Business

CBN, IFC Partner On Risk Management

Published

13 years ago

May 15, 2013

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has gone into partnership with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) to train its staff in environmental and social risk management.

Dr Aisha Mahmud, the Special Adviser to the CBN Governor on Sustainable Banking, made this known at the training workshop on Environmental and Social (E & S) Risk Management for CBN staff on Tuesday in Abuja.

She said the training was aimed at enhancing the capacity of staff in supervising banks in the implementation of the Nigerian Sustainable Banking Principles (NSBP).

“We have entered a collaborative partnership with IFC to build our capacity so that we can have an environmental and social risk management programmme within the CBN and make sure we have a low carbon emission organisation.

“The programme was put in place because we have realised that we cannot achieve sustainable development without balancing the economic, social and environmental issues.

“The essence is to make sure that the financial institutions in every business they do consider the financial, environmental and social issues.

“We need to make sure that whatever we do today, as a country, does not compromise the ability of the future generation to meet their own needs,” she said.

According to her, the CBN has a dual role in implementing the principles and monitoring compliance by the banking industry.

She added that the apex bank had developed a set of actions and activities that would help to reduce carbon footprint immediately.

“The Nigerian sustainability banking principle is an emerging issue, not only in Nigeria but also globally.

“Being an emerging issue, we need to build our capacities to be able to implement it, and one of the ways is through this programme we are having today,” she said.

Mr Ahmed Abdullahi, the Director, Governance Department of the CBN, said that the training would educate institutions within the financial industry on environmental and social issues that could affect growth in the industry.

“The benchmark on these principles is to sensitise CBN staff to environmental and social responsibility risk management issues,” he said.

He noted that no fewer than 100 staff members of the apex bank would be trained in the programme, adding that the training would help to create awareness about the emergence of economic waste in the society.

“Environmental issues as well as social issues are global trends now, and the Nigerian banking system cannot be left behind because it has to generally move with the global trend.

“Corporations all over the world are now concerned about not only short term profit making but also sustainability issues generally,” he said.

Mrs Sandra Abiola, IFC Social Environment specialist, said the aim of the partnership was to help the CBN to create its own capacity in supervising banks in the implementation of NSBP.

She said that about 34 financial institutions in 2012 agreed on the principle, adding that the CBN issued a circular stating that it would assist the banks in enforcing the principles.

Abiola said the relationship between climate change and sustainable growth in the banking system cannot be over emphasised.

“Climate change and related issues such as environmental and social risk issues impact the bank because if a bank provides a loan to a company suffering from these risks, the bank will also be at a credit risk,” she said.

Business

PENGASSAN Tasks Multinationals On Workers’ Salary Increase

Published

9 hours ago

December 8, 2025

The Tide

The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has asked companies in the oil and gas sector to undertake urgent review of salaries of their workers in view of the prevailing harsh economic conditions in the country.

Also, the pensioners of Chevron Nigeria, under the aegis PenCoN, have lauded the President of PENGASSAN, Comrade Festus Osifo and his executive on their unrelenting efforts toward addressing pension abnormalities faced by retired workers in the oil and gas industry.

The association also appealed to the federal government to take necessary measures to check banditry and terrorist activities in parts of the country.

PENGASSAN President, Osifo who addressed journalists shortly after the National Executive Council meeting of the association in Abuja, at the weekend, said that though a lot of success has been recorded in negotiating salary reviews for its members, there are still organisations that have failed to lift their workers from the present harsh economic situation.

He said within this period, PENGASSAN has signed numerous Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBAs) which has brought smiles to the faces of its teeming members.

“This is because we recognise that our job, literally, is how to protect the job of our members, and how to enhance their pay,” he said.

Osifo said that operators in the oil and gas sectors always go for the best qualified professionals to carry out their operations.

“So, the same way they recruit the best, we also challenge them to provide the best condition of service and provide the best remuneration.

“Yes, today, a lot of companies will have achieved successes, but there are still few that we are still discussing at their CBAs, that we are not yet there.

“We still use this opportunity to call on these companies that are still foot dragging, that are still holding back, even with the massive devaluation that has occurred in our country, that still don’t want to fix the remuneration of our members.

“We are calling on them to do the needful, because for us in PENGASSAN we will push without holding back. We will push, using everything in our arsenal, to ensure that the needful is done,” he said.

Osifo spoke of the dispute with the Dangote Refinery group, saying there are still pending issues to be resolved.

“Gentlemen of the press, during the networking session, we also looked at the issues that are plaguing some of our branches, and you know that recently, we had some challenges in Dangote Refinery and PetroChemicals Ltd.

“And within this period, since our last National Industrial Action, we have been engaging them in a lot of conversations, but the issues are not fully resolved. There are still a lot of pending issues.

“Yes, the NEC decided that, yes, let us still consummate that process by pushing those issues, by engaging in dialogue to resolve the issues, and by also engaging all our social partners and stakeholders to get the issues resolved,” he said.

Business

SEC Unveils Digital Regulatory Hub To Boost Oversight Across Financial Markets

Published

9 hours ago

December 8, 2025

The Tide

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has launched the Regulatory Hub, a new centralized digital platform designed to streamline collaboration, strengthen oversight, and improve transparency across Nigeria’s financial and capital market ecosystem.

The Commission disclosed this in a statement posted on its website.

According to the commission, the platform connects key regulatory and security institutions including the Office of the National Security Adviser (NSA), the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), and Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), enabling them to exchange information securely and in real time.

The launch of this regulatory hub comes ahead of the implementation of new tax laws in January 2026, with agencies such as the FIRS spreading its tentacles across sector to monitor compliance.

According to the SEC Director-General, Emomotimi Agama, the launch marks a significant step toward modernizing Nigeria’s regulatory framework through technology.

“The Regulatory Hub is a major step in our commitment to leverage technology for stronger regulatory synergy. By connecting regulators on one platform, we are building resilience, enhancing market integrity, and promoting investor confidence,” he said.

The SEC said the platform would help reduce bottlenecks in regulatory processes and facilitate faster, more informed decision-making across agencies.

Reinforcing the DG’s comments, the Executive Commissioner, Operations, Bola Ajomale, highlighted the operational benefits of the new system.

“The platform will significantly improve the timeliness and quality of regulatory decision-making. It provides a single window for regulators to share data, respond to requests, and collaborate seamlessly in safeguarding our financial and capital markets,” he said.

The commission believes the Regulatory Hub would support its broader mandate to strengthen investor protection, enhance market stability, and harmonize regulatory activities across the financial sector.

It urged stakeholders to initiate interest by emailing the Commission, adding that once registered, participants would be able to access the Hub and take advantage of its features.

Business

NAFDAC Decries Circulation Of Prohibited Food Items In markets …….Orders Vendors’ Immediate Cessation Of Dealings With Products

Published

9 hours ago

December 8, 2025

The Tide

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has raised an alarm over the growing circulation of banned food products across markets in the country.

The agency, in a Press Release dated 6 December 2025, warned that these items including pasta, noodles, sugar and tomato paste are expressly listed on the Federal Government’s Customs Prohibition List and are illegal to import.

NAFDAC stated that the sale and distribution of such prohibited items violate national trade laws, compromise the integrity of Nigeria’s food control system, and pose significant public health risks, as they have not undergone the agency’s mandatory safety and quality evaluations.

Importers, market traders, and supermarket operators have therefore, been directed to immediately cease all dealings in these items and to notify their supply chain partners to halt transactions involving prohibited products.

The agency emphasized that failure to comply will attract strict enforcement measures, including seizure and destruction of goods, suspension or revocation of operational licences, and prosecution under relevant laws.

The statement said “The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has raised an alarm over the growing incidence of smuggling, sale, and distribution of regulated food products such as pasta, noodles, sugar, and tomato paste currently found in markets across the country.

“These products are expressly listed on the Federal Government’s Customs Prohibition List and are not permitted for importation”.

NAFDAC also called on other government bodies, including the Nigeria Customs Service, Nigeria Immigration Service(NIS) Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Nigeria Shippers Council, and the Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Service (NAQS), to collaborate in enforcing the ban on these unsafe products.

By: Lady Godknows Ogbulu