Ecobank Nigeria has assured customers of uninterrupted access to banking services throughout the year-end holiday period via its secure and robust digital platforms.

In a statement on Friday, the bank also urged customers to remain vigilant against fraud and scams during the festive season.

Speaking on the development, the Head, Products & Analytics, Consumer & Commercial Banking, Ecobank Nigeria, Victor Yalokwu, said the bank’s digital channels and over 35,000 Ecobank Xpress Point (agency banking) locations nationwide will remain fully available to support customers throughout the yuletide and year-end holiday period.

He noted that customers will continue to enjoy a wide range of services during the period, including local and international funds transfers, bill payments and airtime top-ups, merchant and QR payments, balance inquiries and account statements, as well as cardless cash withdrawals via ATMs.

“Ecobank encourages customers to leverage these digital solutions for safe, fast, and efficient banking, especially during the festive season when convenience and reliability are essential. While physical branch operations may be subject to adjusted working hours in line with public holidays, customers can be assured that Ecobank’s digital platforms are designed to deliver uninterrupted service and enhanced security at all times.

“Ecobank remains committed to providing innovative financial solutions and exceptional customer service, and we wish all our customers a joyful festive season and a prosperous New Year,” he said.

Yalokwu also cautioned customers to remain vigilant against fraudsters and scammers during the period.

“Before you wrap up the year, tighten your security. December brings online sales, travel, and year-end distractions—this is exactly when scammers are most active. From fake festive deals to cloned merchant sites and suspicious messages, staying vigilant helps keep your money safe,” he said.

He advised customers to shop only on trusted websites, never share their PINs, passwords, or one-time passwords, avoid banking on public Wi-Fi networks, be cautious of urgent or emotionally charged messages, and regularly review their account activity.

The PUNCH reports that Ecobank Nigeria is a member of the Ecobank Group, the pan-African banking institution with operations in 33 African countries and international offices in London, Paris, Beijing, and Dubai.

States and Local Government councils reduced their bank borrowings by about N547.52bn in one year, as Federation Account inflows surge, according to findings by Saturday PUNCH.

Figures from the Central Bank of Nigeria’s latest Quarterly Statistical Bulletin reveal that the banking sector’s “claims on state and Local Governments” fell from N2.68tn in June 2024 to N2.13tn in June 2025.

This means sub-national governments collectively cut their indebtedness to commercial and merchant banks by 20.4 per cent year-on-year.

Further analysis shows that in January 2024, banks’ exposure to states and councils stood at N2.73tn. One year later, in January 2025, the figure had dropped to N2.44tn, indicating that about N292bn was cleared during that period.

The outstanding balance then ticked up slightly in February 2025 to N2.59tn and eased again to N2.55tn in March 2025. By April and May 2025, exposure steadied around N2.44tn–N2.45tn, before a sharp decline to N2.13tn in June 2025, representing the largest single-month adjustment during the year.

Year-on-year, June provided the clearest shift. The banks were owed N2.68tn in June 2024, but the balance had fallen by more than half a trillion naira a year later.

Month-on-month, the drop from May 2025’s N2.45tn to June 2025’s N2.13tn amounted to about N313bn, signalling an aggressive push to unwind bank obligations at the end of the second quarter amid high interest rates and rising FAAC allocations.

It was observed that throughout 2024, the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Monetary Policy Committee aggressively tightened policy, lifting the Monetary Policy Rate from 18.75 per cent at the start of the year to about 27.50 per cent by November, through multiple successive hikes to rein in inflation and stabilise the exchange rate.

In 2025, the MPC largely held rates steady at 27.50 per cent for much of the year, signalling a cautious pause after the earlier tightening cycle as inflation began to moderate. However, in September 2025, the committee delivered its first rate cut in five years, trimming the MPR to 27.00 per cent, reflecting slowing price pressures and a gradual shift toward supporting broader economic activity.

By November 2025, the CBN reaffirmed the 27.00 per cent benchmark, balancing the need to sustain disinflation with financial stability concerns as borrowing costs remained high but gradually more accommodative.

The high interest rate likely pushed sub-nationals to reduce borrowing as FAAC allocations rise. Further analysis of FAAC records shows a jump in what state governments and local government councils jointly received in 2025 compared with 2024, reflecting the scale of the revenue windfall now flowing through the federation account.

Data from the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation show that states and local governments jointly received N12.67tn in 2025, up from N8.96tn in 2024. These figures exclude the 13 per cent derivation fund for oil-producing states. The difference of N3.71tn represents a 41.4 per cent surge in year-on-year statutory inflows to the two tiers of government.

When the 13 per cent derivation fund is added, the gap remains just as stark. States and councils together received N14.28tn in 2025, compared with N10.31tn in 2024, meaning an extra N3.98tn, or about 38.6 per cent more than the previous year.

The derivation component alone rose from N1.35tn in 2024 to N1.62tn in 2025. A closer look at the breakdown shows that states were the biggest beneficiaries in absolute terms.

State governments’ FAAC share rose from N5.19tn in 2024 to N7.31tn in 2025, an increase of N2.13tn, equivalent to a 41 per cent rise year-on-year. Local government councils followed the same pattern, with allocations rising from N3.77tn in 2024 to N5.35tn in 2025 — a jump of N1.58tn, or 41.8 per cent.

The trend was visible month after month. In January 2024, states received N396.69bn, but by January 2025, this had risen to N498.50bn. The figures continued to climb through the year, peaking at N727.17bn for states in October 2025, before closing the year at N601.73bn in December 2025, still well above the N549.79bn recorded in December 2024.

Local governments recorded the same step-change. Councils received N288.93bn in January 2024, compared with N361.75bn in January 2025. Allocations crossed the N500bn mark in the final quarter of 2025, reaching N529.95bn in October, the highest for the year, before ending at N445.27bn in December 2025, higher than the N402.55bn shared in December 2024.

The 2024 figures show that allocations to councils typically sat in the N267bn–N294bn band for much of the first half of that year, while state allocations hovered around N366bn–N403bn.

In contrast, the 2025 data show that councils rarely received below N387bn and states seldom below N498bn in any month. Overall, total FAAC allocations to all three tiers of government rose from N13.91tn in 2024 to N20.28tn in 2025, while the total distributable revenue, including derivation, climbed from N15.26tn to N21.89tn. States and councils together accounted for the bulk of that increase.

The surge in inflows also seems to drive the decrease in the bank debt of states and councils. In a recent statement by the acting Director of Communication and Stakeholders Management at the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, Mrs Obiageli Onuorah, the agency noted that the report highlighted the financial strain on states due to debt repayments, despite record-high disbursements from the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee.

According to the statement, a report by NEITI showed that several states with high debt burdens also ranked lower in FAAC allocations, raising concerns about their fiscal sustainability and ability to fund critical projects.

“The report noted that many states with high debt ratios were in the lower half of the FAAC allocation rankings but ranked higher for debt deductions, raising concerns about their debt-to-revenue ratios and overall fiscal health,” the statement read.

The Director-General of Nigeria’s Debt Management Office, Ms Patience Oniha, recently called on state governments to adopt Public-Private Partnerships and prioritise tax revenue generation over borrowing to fund infrastructure projects.

She made these remarks during a one-day workshop in Lagos, organised under the States Action on Business Enabling Reforms Programme with World Bank support. Oniha said, “Borrowing should not be the major way to source funds.  You must increase your revenues by increasing your tax revenues.

“Public-private partnerships can help improve Nigeria’s economy by attracting private sector investment and expertise to develop infrastructure and deliver public services. This reduces the financial burden on the government, accelerates project delivery, and often results in higher quality outcomes. PPPs can also create jobs, stimulate local businesses, and foster innovation.”

The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry has warned that the country cannot industrialise or expand manufacturing without solving its electricity challenges. It called on the Federal Government to refocus Nigeria’s development strategy on engineering, technical skills and a reliable power supply.

The President of the LCCI, Leye Kupoluyi, said Nigeria’s failure to prioritise engineering capacity and technical competence continues to weaken the manufacturing sector and slow industrial growth.

In an interview with The PUNCH, Kupoluyi stated that countries classified as developed earned that status through their engineering strength, manufacturing capacity and skilled human capital, despite mineral resources.

He said, “When an economy is an industrial economy, we say this country is a developed country. For a country to qualify as a developed country, it must have strength in engineering and technical knowledge. That is basic.”

Kupoluyi, an engineer, said nations that dominate global trade built their influence on manufacturing and technical skills, stressing that no country can become developed by relying on imports.

“You can’t take over the world without having that skill, without having that technical edge, without having engineering capacity. It’s not just possible,” he said.

The LCCI president noted that excessive dependence on imports prevents any country from being regarded as developed, regardless of its natural resource endowment.

“When you have to import everything that makes your economy tick, nobody will ever refer to that country as a developed country. Mineral resources would not qualify any country to be a so-called developed country,” Kupoluyi said.

He added that global examples show that countries with limited mineral resources but strong manufacturing bases are consistently ranked as developed economies.

“It is human resources, it is technical, it is engineering, it is skill, it is manufacturing. We don’t need to contest that at all,” he said.

Kupoluyi also linked engineering development to youth empowerment, citing Nigeria’s success in technology-driven sectors such as financial technology.

He said, “Take FinTech in Nigeria. That has been 100 per cent taken over by our youth. We have more than five unicorns in FinTech.”

He added that young Nigerians are driving innovation and wealth creation through technology-based enterprises, highlighting digital platforms transforming services such as food delivery and logistics.

“That is the power of technology. That is the power of knowledge. That is what we just need to focus on,” Kupoluyi said.

On power supply, the LCCI president said electricity remains a major constraint to manufacturing and engineering businesses but noted that the decentralisation of power is a positive step.

He said, “What the government has done to decentralise power is a good step in the right direction. Sub-nationals should take advantage of it, being able to provide power in their own environment.”

Kupoluyi urged the government to encourage off-grid and renewable energy solutions, arguing that leaving the national grid is not necessarily a sign of failure but an economic decision.

“You can go off the grid for economic reasons. When you can produce power cheaper than what you are getting from the grid, what do you do? You move out,” he said.

He disclosed that his organisation operates off-grid using solar energy, with significant installed capacity, stating, “We are off the grid here. Everything is here. I have close to 100 kVA solar power.”

Kupoluyi called for incentives to support the adoption of renewable energy, including tax reliefs, import incentives for batteries and possible cashback schemes.

“There might be an incentive to go green. There might be an incentive for bringing those batteries to Nigeria. In some cases, they will give you a cashback incentive,” he said.

He argued that widespread adoption of decentralised power solutions would boost production and support industrialisation.

“That is where they need this power. Tomorrow, at your apartment, you will put it on solar. I think that is the way to go,” Kupoluyi added.

Meanwhile, power sector challenges undermined industrial growth, according to a policy brief by the Director of the Centre for Promotion of Private Enterprise, Dr Muda Yusuf.

Yusuf said Nigeria’s power sector remains one of the most difficult areas of economic reform, despite several interventions.

“Nigeria’s power sector remains one of the most challenging areas of the country’s economic reform agenda,” he said.

He noted that the sector faces “deep structural, financial, and governance challenges,” including tariff distortions, weak investor capacity, transmission bottlenecks, and a persistent liquidity crisis.

Yusuf said the failure to implement cost-reflective tariffs has entrenched subsidy dependence and widened the sector’s financing gap, pushing sector debt to about N4tn.

“The current trajectory, characterised by rising sector debt, is fiscally unsustainable without deeper structural corrections,” he warned.

He added that weaknesses across the power value chain, from gas supply to distribution, continue to limit electricity supply and reliability.

Yusuf called for phased tariff reforms, stronger governance, recapitalisation of distribution companies, transmission reforms and greater support for decentralised and renewable power.

He said, “Power sector reform remains central to Nigeria’s economic competitiveness, industrial growth and social welfare.”