Business
Stakeholder Tasks FG On Seaports Upgrade
The former President-General of the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN), Comrade Anthony Nte Emmanuel has called on the Federal Government to without further delay, pay adequate attention to decaying infrastructure at the seaports across the country.
He said that what was happening and the situation at the ports “is a sad story with respect to infrastructural decay and security,” pointing out that these have hampered business activities at the ports.
Emmanuel, former NLC vice president, who disclosed this in an interview with aviation correspondents at the Port Harcourt International Airport, Omagwa noted that road infrastructure and disturbing security matters were almost crippling business at the nation’s ports.
According to him, the disturbing security situation at the South-South ports has scared away investors, adding that the situation is seriously telling on businesses.
Also in Lagos area, he said that the degenerated road network, especially in the Apapa Port called for concern, adding that the bad road has caused untold hardship for those that do business in the area, especially as it concern loss of manhour.
“There is global economic recession, people are being retrenched and jobs are lost. People need to think and create jobs and value.
“The ports are dying, even now that we are talking about alternative sources of revenue outside oil, the ports are the areas where such revenue would come from.
“Government should create an enabling environment for business to thrive. They should make and execute good policies that will drive business and you know that government policies also affect the economic situation of the country.
“The situation in the Maritime sector is very annoying. The Minister of Works should wake up to his responsibility and fix the road network for smooth business.
“All my meetings with the Minister of Works when I was the President-General of MWUN did not yield any result as the road network to the ports were left undone.
“Government should think and execute projects that will impact positively on business, but not to pay deaf ears to issues that are very important to national economy, like the fixing of the road to POAS, especially the Apapa Port, where business activities are almost collapsing,” he stated.
The former Maritime workers boss, however, pointed out that people could only be remembered for what they have done and urged Nigerians to always do good to the people, especially, those in authority.
Corlins Walter
The Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) has said that Bank Verification Number (BVN) enrolments rose by 6.8 per cent year-on-year to 67.8 million as at December 2025, up from 63.5 million recorded in the corresponding period of 2024.
In a statement published on its website, NIBSS attributed the growth to stronger policy enforcement by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the expansion of diaspora enrolment initiatives.
NIBSS noted that the expansion reinforces the BVN system’s central role in Nigeria’s financial inclusion drive and digital identity framework.
Another major driver, the statement said, was the rollout of the Non-Resident Bank Verification Number (NRBVN) initiative, which allows Nigerians in the diaspora to obtain a BVN remotely without physical presence in the country.
A five-year analysis by NIBSS showed consistent growth in BVN enrolments, rising from 51.9 million in 2021 to 56.0 million in 2022, 60.1 million in 2023, 63.5 million in 2024 and 67.8 million by December 2025. The steady increase reflects stronger compliance with biometric identity requirements and improved coverage of the national banking identity system.
However, NIBSS noted that BVN enrolments still lag the total number of active bank accounts, which exceeded 320 million as of March 2025.
The gap, it explained, is largely due to multiple bank accounts linked to single BVNs, as well as customers yet to complete enrolment, despite the progress recorded.