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CBN Urges Banks to Obtain Customers’ Social Media Handles For easy Identification

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All Financial institutions across the country have been mandated by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to obtain the social media handles of customers for the purpose of identification.

It also asked financial institutions to obtain e-mail addresses, telephone numbers, and residential addresses, among other things, from customers.

This is contained in the new CBN customer due diligence regulations aimed at further strengthening the identification process in the banking system.

These regulations shall apply to all financial institutions under the purview of the CBN, as noted in the document.

The apex bank published the ‘Central Bank of Nigeria (Customer Due Diligence) Regulations, 2023’ document on its website on Friday.

According to the CBN, the new regulation was designed to provide additional customer due diligence measures for financial institutions under its regulatory purview.

The objective of the regulations the apex bank noted includes, “To provide additional customer due diligence measures for financial institutions under the regulatory purview of the Central Bank of Nigeria to further their compliance with relevant provisions of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act (MLPPA), 2022, Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act (TPPA), 2022, Central Bank of Nigeria (Anti-Money Laundering, Combating the Financing of Terrorism and Countering Proliferation Financing of Weapons of Mass Destruction in Financial Institutions) Regulations, 2022 (CBN AML, CFT and CPF Regulations) and international best practices.

“And enable the CBN to enforce compliance with customer due diligence measures in line with the CBN AML, CFT and CPF Regulations.”

The apex bank, under its customer identification column, said financial institutions must identify their customers (whether permanent or occasional, and whether natural or legal persons or legal arrangements) and obtain the following information:

“For Individuals — legal name and any other names used (such as maiden name), permanent address (full physical address), residential address (where the customer can be located), telephone number, e-mail address, and social media handle; date and place of birth, Bank Verification number; Tax Identification number; nationality; occupation; public position held; and name of employer.”

It also noted that an individual must have “an official personal identification number or other unique identifier contained in an unexpired document issued by a government agency that bears the name, photograph, and signature of the customer, such as a passport, national identification card, residence permit, social security records, or drivers’ license.”

Part of the requirement includes “Type of account and nature of the banking relationship, and signature, and politically exposed person status.

The regulator also maintained that financial institutions shall not establish or keep anonymous accounts, numbered accounts, or accounts in fictitious names.

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Senate Constitutes Abdullahi Yahaya Tax Harmonisation Committee

Altogether, the four Tax Reform bills were Executive Bills transmitted by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to the two chambers of the National Assembly in November last year.

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The Senate on Thursday constituted a committee saddled with the responsibility of harmonizing its amendments to the tax reform bills with the House of Representatives version for final transmission to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, announced this during plenary after the passage of the bills.

Akpabio named senator Abdullahi Yahaya (Kebbi North) as chairman of the committee.

The members of the committee as announced by the Senate President are Senate Minority Leader, Abba Moro (PDP, Benue South), Chief Whip, Tahir Mongumo (APC, Borno North), Enyinnaya Abaribe (Abia South), Abdulaziz Yari (Zamfara), and Solomon Adeola (APC, Ogun West).

Earlier, the remaining two Tax Reform Bills — the Nigeria Tax Bill 2025 and the Joint Revenue Board (Establishment) Bill, 2025.

This was in addition to passage of the Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Bill, 2025, and the Nigerian Tax Administration Bill, 2025.

Altogether, the four Tax Reform bills were Executive Bills transmitted by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to the two chambers of the National Assembly in November last year.

The passage of the bills was sequel to the consideration and adoption of a report of the Senate Committee on Finance presented by its Chairman, Senator Sani Musa (APC, Niger East).

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Meta’s Exit to Throw 20 million Nigerian MSMEs Out of Business

The Global System for Mobile Communications Association reported that Nigerian MSMEs rely heavily on Facebook and Instagram for sales, customer engagement, and brand visibility.

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A Digital Marketing Consultant at EssenceMediacom, Olayinka Shobola, believes that a shutdown of Facebook and Instagram operations in Nigeria would deal a serious blow to Nigeria’s digital economy, especially millions of micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

The Global System for Mobile Communications Association reported that Nigerian MSMEs rely heavily on Facebook and Instagram for sales, customer engagement, and brand visibility.

“Meta Platforms’ threat to halt operations in Nigeria could devastate 56 percent of the nation’s 39.6 players in the information technology space,” Shobola said, stressing that such an exit would erode tax revenues and force businesses to seek costly alternatives, as a $290 million fine dispute with regulators intensifies.

“Businesses that built their brands on Meta’s platforms would face immediate challenges.

The platforms have become essential tools for business survival and growth in Africa’s largest economy, where SMEs contribute nearly 50 per cent to GDP and represent more than 96 per cent of registered businesses.

“Most likely affected businesses will pivot to platforms like X or TikTok for short-term survival, but long-term, they’ll need to invest in standalone e-commerce or offline channels,” Shobola said.

“Jobs will take a hit; marketers, influencers, and agencies will lose contracts overnight.”

Statista forecasts a $148.2m social media ad market in 2025, with Facebook commanding up to $120m, driven by 38 million ad-reachable users.“My shop practically lives on these platforms, especially Instagram,” Lagos-based baker Fatima Tunde said. “If it’s gone, I’m out of business.”

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UAE Invests in $25bn African- Atlantic Gas Pipeline

The gas pipeline will connect Nigeria’s gas network with Morocco’s southern city of Dakhla and then go northward toward Europe.

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Gas pipelines

Morocco’s Minister of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development, Leila Benali, said that the UAE is now one of the supporters of the Nigeria to Morocco gas pipeline project, which is estimated to cost $25 billion.

“The project now called the “African-Atlantic Gas Pipeline”, has won the support of IDB, OPEC Fund, EIB and the UAE,” Benali told Nigerian lawmakers, this week.

Benali also said that Morocco has finished all the feasibility and engineering studies needed for the pipeline.

Moroccan industry experts said that the project has already passed the feasibility study and Front End Engineering Design stages.

The gas pipeline will connect Nigeria’s gas network with Morocco’s southern city of Dakhla and then go northward toward Europe.

The line will pass through 15 African countries, boosting trade, development, and access to electricity in the region.

In Phase One, it will link Morocco to gas fields near Senegal and Mauritania, and connect Ghana to the Ivory Coast.

Phase Two will link Nigeria to Ghana, while Phase Three will connect the Ivory Coast to Senegal.

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