The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has rolled out a stronger supervisory framework that seeks to deter the use of Nigerian banks and financial institutions for terrorism financing and other abuses.

In a statement, the apex bank’s Acting Director, Corporate Communications/Investor Relations Department, Hakama Sidi-Ali, said the CBN has made terrorism financing supervision one of its current priorities.

According to her, the focus is part of the bank’s ongoing commitment to protecting the Nigerian financial system from abuse by illicit actors.

She explained that this new push covers four broad areas including how financial institutions manage terrorism financing risk, how they monitor transactions for signs of terrorism financing, how they carry out targeted financial sanctions, and how they report suspicious transactions linked to terrorism.

She said the apex bank would not be sitting back and waiting for problems to surface on their own, rather it plans to use a risk-based approach, which means banks and institutions seen as more exposed to this kind of risk will attract closer attention.

Sidi-Ali said: “This supervisory focus also supports Nigeria’s ongoing domestic and international cooperation on counter-terrorism financing, counter-proliferation financing, financial integrity, and the protection of the financial system. Further supervisory engagement will be undertaken as appropriate.”

According to her, the bank will continue to apply a risk-based supervisory approach, including on-site and off-site engagement, to support effective Anti-Money Laundering, Combating the Financing of Terrorism, and Countering Proliferation Financing (AML/CFT/CPF) controls across the financial sector in line with existing legal and regulatory obligations.
She added that further supervisory engagement will be undertaken as appropriate, suggesting that more steps could follow depending on what its checks turn up.

Nigeria’s 4.43 percent economic growth in the second quarter of 2026 (Q2’26) is masking a deepening industrial crisis, with manufacturing and the broader industrial sector losing ground as services increasingly dominate economic activity, the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, MAN, has warned.

Reacting to the National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, Q2 2026 GDP, report, yesterday, MAN Director-General, Segun Ajayi-Kadir, said the 4.43 per cent year-on-year real GDP growth recorded in the quarter, up from 3.89 per cent in Q1 2026 and 4.23 percent in Q2 2025, masks deep-seated weaknesses in the real economy.

He noted that services accounted for 56.62 per cent of GDP in Q2, while the broader industrial sector contributed only 17.23 per cent and suffered a dramatic slowdown in growth.

“The growth trajectory remains disproportionately service-driven (56.62 per cent of GDP), while the broader industrial sector (17.23 per cent of GDP) is visibly suffocating under severe structural headwinds,” Ajayi-Kadir said.

He described the near-halving of industrial growth as particularly alarming, noting that it fell from 7.46 pe rcent in Q2 2025 to 3.96 per cent in Q2 2026.

According to him, the sharp deterioration was driven largely by the electricity, gas, steam and air-conditioning supply segment, which contracted by 10.63 per cent during the quarter.

MAN also noted that manufacturing’s share of real GDP plunged from 9.57 per cent in Q1 2026 to 7.72 per cent in Q2, while real manufacturing growth eased marginally from 3.29 per cent to 3.24 per cent.

Ajayi-Kadir attributed the weakening performance to the combination of high production costs, exchange-rate pressures, prohibitive interest rates and soaring electricity tariffs confronting manufacturers.

He warned that continued dependence on services and extraction would leave Nigeria vulnerable to external shocks while doing little to expand productive capacity.

“Ultimately, headline GDP growth driven by non-tradable service activities will fail to strengthen foreign exchange reserves, reduce structural inflation, or create sustainable mass industrial jobs. A nation that trades and consumes what it does not produce builds prosperity on quicksand.”

MAN said the trend portends employment fragility, an inflationary spiral, greater FX vulnerability, and erosion of industrial capacity and technological capability.

To reverse the slide, MAN called for urgent intervention in power, industrial finance, FX allocation and local procurement.

It recommended direct power purchase agreements for industrial clusters, matching grants for manufacturers investing in solar and battery systems, credit guarantees to force down lending rates, and a dedicated FX clearance window for raw materials and capital machinery, amongst others.

MAN also demanded stronger enforcement of local procurement, incentives for vehicle assembly, tax relief for domestic supply chains and legally binding implementation of the Nigeria Industrial Policy.

Ajayi-Kadir said Nigeria must urgently move from consumption-led growth to production-led growth, warning that without a stronger manufacturing base, impressive GDP numbers would remain largely disconnected from improvements in living standards and economic prosperity.

Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Olayemi Cardoso, has attributed the apparent scarcity of N100 and N200 notes to the increasing adoption of digital payment channels and the declining purchasing power of the lower-denomination currency.

Speaking in Abuja on Tuesday, Cardoso dismissed concerns that the affected notes had been withdrawn from circulation, stressing that they remain legal tender and should continue to be accepted for transactions across the country.

He said the CBN had not announced the withdrawal of any naira denomination and urged Nigerians not to reject the lower-value notes.

“Yes, they remain legal tender. Unless the Central Bank states otherwise, Nigerians should assume that all existing denominations remain legal tender,” Cardoso said.

Explaining the reduced circulation of the N100 and N200 notes, the CBN governor said the situation reflects changing demand patterns within the financial system rather than any deliberate policy to phase them out.

According to him, the expansion of financial inclusion and the widespread use of electronic payment platforms have significantly reduced reliance on physical cash, particularly lower denominations.

Cardoso also noted that the depreciation of the naira has eroded the purchasing power of the smaller notes, making them less useful in day-to-day transactions.

“As to why there appear to be fewer of these notes in circulation, it is largely a matter of demand and supply. The financial ecosystem is evolving in the direction we want it to, with greater financial inclusion and increased digitisation,” he said.

“Of course, we must also acknowledge that currency devaluation has affected the purchasing power of lower-value notes. That is a reality.

“More importantly, however, as financial inclusion expands and digital payments become part of everyday life, fewer people will rely on these denominations.”

On inflation, Cardoso reaffirmed the apex bank’s commitment to restoring price stability and achieving single-digit inflation, despite recent global economic shocks that have slowed progress.

He recalled that Nigeria had recorded 11 consecutive months of declining inflation before external factors disrupted the disinflation trend.

“It is important to remember where we are coming from. We recorded 11 consecutive months of disinflation and, from every indication, we expected that by early 2027 we would be where we wanted to be in terms of inflation, with a path towards single-digit inflation,” he said.

“Unfortunately, we have experienced external shocks that were not anticipated and have lasted much longer than anyone expected.

“As for our single-digit inflation target, we remain committed to it.”

Reacting to the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) recent assessment that the naira is undervalued, with an estimated fair value of about N1,150 to the US dollar, Cardoso maintained that the exchange rate should be determined by market forces rather than administrative targets.

He said the CBN would continue to support a transparent and market-driven foreign exchange regime anchored on a willing-buyer, willing-seller framework.