Author: Ifetayo Adeniyi

Nigeria exits FATF global financial watchlist • Nigeria to maintain compliance with global financial integrity standards. The Financial Action Task Force has officially removed Nigeria from its list of jurisdictions under increased monitoring, also known as the grey list. The decision was taken at the FATF October 2025 Plenary in Paris, France, following the country’s successful implementation of a 19-point action plan aimed at strengthening its Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) framework. Nigeria was placed on the grey list in February 2023 after the FATF identified strategic deficiencies in its AML/CFT systems. Over the past two…

2025 Live Canon Poetry competition: Nigerian writer Ogunrinde gains global recognition • Laughter — Oyelola Ogunrinde Nigerian journalist and writer Oyelola Ogunrinde has been longlisted for the 2025 Live Canon International Poetry Competition, a prestigious UK-based literary award that has celebrated poetic excellence for over a decade. The competition, known for its rigorous judging process and emphasis on technical mastery, emotional resonance, and originality, received thousands of entries from poets across the world this year. Being longlisted, organisers noted, is a mark of exceptional literary quality and creative distinction. The overall winner, Lauren Thomas, clinched the top spot with her…

Nigerian researchers qualify for EU’s €100bn funding The EU Ambassador to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Gautier Mignot. … impacting knowledge across critical sectors such as artificial intelligence. The European Union delegation to Nigeria on Friday said it is advancing a new chapter in its collaboration with Nigeria to strengthen the country’s research and innovation ecosystem, with a focus on digital transformation, climate resilience, and sustainable growth. The EU also noted that Nigerian researchers are now eligible to partake in the EU research flagship titled “Horizon Europe initiative”, which is worth over €100bn in research grants, according to a statement it released…

Gbenga Adeyinka set to stage “The Last Show” of 2025 in Lagos Gbenga Adeyinka Popular comedian Gbenga Adeyinka is set to stage “The Last Show of 2025”. The show, a grand celebration of laughter and music, will be organized by Laffmattazz in collaboration with Gbenga Adeyinka and Friends.The event will take place on Sunday, November 23, 2025, at the Balmoral Convention Center, Federal Palace Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos. Now in its 18th year, Laffmattazz has travelled across Nigeria and beyond, including its first-ever UK tour this year. The 2025 finale returns to Lagos, where the idea for the show was…

SSE Lab Boss To host MBA Business Showers Cohort 2, Focusing On Redefining MSMEs’ Role In Nigerian Economy The Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Small-Scale Enterprise (SSE Lab), Adesola Jimmy-Eboma has concluded plans to host the second edition of the MBA Business showers to celebrate the cohort 2 graduands and heightened conversation on the role of MSMEs in the Nigerian Economy. The event, tagged “Innovation. Inclusion. Impact: Redefining MSMEs in the Nigerian Economy is scheduled to hold on Thursday October 30th, 2025 at Radisson Blu Hotel, GRA Ikeja, Lagos and will have keynote addresses delivered by Mr. Charles Odii,…

Tinubu Makes Changes, Appoints New Service Chiefs For National Security Tinubu Makes Changes, Appoints New Service Chiefs For National Security President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved changes in the leadership of Nigeria’s Armed Forces as part of ongoing efforts to strengthen the nation’s security architecture. According to a statement issued on October 24, 2025, by Sunday Dare, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Public Communication, the President appointed new heads for the military services. General Olufemi Oluyede has been named the new Chief of Defence Staff, succeeding General Christopher Musa. Major-General W. Shaibu takes over as Chief of…

FirstBank Integrates PAPSS into LIT App for Seamless Cross-Border Payments Across Africa FirstBank, the premier bank in West Africa and a leading financial inclusion service provider, is thrilled to announce the successful integration of the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) into its flagship digital banking platform, the LIT app, enabling customers to make instant, secure, and local currency-based cross-border payments across Africa. PAPSS, developed by the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) in collaboration with the African Union and the AfCFTA Secretariat, enables instant, low-cost payments in local currencies between African countries. Speaking on the integration, the Group Executive, e-Business and…

FG presents initiative to empower teachers with mobile devices, free data FG presents initiative to empower teachers with mobile devices, free data. The federal government has inaugurated an initiative to empower teachers across the country with subsidised mobile devices and free data access to enhance professional development and classroom delivery. Unveiled by the Federal Ministry of Education on Thursday, the scheme will benefit 8,000 teachers from the six geopolitical zones in its first phase, which runs from December 2025 to July 2026. The programme, implemented with technical support from the UK-funded Partnership for Learning for All in Nigeria (PLANE) initiative,…

PINL to Empower 2,000 Women Across TNP Host Communities Over 2,000 women and girls across 215 host communities along the Eastern Corridor of the Trans Niger Pipeline (TNP) are set to benefit from a comprehensive entrepreneurship and financial literacy program initiated by Pipeline Infrastructure Nigeria Limited (PINL). The initiative—The PINL Women Entrepreneurs & Empowerment Programme—aims to equip women with practical business skills, financial education, and enterprise support to help them build sustainable livelihoods within their communities. Dr. Akpos Mezeh, General Manager, Community Relations and Stakeholder Engagement at PINL, announced the development during the company’s monthly stakeholders’ meeting with representatives…

Davido, French president Macron in a meeting Davido meets Macron. Credit: X| davido • Nigeria and France at cultural diplomacy. Afrobeats superstar, David Adeleke, popularly known as Davido, has stirred excitement among fans on social media after announcing his meeting with French President, Emmanuel Macron The music icon took to his official X account on Thursday to share photos from the high-profile meeting with the French President. His caption read, “It was an honour meeting #EmmanuelMacron and sharing our visions for a better world.” Although Davido did not disclose specific details of their discussion, the meeting highlights the growing intersection…