agency, have signed a partnership to provide electricity and digital connectivity to schools, hospitals, and other public institutions across the country.
This comes as the federal government agencies said the initiative is expected to help unlock $25 billion in revenue annually associated with the lack of electricity and other infrastructural development in Nigeria.
This was made known during a Memorandum of Understanding signing event in Abuja on Friday.
Speaking on the partnership, the Managing Director of GBB, Prof. Ibrahim Adeyanyu, said it would ensure effectiveness in government services to Nigerians.
He explained that the collaboration will ensure that hospitals, universities, security outfits, and government institutions have access to electricity and digital connectivity.
“We are going to target public institutions to make them more efficient and reduce the cost of governance.
“Already, we are looking at starting with a number of federal institutions within Abuja, including the National Hospital and some security outfit institutions within Abuja, and we would like to work this infrastructure deployment to get out of Galaxy Backbone, Abuja.
“Imagine providing access to the internet and electricity to the lowest micro-level of the sub-national, the local government level. Imagine how we would transform local government administration. And this is very much also in line with Mr. President, where the roles and responsibilities of local government have been brought back to make them more effective and to make sure that governance has gone down to the community level,” he stated.
On his part, the Managing Director of REA, Abba Abubakar Aliyu, said the MoU is an effort by President Bola Ahmed to drive inclusive development in Nigeria.
He emphasised that the initiative would unlock $25 billion annually associated with lack of electricity and infrastructural development in the country.
According to him, the partnership will ensure that no community is left behind in Tinubu’s government’s renewed hope agenda and the realisation of its $1 trillion economy target.
“For us, today (Friday), we are showing and demonstrating how two different government agencies can collaborate towards the development of this country. Today, we are showing we are planting the seed to unlock a $25 billion economy. The cost of lack of electricity and associated development initiatives within the country is costing the country $25 billion annually.
“Today, we are looking at contributing to the objective of Mr. President towards the realisation of the $1 trillion economy. Today, we are planting the seed for the development of small, medium, and micro enterprises across the country. Today, we are enhancing the governance of this country by making public institutions more efficient, operating with less cost, and also having all the necessary digital requirements for them to carry out their own functions.
“The nexus between electricity, financial inclusion, and the digital economy cannot be overemphasised. We have seen it over and over in the study that wherever there is no electricity, there is no financial inclusion, and there is no digital value that has been created within those communities. Nigeria has the highest number of people without electricity, which by extension means that the country has the highest number of people that are financially excluded, and they are not reaping the benefit of the digital economy,” he stated.
The Trade Union of Nigeria, TUC, has raised the alarm that the price of Premium Motor Spirit aka Petrol may climb to about N2,000 per litre if urgent measures are not taken to cushion the impact of rising global crude prices and the depreciating naira.
Speaking to newsmen on Thursday, April 9, the president of the TUC, Festus Osifo, called on the Federal Government to immediately deploy 60 percent of excess crude oil revenue above the 2026 budget benchmark to subsidise crude feedstock supplies to the Dangote Refinery and other modular refineries, a move it says will slash pump prices of petrol, diesel, and jet fuel within two weeks
“Today, comrades, we are seeing that the cost of petrol is edging towards N2,000 per litre depending on the part of the country that you are. Nigerian workers are already passing through excruciating pain as we speak.
The same way it is affecting transportation, it is also affecting manufacturing. The cost of diesel has also gone northward, meaning that the cost of production has increased. When production costs rise, the final price of goods on the shelves will also skyrocket.
If this continues unchecked, the inflation that we are currently celebrating as going downwards will reverse and start moving up again,” he stated.
Osifo outlined the proposal as an urgent intervention to cushion Nigerian workers from excruciating pain caused by petrol prices edging towards ₦2,000 per litre in some parts of the country
The governor of Oyo state, Seyi Makinde, has approved a N10,000 transportation allowance as a palliative for the state workforce to cushion the effects of the increase in the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit, otherwise known as petrol.
The Chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Oyo State chapter, Kayode Martins, in a statement released on Monday, March 23, disclosed that the governor has granted the request of the union on the issue of transportation allowance.
The statement read
“Following the intervention and formal request made by the State Council of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) earlier this morning, the state government has approved a N10,000 transportation allowance for all workers in the state.
The newly approved allowance is set to take effect from April 2026, providing much-needed relief to workers grappling with rising transportation costs amid current economic challenges.
This development comes as a direct response to sustained advocacy by the state NLC, aimed at cushioning the impact of increased living expenses on the workforce.
Further details on implementation are expected to be communicated by the relevant government authorities in due course.”
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), has declared that banks and financial institutions must establish and maintain a temporary watch-list for Bank Verification Numbers (BVN) implicated in suspected fraudulent transactions.
According to the CBN in a circular dated March 12, 2026 and signed by its Director of Payments System Policy Department, Musa I. Jimoh, the apex bank said such a suspected BVN may remain on the temporary watchlist for a maximum period of twenty-four (24) hours during which the owner would be contacted to make clarifications.
The circular explained that the move is part of several new measures under a revised regulatory framework aimed at enhancing financial system stability.
“A BVN may remain on this temporary Watchlist for a maximum period of twenty-four (24) hours, during this period, the BVN owner shall be contacted to provide clarification regarding the identified transaction(s),” the circular stated.
The circular also sets an age requirement for BVN enrolment, restricting registration to individuals who have attained eighteen (18) years and above.
The CBN also added that amendments to phone numbers linked to a BVN shall be allowed only once.
“Amendments to phone numbers linked to a BVN shall be allowed only once,” the circular noted.
The apex bank stated that access to BVN databases will remain tightly controlled.
“Access to the BVN databases shall be exclusively granted to Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) licensed financial institutions.
“Notwithstanding this provision, the Central Bank of Nigeria (the Bank) reserves the right to approve access to the BVN databases in extenuating circumstances and in accordance with the provisions of extant laws,” the circular said.
Financial institutions are expected to comply with the new requirements, and customers may be contacted by their banks if their BVNs are temporarily flagged during the new fraud monitoring process.
The new policy, as stated by the CBN, takes effect from May 1, 2026.
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