Business

Lagos ride-hailing drivers have called an indefinite strike against Bolt and inDrive from Monday, October 12, over fares and commissions they say leave earnings insufficient to cover operating costs.

The figures, contained in the World Bank’s October 2026 Nigeria Development Update, show that interest payments amounted to 124.2 per cent of the Federal Government’s N6.2tn revenue between January and June.

The warning was contained in the group’s first-half 2026 Economic Report, which identified tight external financing conditions as a major risk to the continent’s economic outlook despite continued resilience in economic activity.

The association said forward crude sales could provide greater certainty for refiners, reduce their exposure to international price volatility and improve feedstock planning.

Friday’s recovery offered Nigerian shareholders some relief, but it did not erase the week’s losses.

The fintech company disclosed its intention in a Form F-1 registration statement filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission on October 9, 2026. OPay is pursuing an initial public offering of American Depositary Shares and has applied to list on the New York Stock Exchange under the proposed ticker symbol OPAY.

The NGX All-Share Index rose 21,792.49 points, from 229,419.18 at the end of June to 251,211.67 at September 30. Equity market capitalisation increased by N15.89 trillion, from N147.22 trillion to N163.10 trillion.

Trading activity was mixed during the week. Investors exchanged 2.715 billion shares valued at N158.280 billion, compared with 3.166 billion shares worth N155.023 billion in the preceding week.

Unilever Nigeria Plc reported revenue of N119.92 billion for the six months ended June 30, 2026, up 22.2 percent from N98.10 billion in the corresponding period of 2025. Gross profit rose 30 percent to N54.74 billion, while operating profit increased 29.5 percent to N24.36 billion.

Zenith Bank Plc reported a 1.91 percent year-on-year increase in profit before tax to ₦637.6 billion for the half-year ended June 30, 2026, and proposed a 20 percent increase in its interim dividend to ₦1.50 per share.