Author: Prima News

Ecobank Transnational Incorporated has released its unaudited financial results for the year ended December 31, 2025, posting strong earnings growth driven by higher revenue, improved operating performance, and balance-sheet expansion. Gross earnings rose by 14 percent to ₦4.82 trillion, compared with ₦4.21 trillion recorded in the 2024 financial year. Revenue increased by 18 percent to ₦3.67 trillion, up from ₦3.11 trillion in the prior year. Operating profit before impairment charges climbed 29 percent year on year to ₦1.89 trillion, reflecting stronger core banking performance across the group’s operating markets. Profitability Strengthens Profit before tax increased by 30 percent to ₦1.28…

By Blaise Udunze The Central Bank of Nigeria’s recapitalisation exercise, which is scheduled for a March 31, 2026, deadline, has continued to reignite optimism across financial markets and is designed to build stronger, more resilient banks capable of financing a $1 trillion economy. With the ongoing exercise, the industry has been witnessing bank valuations rising, investors are enthusiastic, and balance sheets are swelling. However, beneath these encouraging headline numbers, unbeknownst to many, or perhaps some troubling aspects that the industry players have chosen not to talk about, are the human cost of consolidation and the infrastructure deficit. Recapitalisation often leads…

Ex-NEXIM MD Robert Orya has been jailed for 490 years over N2.4bn fraud. NewsOnline Nigeria reports that a former Managing Director of the Nigerian Export-Import Bank (NEXIM), Robert Orya, has been sentenced to a cumulative 490 years’ imprisonment over a N2.4 billion fraud. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) secured Orya’s conviction on Thursday, February 5, 2026, before the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in Abuja. Justice F. E. Messiri sentenced the former bank chief to 10 years’ imprisonment on each of the 49 counts preferred against him, bringing the total jail term to 490 years. Orya, who…

From military tradition and security warnings to political realignments and international fraud convictions, this afternoon’s headlines reflect key developments shaping Nigeria’s defence, politics and justice landscape. The Nigerian Army celebrated 10 retired senior officers in Lagos, a US lawmaker cautioned against separatist agendas in Nigeria, and supporters of Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso proposed a joint ticket with Peter Obi ahead of 2027. Meanwhile, Vice President Kashim Shettima visited Kwara after a deadly attack, and a Nigerian man was sentenced to more than eight years by a US court for a $6 million inheritance scam. Here’s your complete afternoon roundup of…

The Kwankwaso Support Group 2027 has proposed a joint presidential ticket pairing former Anambra State Governor, Peter Obi, with Senator Rabi’u Kwankwaso. Speaking in Kano on Friday, the leader of the group, Abba Gwale, stated that as loyal supporters of Senator Kwankwaso, they found it necessary to appeal to Nigerians to support the Obi-Kwankwaso alliance, describing it as a chance to rescue the nation from its current challenges. “As Kwankwaso supporters and loyalists, we have proposed and thrown our weight behind the joint presidential ticket, especially with Peter Obi, in any of the political parties. The current political trajectory has…

What is unfolding at the National Assembly over the Electoral Law Amendment is nothing short of a national embarrassment. One is forced to ask whether some lawmakers have completely lost their sense of responsibility and indeed, their sense of shame. What should be a solemn legislative duty has been reduced to a reckless contest of self-interest, even as the country continues to bleed. The question Nigerians must now ask is simple: where do we go from here? Many of these politicians act without conscience, as though they are far removed from the people they swore to serve and immune to…

US lawmaker Riley Moore has warned that efforts to encourage separatist agendas in Nigeria could worsen insecurity and put Christians at greater risk across the country and the continent. In a statement via his official X (Formerly Twitter) account on Saturday, Moore revealed that he conducted a fact-finding visit to Nigeria to better understand the situation of alleged Christian persecution. Speaking on his visit, he said he engaged with Nigerian officials, church leaders, aid groups, and internally displaced persons across the country to grasp the challenges facing Christians, particularly in the North and Middle Belt. “I have travelled to Nigeria…