MPC meeting, ATM transaction fees hike… business stories to track this week

Here are the seven top business stories you need to track this week — February 17 to February 21.

CBN TO HOLD MPC MEETING FEBRUARY 19

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) says the 299th monetary policy committee (MPC) meeting will now be held on February 19 and 20.

The meeting was previously slated for February 17 and 18.

At the last meeting held on November 25 and 26, 2024, the committee raised the monetary policy rate (MPR), which benchmarks interest rates in the country, to 27.50 percent — from 27.25 percent.

N’ASSEMBLY PASSES 2025 BUDGET, INCREASES ESTIMATES BY N719BN

The house of representatives has passed the sum of N54.9 trillion as budget for the 2025 fiscal year.

The lower legislative chamber passed the budget on February 13 after Abubakar Bichi, the chairman of the committee on appropriation, presented the report.

Also, the senate passed the appropriation bill.

Both chambers of the national assembly passed N54,990,165,355,396 as the 2025 budget, increasing it by N719,520,029,363.

CBN INCREASES ATM TRANSACTION FEES 

CBN has announced a review of the transaction fees for automated teller machines (ATMs)

In a circular signed by John Onojah, acting director of the financial policy and regulation department, the CBN said the revised charges will take effect from March 1.

The regulator said the move would address rising operational costs and enhance efficiency in the banking sector.

CBN REASSURES CUSTOMERS OF KEYSTONE BANK THAT FUNDS ARE SAFE

Also, on February 14, the CBN reassured customers of Keystone Bank Limited that the financial institution remains safe and fully operational.

The development comes a day after Keystone Bank announced that the federal government has officially taken full ownership.

In a statement, Hakama Sidi Ali, the acting director of the corporate communications department at CBN, said the apex bank’s focus will be to monitor the performance of the bank.

TCN DENIES REPORTS OF GRID COLLAPSE

The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has denied reports claiming that the national grid collapsed twice in 2025.

In a statement on its official X handle on Saturday, TCN said it is mischievous and misleading.

The company clarified that while there was no system collapse, a tripping incident occurred on February 12, 2025, affecting power supply in Abuja, Lagos, and Osogbo.

TCN explained that the Omotosho-Ikeja West 330 kilovolt (kV) transmission line tripped, while the Benin-Egbin 330kV line was undergoing scheduled maintenance.

The commission said the disruption caused a cascade effect, leading to outages in some areas, though other parts of the country remained unaffected.

CUSTOMS SUSPENDS IMPLEMENTATION OF 4% FOB LEVY 

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has suspended the implementation of a 4 percent charge on the free-on-board (FOB) value of imports.

In a statement on February 11, Abdullahi Maiwasa, assistant comptroller of NCS, said the suspension will enable comprehensive stakeholder engagement and consultations regarding the implementation framework.

Maiwasa said the move follows ongoing consultations with Wale Edun, the minister of finance and coordinating minister of the economy.

NIGERIA MEETS OPEC’s CRUDE OIL PRODUCTION QUOTA OF 1.5M BPD 

The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) says Nigeria’s average daily crude oil production increased significantly to 1.53 million barrels per day (bpd) in January.

The country for the first time met the global oil cartel’s production quota of 1.5 million bpd since it was set — for the 2024 period — at OPEC’s ministerial meeting on November 30, 2023.

In December 2024, the quota was extended to 2026 as Nigeria produced below the quota for over a year.