Business

GTCO Unveils First-Ever Holiday Edition of Food & Drink Festival, Scheduled for December 20–21, 2025

Published

7 months ago

December 13, 2025

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Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc (GTCO Plc) has launched the inaugural Holiday Edition of its renowned GTCO Food & Drink Festival, Africa’s largest culinary event.

The two-day festival is scheduled for December 20 and 21, 2025, at the GTCentre in Oniru, Victoria Island, Lagos.

This special edition marks a festive expansion of the annual festival, blending African culinary excellence with family-oriented holiday experiences and support for small businesses.

Unlike previous editions, it shifts focus from chef masterclasses to immersive attractions tailored for the holiday season.

Segun Agbaje, Group Chief Executive Officer of GTCO Plc, highlighted the event’s significance: “The GTCO Food & Drink Festival is a powerful platform that aligns with our mission to fuel enterprise, promote African creativity, and connect communities through meaningful lifestyle experiences.

The Holiday Edition gives us an exciting opportunity to celebrate the festive season while supporting thousands of food entrepreneurs who form the backbone of our economy.”

Record-Breaking SME ParticipationTrue to its commitment to empowering local businesses, GTCO continues its free vendor participation model.

For this edition:

– Over 4,000 applications were received.

– 213 Nigerian-owned food SMEs were selected—nearly double the number from recent editions.

– Vendors will offer diverse, affordable culinary options, providing a high-traffic platform to boost visibility and sales during the holidays.

The surge in participation highlights the festival’s role in driving SME growth and inclusive economic development.

The 2025 Holiday Edition introduces tailored attractions:-

**Christmas Village**: A curated marketplace with handcrafted gifts, seasonal delicacies, artisanal products, and holiday entertainment.

– **Large Children’s Play Zone**: Immersive games and activities for families.

– **Street Food Hub**: Showcasing Nigeria’s vibrant street food diversity.

– **Live Entertainment**: High-energy DJ sets from top Nigerian performers.

The event aligns with GTCO’s corporate social responsibility goals, promoting community impact, SME support, and Nigeria’s creative economy.

Admission is free and open to the public, emphasizing accessibility to world-class experiences.

For more details, visit the official site at [foodanddrink.gtcoplc.com](https://foodanddrink.gtcoplc.com/).

Related Topics:Featured GTCO Unveils First-Ever Holiday Edition of Food & Drink Festival

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Business

Cardoso Urges Banks To Lend Out Idle Funds With CBN * Retains MPR at 26.5%

Cardoso made the call on Tuesday after the 306th Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting held in Abuja from July 20 to July 21.

Published

4 hours ago

July 21, 2026

OCHEFA

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The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Olayemi Cardoso , urged banks from keeping idle funds with the apex bank and encouraging increased lending into the economy.

Cardoso made the call on Tuesday after the 306th Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting held in Abuja from July 20 to July 21.

The apex bank retained the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR), also known as benchmark interest rate, at 26. 5 percent.

This decision marks the second consecutive retention of the MPR at 26.5 per cent, following a 50-basis-point reduction in February from 27 per cent.

“The committee’s decision to maintain the current policy stand follows a thorough assessment of the balance of risk,” said Cardoso.

He emphasised that although headline inflation moderated marginally in June 2026, global uncertainties have heightened due mainly to the renewed hostilities in the Middle East.

The MPC also adjusted the asymmetric facilities corridor around the MPR to +50/-450 basis points—a move aimed at discouraging banks from keeping idle fund with CBN.

Furthermore, the committee maintained the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) for commercial banks at 45 per cent, retained the rate for merchant banks at 16 per cent, and kept the CRR on non-TSA public-sector deposits at 75 per cent for liquidity management considerations.

Cardoso said despite the global uncertainties, the Nigerian economy has “remained largely resilient to the external shocks”.

Business

CBN admits it opened domiciliary accounts for PFIPC agency

Represented by the Director of its Banking Services Department, Hamisu Ibrahim, the CBN said that the accounts are one in US dollars, the other in British pounds sterling, were opened following a mandate received from the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation.

Published

13 hours ago

July 21, 2026

OCHEFA

20 Views

File photo : PFIPC agency DG, Adeniyi Adeyemi

The Central Bank of Nigeria had admitted that it opened two foreign-currency domiciliary accounts for the controversial Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC).

The apex bank made the confirmation, yesterday, during the public hearing convened at the National Assembly Complex by the House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee investigating the existence and operations of the PFIPC, chaired by Yusuf Gagdi and inaugurated by Speaker Tajudeen Abbas.

He explained that on July 30, 2025, CBN received a mandate dated July 29, 2025 from the Office of the Accountant-General.

“We received the mandate to authorise two accounts, one a US dollar domiciliary account, the other a pound domiciliary account, for the Presidential Economic Advisory Council/Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council,” Ibrahim told the committee.

He explained the CBN’s verification process, “The process of opening an account requires a mandate from the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation.

“Once we receive that mandate, we perform all the necessary verifications to confirm that this mandate is actually coming from that office.

The department that handles the mandate is different from the department that actually does the account opening,” he said.

Nevertheless, he noted that no one came to activate the accounts after they were opened.“We did not receive any correspondence, mandate, signature or mandate cards. We were not introduced to the authorising or approving officers.“Based on that, those accounts remain inactive, with zero balance. There have been no foreign exchange allocations.