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The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) and the Nigerian Navy have renewed their strategic partnership with the endorsement of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen maritime security, enhance safety and deepen coordinated enforcement across Nigeria’s maritime domain.

The MoU was signed at the Nigerian Navy Headquarters, Abuja, by the Director General of NIMASA, Dr Dayo Mobereola, and the Chief of the Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Idi Abbas.

The renewed agreement marks a significant milestone in the longstanding relationship between both institutions and represents the first formal renewal of their partnership since the original MoU was signed in 2007.

The agreement provides a framework for enhanced collaboration in the promotion and maintenance of maritime security and the effective implementation of the Suppression of Piracy and Other Maritime Offences (SPOMO) Act, the International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) Code and other relevant maritime laws and regulations within NIMASA’s mandate.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, the NIMASA Director General, Dr Dayo Mobereola, commended the commitment of the Honourable Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, to strengthening inter-agency collaboration as a key driver of maritime security and the development of Nigeria’s Blue Economy.

He said the renewed MoU would provide a stronger institutional framework for both organisations to discharge their respective statutory mandates while consolidating the gains already recorded in securing Nigeria’s maritime domain. This he said will enhance achieving the goals of President Bola Tinubu GCFR for the Blue Economy.

According to him, the agreement is also designed to address emerging maritime security challenges through improved coordination, information sharing and operational cooperation.

“As we renew this partnership today, I urge our respective teams to ensure that the spirit of this agreement translates into practical and measurable outcomes,” Dr Mobereola said.

Dr Mobereola also expressed appreciation to the Chief of the Naval Staff and the Nigerian Navy for their continued support and commitment to the renewal of the partnership.

In his remarks, the Chief of the Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Idi Abbas, described the signing as a milestone in the enduring relationship between the Nigerian Navy and NIMASA.

He noted that the renewed MoU contained important additions aimed at strengthening the response to the evolving nature of maritime security challenges.

One of the key provisions, he said, is the integration of the Deep Blue Project into the collaborative framework, providing a stronger basis for cooperation between the Nigerian Navy’s Maritime Guard Command and the project.

He also highlighted the introduction of a joint reporting protocol for communication and information sharing during operations, which he said would facilitate timely decision-making and a more coordinated response to maritime incidents.

Vice Admiral Abbas further welcomed provisions for greater institutional engagement, including an annual conference to enhance collaboration, review progress and address emerging challenges.

“Whether we like it or not, the water is where we get whatever we are getting—our revenue, everything and even the trade we engage in, in large percentages, is done through the water. So this institution has to be very strong,” he said.

The renewed MoU is expected to deepen operational cooperation between NIMASA and the Nigerian Navy, particularly in maritime security, information sharing, coordinated responses to maritime incidents, enforcement of applicable maritime laws amongst others.

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The Commission made this clarification in a circular issued on Wednesday to capital market operators and other market participants as part of the implementation of the T+1 settlement cycle in the Nigerian capital market.

According to the SEC, all transactions in the affected securities must be fully paid by 5:00 p.m. T+1 to ensure compliance with the standard Delivery versus Payment (DvP) settlement procedure.

It warned that where a broker/dealer’s trading account is not adequately funded to meet its settlement obligation within the prescribed period, the default would be managed in line with the CSCS Default Management Procedure and the applicable transaction settlement guidelines of the relevant exchange.

The Commission also clarified that foreign portfolio investors are not required to prefund their accounts for trades in the Nigerian capital market.

However, it said capital market operators facilitating transactions on behalf of foreign portfolio investors must establish and maintain appropriate controls and processes to ensure timely funding and completion of settlements within the prescribed timeframe.

The clarification follows earlier SEC circulars on the implementation of the T+2 settlement cycle for equities transactions, issued on June 3, 2025, and the transition to the T+1 settlement cycle, issued on May 15, 2026.

The T+1 cycle means that eligible securities transactions are settled one business day after the trade date, reducing the period between execution and final settlement.

The SEC said the transition represents a significant milestone in its efforts to build a more efficient, resilient and internationally aligned trading and post-trade environment.

It added that the shorter settlement cycle would improve settlement efficiency, reduce counterparty risk, enhance liquidity and strengthen the competitiveness of the Nigerian capital market.

According to the Commission, the reforms would ultimately improve the attractiveness of the Nigerian market to both domestic and international investors.

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“Education is a human right with immense power to transform. On its foundation rest the cornerstones of freedom, democracy and sustainable human development.”-
Kofi Annan

Those are not just words. They are a blueprint for every society that hopes to grow.
In Nigeria today, and across the world, education remains the foundation upon which we build our future. It is the passport to opportunity, the light that turns ignorance into possibility, and the tool that transforms individuals into communities, and communities into nations. These resonates with Dr. Maruf Tunji Alausa’s appointment as the 31st Nigeria’s Minister of Education on October 23, 2024, following President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s cabinet reshuffle. He inherited a sector long described in superlatives of the wrong kind such as the world’s largest population of out-of-school children, decaying laboratories, fragmented data, and a workforce mismatch between what schools produce and what the economy needs. Nearly two years on, the ministry under his watch has moved with unusual speed, focusing on skills development, system reforms, and institutional partnerships by rolling out a string of reforms under the banner of the Nigeria Education Sector Renewal Initiative (NESRI).

NESRI as the Ministry’s six-point reform framework under the Renewed Hope Agenda, the goal is to transform Nigeria from a resource-based economy to a knowledge-based economy and ensure every child has access to quality education in safe environments especially in underserved areas.

Before now, precisely in 2022, the Federal Ministry of Education had focused on Data Repository, Out-of-School Children Education, Teacher Training & Development, and Skill Development & Acquisition (DOTS) a system-wide policy framework launched to drive reforms across the education sector. However, inderthe leadership of the current Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Tunji Alausa, DOTS was expanded and refined into the Nigeria Education Sector Renewal Initiative (NESRI), providing a more comprehensive framework for the transformation of Nigeria’s education system. NESRI is structured around six key pillars, each addressing a critical area of the sector and working collectively towards improving access, quality, relevance and outcomes across all levels of education.

For instance, the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) coined to develop and expand skills acquisition and entrepreneurship to reduce unemployment by training youths with practical, job-ready skills.

The TVET is a centerpiece, which the minister has repeatedly framed as central to breaking Nigeria’s dependence on white-collar credentials in an economy that cannot absorb them. As such, Federal technical colleges have been made tuition-free, with monthly stipends attached and biometric attendance systems used to verify participation before funds are disbursed. Officials say over 1.3 million people applied for the programme’s first cohorts, with more than 250,000 already enrolled and N2.97 billion disbursed as stipend to 160,000 youths in addition to N4.6 billion allocated to skills training centres. The Education Minister has charged the newly inaugurated Board of the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) to drive industry 4.0 Reform on skills acquisition and global competitiveness.

Alongside TVET sits science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medical sciences (STEMM) The focus is to Strengthen STEMM curricular, expand science laboratories, and foster partnerships for advanced technology in schools for 21st century curricular. According to the Ministry, the program is already receiving fresh investment in laboratories and research infrastructure, partly through partnerships such as a transnational education agreement between the University of Lagos and the University of Birmingham, and a Student Venture Capital Grant offering qualifying undergraduates up to ₦50 million for innovation projects.

On the data and digitization front, the ministry has launched the Digital Nigeria Education Management Information System (DNEMIS), intended to replace a slow, paper-based census that once took nearly two years to produce usable figures. Built on the DHIS2 platform with support from UNICEF and the University of Oslo, DNEMIS is presented as the foundation of a broader National Education Data Infrastructure meant to give federal and subnational authorities a shared, near real-time picture of enrollment, staffing and infrastructure.

The objective is to build a comprehensive, accurate, and verifiable database for the entire education sector. Thereby building a comprehensive, accurate, and verifiable database through which performances of students, teachers, and adequacy of school facilities are tracked real time is apt. About 1500 schools have been registered in Digital platforms put in place for enrolment, retention, and performance evaluation.

Also critical in NESRI scheme is the issue of Out-of-School Children and Almajiri Education. Though the figure of over 15 million out of school children is contentious, the ministry is aggressively striving to reduce the number nationwide. Latest statistics indicate that over one million out-of-school children have been returned to classrooms through infrastructure, teacher development, and digital tracking.

Tangential to the out-of-school children, is the initiative of Girl-Child access and retention in school, the Ministry has distributed over one million sanitary pads to 370,000 girls in rural communities to reduce absenteeism.

In all these, Quality Assurance is imperative hence the Ministry of Education has device strategy to ensure Improved quality and governance across institutions by
Strengthening standards, monitoring and collaboration with states, private sector, and civil society.

Most recently, Minister Alausa announced plans to scrap the long-standing “disarticulation policy” that keeps Junior and Senior Secondary Schools as separate administrative units with different principals and facilities. The minister cited government figures showing roughly 80,000 public primary schools against only 15,000 junior secondary schools, and estimated that more than 20 million children who enroll in primary school never reach senior secondary. The proposal is to move toward an uninterrupted six-year secondary structure, which will go before the National Council on Education for formal consideration and ratification.

The initiatives are so comprehensive that children with special needs like autism are being catered for with the plan to establish six regional centres to be equipped with modern facilities for specialist training in the areas of audiology, speech and occupational therapy.

Industry voices have credited the minister with restoring a great deal prestige to technical education, and he was named Independent Newspapers’ Most Innovative Cabinet Minister of 2025, an honor he attributed to a “one-government approach” of collaboration across agencies and state governments.

What is clear is that Nigeria’s education ministry, under Alausa, who’s being ably assisted by the Minister of State, Professor Suwaiba Sa’id, has rarely been short of activity — new programmes, new data systems, and now a proposed structural overhaul have followed one another in quick succession. What remains to be seen is whether that volume of reform converts into measurable gains in enrollment, learning outcomes, and youth employability. As the JSS-SSS proposal heads to the National Council on Education, it will likely serve as the next real test of whether the ministry’s ambition and its capacity for follow-through are keeping pace with each other.

The scope of what has been attempted is massive and difficult to ignore and Nigerians are eagerly waiting to reap the fruits of the transformation.

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The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has intensified efforts to reduce unclaimed funds and other dormant investment assets by launching a Probate/Unclaimed Monies Awareness and Investor Clinic aimed at helping beneficiaries recover inherited investments and strengthening investor protection in Nigeria’s capital market.

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The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will on Thursday August 6, hold an investor clinic in Abuja to educate investors and beneficiaries on how to recover unclaimed monies and inherited investments in the Nigerian capital market.

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History was made today as the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), at its headquarters in Abuja, presented new Licence Certificates to insurance companies that successfully met the Commission’s new minimum capital requirements.

In his opening remarks, the Commissioner for Insurance (CFI) congratulated the successful companies and stated that the issuance of the new licences marks a significant milestone in the recapitalization programme. He noted that the development signals the beginning of a new regulatory era focused on stronger capitalization, improved corporate governance, enhanced product innovation, and the Commission’s broader drive to build a stronger, more resilient, and globally competitive insurance industry in Nigeria.

The Commissioner urged the companies to leverage their enhanced capital base to drive innovation, develop new products, and deepen insurance penetration across the country. He emphasized that the Commission has high expectations for professionalism, innovation, operational efficiency, and improved returns on investment, noting that the successful completion of the recapitalization programme positions the industry for the next phase of regulatory reform.

He further announced that the Commission’s next major regulatory initiative will be the implementation of the Risk-Based Capital (RBC) framework, under which insurers’ capital levels will be aligned with the risks inherent in their business portfolios.

The Commission reaffirmed its commitment to removing regulatory impediments where appropriate while maintaining robust oversight and enforcing standards that protect policyholders and strengthen market confidence.

A total of 43 insurance companies that were declared compliant with the new capital requirements are expected to receive their new licences from the Commission. The issuance of the certificates marks the commencement of a phased transition to higher capital standards aimed at enhancing the financial capacity, solvency, and claims-paying ability of insurance operators in Nigeria.

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