Author: Ifetayo Adeniyi

Says “more than 25 additional children accessing school every minute” since the year 2000. The number of children and young people out of school worldwide has climbed to 273 million, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) has said. UNESCO, in the 2026 Global Education Monitoring (GEM) report, stated that the number of out-of-school children and young people has risen for the seventh consecutive year. The report finds that one in six school-age children is excluded from education, while only two in three complete secondary school. Progress has also slowed across most regions since 2015, with conflict and…

The United Kingdom government will raise fees for a wide range of visas, residency applications and citizenship processes from April 8, 2026, with the hike affecting Nigerians and other foreign nationals seeking to visit, study, work or settle in the country. The revised fee schedule, published by the UK Home Office and sighted by PUNCH Online on Thursday, shows increases across virtually all categories of visa applications made both inside and outside the UK, with affected categories spanning visit visas, student visas, work visas, settlement applications and naturalisation fees. The increases, which take effect in less than two weeks, come…

Manny Ita  – The Organization of Women in International Trade on Wednesday convened women leaders from across continents for a global webinar marking International Women’s Day 2026, with discussions centred on how women are reshaping global commerce through innovation and collaboration. The virtual event, themed “Give to Gain: How Women Are Disrupting and Redefining Global Trade,” was held on March 25, 2026, at 12:00 noon EST (5:00 p.m. Nigerian time) and ran for 90 minutes via Zoom, drawing participation from Africa, Europe, and the Americas. President of OWIT International, Noreen Cesareo, led the session, highlighting the growing influence of women…

Zenith Bank Plc has made public the appointment of Mr. Kennedy Onuwa Okwudili as an Executive Director, effective May 1, 2026. The appointment reflects the bank’s long-standing commitment to internal talent development and strategic succession planning, further reinforcing its executive management team. Mr. Okwudili holds a Bachelor of Science (Hons) in Accounting from University of Maiduguri, earned in 1998 with a Second Class Upper division. He later obtained a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Ahmadu Bello University in 2008, and a Master of Science in Accounting from Veritas University in 2021. Carrying  well over 25 years of extensive banking…

Elegbede Abiodun • Halts ongoing recapitalisation and investor selection processes. • Says CBN went beyond its statutory powers. Federal High Court in Lagos has knocked-off the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) takeover of Union Bank of Nigeria Plc. Responding, the apex bank said the status of the institution remains “unchanged”, noting that it would review the certified true copy of the judgment for appropriate action. The regulator assured that it would continue to provide necessary regulatory oversight to ensure the bank operate in a sound, stable and safe manner. The court ruled that the apex bank acted beyond its statutory…

Elegbede Abiodun • Those permitted on BRT lanes are emergency response vehicles. The Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA) has threatened to arrest and prosecute military personnel, local council officials and others found on the corridor of the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT). LAMATA warned that no other vehicle than designated BRT buses and vehicles operating under franchises duly regulated by LAMATA, is allowed to use the dedicated lanes. It added that only emergency response vehicles, such as fire trucks and ambulances, were exempted from the rule, when responding to emergencies. Head, Corporate Communication of LAMATA, Kolawole Ojelabi, stated that there…

Central Bank of Nigeria headquarters, Abuja. • Action to take effect from May 1. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has directed all international money transfer operators (IMTOs) to deliver remittances through naira settlement accounts held with authorised dealer banks (ADBs). The directive reiterated the position of the bank as contained in an earlier policy issued in 2024. The bank also directed IMTOs to settle remittances using Bloomberg BMATCH real-time rates to enhance market transparency and confidence. The directive, signed by the Director of the Trade and Exchange Department, Musa Nakorji, applies to all disbursements to beneficiaries and related…

Pipeline Infrastructure Nigeria Limited (PINL), the private security firm responsible for protecting the Eastern Corridor of the Trans Niger Pipeline (TNP), has warned its surveillance contractors and guards against negligence following two recent cases of attempted crude oil theft in Rivers and Bayelsa States. The warning came after operatives intercepted two tankers attempting to load crude oil at the Atali axis in Zone 4, an operation the company says was foiled only by its backup intelligence system. Preliminary findings, according to PINL, point to a possible coordinated conspiracy involving insiders. PINL, whose operations also cover the Eastern Gas Network (EGN),…

MFB Alert Microfinance Bank (Alert MFB), in collaboration with CreditCorp and Visaro, have inaugurated a specialised Fly Now, Pay Later (FNPL) service to boost travel financing. This three-way partnership is set to redefine travel accessibility for millions of Nigerians by providing seamless, flexible credit at the point of booking. In an economic climate where rising airfares often limit personal and business travel, the collaboration offers a timely financial solution. The FNPL service enables travellers to book flights instantly and spread payments over a fixed period through manageable, low-interest instalments. This initiative responds to the growing demand for credit-backed lifestyle solutions…

MoneyMaster Payment Service Bank (MMPSB), Nigeria’s leading payment service bank, has said that it has further strengthen its mobile banking application to improve the order flow for its airtime and data products to improve customer experience. For airtime, the Moneymaster mobile banking app now has an enhanced visual appeal, thus, providing customers with a cleaner, and more modern interface that streamlines account selection, denomination selection and a dynamic input validation. For its data products, the new interface organizes data into logical tabs of hot, daily, weekly, monthly, exclusive and special. In addition, each data now clearly displays data volume, validity…