Business

Taiwan Seeks Better Ties with Nigeria, following Tinubu’s St. Lucia Visit

We, the people and Government of Taiwan, wholeheartedly congratulate H. E. President Tinubu for his visions and concrete actions of extending Nigeria’s connection with the Caribbean Island state, just like Taiwan has made diplomatically with St. Lucia.

Published

1 year ago

July 16, 2025

OhiBaba

636 Views

•Andy Yih-Ping Liu

TAIWAN’S Representative/ Head of Mission in Nigeria Andy Yih-Ping Liu has congratulated Nigeria’s fresh diplomatic engagements with St. Lucia and the Caribbean States.

Liu, in a statement yesterday, asserted that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s most successful state visit to the Caribbean nation of Saint Lucia was truly a landmark achievement in Nigeria’s diplomacy.

The statement reads: “We, the people and Government of Taiwan, wholeheartedly congratulate H. E. President Tinubu for his visions and concrete actions of extending Nigeria’s connection with the Caribbean Island state, just like Taiwan has made diplomatically with St. Lucia.

“Taiwan (ROC) and St. Lucia, as well as three other Caribbean island nations, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Haiti, have long established diplomatic relations with full-fledged embassies setting in each other’s capitals.

“Our diplomatic presence of embassies, together with Development and Technical Aid of medical, agricultural, women and youth empowering, trade and investment strengthening, sustainable development, etc., have truly assisted St. Lucia as well as other Caribbean nations to grow well economically and socially.”

Liu noted that during President Tinubu’s visit, he would have toured some facilities jointly developed by the Taiwanese government and St. Lucian authorities.

“We’re proud to offer our helping hands that produce fruitful results, and we certainly welcome wholeheartedly that Nigeria will also be joining this humanitarian and economic collaborations in the Caribbean area.

“We are extremely delighted to witness President Tinubu graciously receiving the conferment of Knight Commander of the Order of Saint Lucia (K.C.O.S.L.) in recognition of his efforts to strengthen ties between Africa and the Caribbean.

This has showcased His Excellency’s visionary exploration and escalation of Nigeria’s ever-growing international status, and his grand movements in deepening the collaboration with the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS).

“Prime Minister Philip Pierre, that H. E. President Tinubu has met in St. Lucia, visited Taiwan to attend President Ching-Te Lai’s inauguration ceremony on May 20th, 2024.

Also, St. Lucia’s Senate President Madam Alvina Reynolds, that President Tinubu has also met, visited Taiwan to attend our National Day Celebrations on October 10th, 2024.

All these have demonstrated how cordially the diplomatic relations between Taiwan and St. Lucia have been, and our bilateral cooperation have truly showcased Taiwan is such an indispensible and healthy partner for St. Lucia, as well as other Caribbean nations.

“Taiwan (ROC) has survived the heavy pressure from across the Taiwan Strait, and flourished outstandingly in the world, both democratically and economically on nation building.

“We the Taiwanese people are privileged to share our advanced know-how and technology to any country globally, so that we can work together in weathering through all sorts of challenges.

It is therefore, once again, we would like to congratulate dearly for President Tinubu’s diplomatic achievements in his landmark State Visit to St. Lucia, and also sincerely express our goodwill for any future strengthening of Nigeria-Taiwan relations, either in this great nation of Nigeria or in our shared diplomatic allies of St Lucia and the Caribbean states.

“Taiwan remains humble and ready to share its vast knowledge with Nigeria in various fields of comparative advantages, and we would appreciate deeply that His Excellency President Tinubu and Nigeria to view and regard Taiwan as a most advanced and developed, healthy partner, to build substantial relations, like what we have contributed and collaborated in Saint Lucia,” he said.

Related Topics:Featured Nigeria-Taiwan relations

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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

17 Views

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.