GBN

Lagos, June 19, 2026 – Prof. Yakubu, former Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), has arrived in Qatar to a warm reception to assume duty as Nigeria’s new Ambassador to the Gulf state of Qatar.  He was received in Doha on June 17, 2026 by Ambassador Ibrahim Yousif Abdullah Fakhro, the Director of the Protocol Department at the Qatar Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The welcoming party included 13 African envoys accredited to Qatar – Algeria, Burundi, Morocco, Tanzania, Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Senegal, Togo, Benin, and the …

Lagos, June, 19, 2026 – Union Bank’s Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer sat with 30 of Nigeria’s most promising young leaders for a frank conversation on character, relationships and the discipline of growth. Out of 25,000 applicants, only 30 earned a place. That single figure tells you how rare the room was when Yetunde B. Oni, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Union Bank of Nigeria, recently sat down with a cohort of the Lateef Jakande Leadership Academy. The Academy, a Lagos State Government initiative established in honour …

By Howard Schneider Washington, June 19, 2026 – U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh put his stamp on the job fast this week at a debut policy meeting that produced a return to stripped-down, 1990s-style central banking, before this century’s crises put the Fed center-stage in economic management and turned its leader into a consoler-in-chief for Wall ​Street and Main Street alike. The question now is whether the reduced role he seeks for the Fed and in effect for himself is compatible with a world grown more complex, a more-intense and …

Lagos, Fidelity Bank Plc, a leading financial institution, has reaffirmed its commitment to sustainable social impact and economic inclusion through the empowerment of women and schoolchildren in Anambra State. The intervention, held recently in Awka during the 2026 Fidelity Empowerment Programme, featured the distribution of 200 sewing and grinding machines to women entrepreneurs, N25 million in seed capital support, 1,500 food packs to vulnerable households, and 250 solar-powered school bags to schoolchildren. The initiative was implemented in partnership with Healthy Living with Nonye Soludo, a Non-Governmental Organisation led by the …

Lagos, June 19, 2026 – Femi Otedola, the Chairman of First Bank Group (FirstHoldCo), has acquired additional 672.9 million shares in the group, bringing its total stake in the company to 20.4 per cent. The additional shares valued at N29.6 billion, were acquired through the group’s N350 billion private placement held on Thursday. According to a statement by the group, the bulk of proceeds from the private placement is to be ploughed into the First Bank of Nigeria as part of its capital restoration plan and broader balance sheet strengthening …

Lagos, June 19, 2026 – The Nigerian currency, the Naira depreciated to N1,363.3040 to the doallar at the official foreign exchange market (NFEM) on Thursday. The exchange rate was N1,360.0725 to the dollar at the market on Wednesday. The naira has been depreciating steadily in the market in the previous three trading days. It was N1,357.1808 to the dollar on Tuesday and N1,356.2704 to the dollar on Monday. Meanwhile, the naira is being traded at the black market in Lagos at between N1,400 and N1,450 to the dollar.

Chicago, June 19, 2026 – Former President Barack Obama formally opened his presidential center in Chicago on Thursday with a call to defend democracy as three former presidents joined him on stage in an extraordinary event featuring politicians, A-list celebrities, athletes and other internationally known figures. “I hope this center will serve as an affirmation of just how special, how precious our democracy truly is and remind us what we can achieve when we embrace our shared responsibilities as citizens,” the nation’s first Black president told the crowd. Bono, John Legend, …

Tehran, June 19, 2026 – The US has dropped its naval blockade of Iran after the two countries signed a deal to end the war in the middle East.  US Central Command confirmed the end of the blockade on X “in accordance with the President’s direction”, and said some US vessels would remain “in the general area”. Soon afterwards, Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei said he had approved the deal with the US despite having a “different view”, without elaborating. He said he allowed it to go ahead after assurances …

By – Axel Schimmelpfennig & Bo Zhao, IMF Lagos, June 19, 2026 – Nigerian households and small firms are moving money across borders in a new way—via smartphones, digital wallets, and U.S. dollar-pegged crypto assets known as stablecoins. What began as a niche technology has evolved into a significant channel for cross-border payments. Its rapid growth is helping to ease long-standing frictions in international transactions while simultaneously testing the limits of existing monetary and regulatory frameworks. The scale of adoption The scale of stablecoin adoption in Nigeria is striking, even …

New Delhi, June 19, 2025 – Oil prices fell on Friday as prospects brightened for more supply after oil tankers began moving ​through the reopening Strait of Hormuz following a peace deal between the ‌United States and Iran. By 0328 GMT, Brent crude futures fell 43 cents, or 0.54%, to $79.42 a barrel and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude slipped 17 cents, or 0.22%, to $76.43 a barrel, with the front-month July contract ​expiring on Monday. The more actively traded August contract was down 30 cents at $75.55 ​a barrel. …