₦airaland Forum

After two years of relentless price increases, Nigeria's inflation rate is finally easing. The numbers suggest the worst may be over, but for millions of households still grappling with high food costs, the real issue is whether the relief will be felt beyond the statistics.

Walk through any market in Lagos, Kano, or Port Harcourt, and you'll hear the same complaint: prices have gone mad. For much of the past two years, that sentiment reflected reality. But something is beginning to change. Nigeria's annual inflation rate fell to 14.63% in September 2026, its lowest level since October 2020.

For a country battered by rising living costs, the decline raises an important question: is this the beginning of a genuine turnaround or merely a temporary pause?

First, what inflation actually means

Inflation measures the rate at which prices rise over time. At 14.63%, something that cost ₦100 a year ago would cost roughly ₦115 today. In practical terms, it's the process by which your old budget quietly stops cooperating with reality.

The difference is that prices are now rising more slowly than before, which means they're still climbing, just not as quickly. When inflation cools, households can plan their spending with greater certainty, while savings lose value at a less aggressive pace.

The slow fade of a painful number
The improvement did not happen overnight.

Read more:https://naijup.ng/blog/why-nigerias-inflation-story-could-look-very-different-by-2027

At a time when many Nigerians are struggling with rising living costs, there's an interesting trend happening beneath the surface: some people are earning more money than they ever have before.

This may seem surprising. After all, conversations about the economy are often dominated by inflation, unemployment, and declining purchasing power. But while these challenges are real, they don't tell the whole story.

The economic change creates both winners and losers. While some people are finding it harder to make ends meet, others are taking advantage of new opportunities, building multiple income streams, and tapping into industries that barely existed a decade ago.

Here are five reasons why some Nigerians are earning more than ever before.

1. The internet has opened the door to global opportunities.
In the past, your earning potential was largely tied to your location. If you lived in a city with limited job opportunities, your options were often restricted. Today, the internet has changed that reality.

A graphic designer in Ibadan can work for a company in Canada. A software developer in Lagos can earn income from clients in the United States. A virtual assistant in Port Harcourt can support businesses across multiple continents without leaving home.

Thanks to remote work and freelance platforms, many Nigerians now have access to global markets where earnings are often significantly higher than what some local employers can offer. For many skilled professionals, geography is no longer the barrier it once was. The result is a growing number of Nigerians earning in foreign currencies while living in Nigeria, creating a significant boost to their income.

2. More people are building multiple streams of income.
There was a time when a single job was enough to provide financial stability. Today, many successful Nigerians understand that relying on one source of income can be risky.

Instead of depending solely on a salary, they are combining multiple income streams. A person may have a full-time job while also freelancing, running an online business, investing, creating content, or offering consulting services.

The beauty of this approach is that income from different sources can complement one another. When one stream slows down, another can help fill the gap. Many of the Nigerians experiencing significant income growth may simply be earning from more than one source.

3. High-income skills are more accessible than ever
One of the biggest shifts in today's economy is that valuable skills can often be learned without obtaining another university degree. Fields such as software development, data analysis, digital marketing, UI/UX design, cybersecurity, video editing, copywriting, and product management offer opportunities for people willing to learn.

Unlike previous generations, where career progression was often tied to formal qualifications, today's economy increasingly rewards competence and results. People who invest time in developing in-demand skills frequently discover opportunities that dramatically increase their earning potential.

The gap between low-income and high-income earners is often a skills gap. Those who continuously learn tend to position themselves for better-paying opportunities.

Read more: https://naijup.ng/blog/why-some-nigerians-are-earning-more-than-ever-before

After two years of relentless price increases, Nigeria's inflation rate is finally easing. The numbers suggest the worst may be over, but for millions of households still grappling with high food costs, the real issue is whether the relief will be felt beyond the statistics.

Walk through any market in Lagos, Kano, or Port Harcourt, and you'll hear the same complaint: prices have gone mad. For much of the past two years, that sentiment reflected reality. But something is beginning to change. Nigeria's annual inflation rate fell to 14.63% in September 2026, its lowest level since October 2020.

For a country battered by rising living costs, the decline raises an important question: is this the beginning of a genuine turnaround or merely a temporary pause?

First, what inflation actually means

Inflation measures the rate at which prices rise over time. At 14.63%, something that cost ₦100 a year ago would cost roughly ₦115 today. In practical terms, it's the process by which your old budget quietly stops cooperating with reality.

The difference is that prices are now rising more slowly than before, which means they're still climbing, just not as quickly. When inflation cools, households can plan their spending with greater certainty, while savings lose value at a less aggressive pace.

The slow fade of a painful number
The improvement did not happen overnight.

Nigeria's inflation rate stood at 15.91% in June before slipping to 15.43% in July, 15.39% in August and 14.63% in September. The trend points to a gradual and consistent decline rather than a one-off statistical fluctuation.

The monthly figures tell an even more encouraging story. In September, prices rose by just 0.06% compared with August, a sharp slowdown from the 0.71% recorded a month earlier. Put simply, prices barely moved during the month.

Another encouraging sign is the behaviour of core inflation, which strips out the volatility of food and energy prices to reveal broader price pressures in the economy. Core inflation fell to 12.95%, its lowest level since January 2021, suggesting the slowdown is becoming more widespread rather than being concentrated in a handful of categories.

The bank blinks
Central banks typically fight inflation by raising interest rates, making borrowing more expensive and reducing spending across the economy.

The Central Bank of Nigeria maintained a tough stance for an extended period. In July, it left its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 26.5%, warning that premature easing could put pressure on the naira and reignite inflation.

By September, however, the bank changed course. On September 22, it cut the benchmark rate by 350 basis points, reducing it from 26.5% to 23%. Think of it as loosening a belt that had been pulled tight for months. Borrowing is still far from cheap, but the direction of travel has shifted.

The gap between the policy rate and headline inflation remains substantial, although this alone does not guarantee that inflation will continue to fall.

The plate problem
This is where the story becomes more complicated.

Headline inflation is an average, and averages often mask what families experience in everyday life. Averages can be useful, but they don't buy groceries. Food inflation stood at 19.59% in September, significantly higher than the national rate.

Lagos recorded the highest food inflation rate at 34.40%, followed by Imo at 33.79% and Ondo at 31.49%. Urban residents also continued to face steeper inflation at 15.64%, compared with 12.46% in rural areas.

Read more: https://naijup.ng/blog/why-nigerias-inflation-story-could-look-very-different-by-2027

#NigeriaInflation #NigeriaEconomy #Inflation2027 #NigerianEconomy #CBN

Here's something that has probably happened to you. You hear on the radio that food prices are coming down. You go to your usual mama put, order the same rice, beans and two pieces of meat, and the price is either the same or ₦200 higher.

You're not crazy. The NBS September 2026 numbers back you up.

Food at home went one way, eating out went the other
Between August and September 2026:

• Food and non-alcoholic beverages (what you buy in the market) fell 0.92%

• Restaurants and accommodation services rose 0.78%

Restaurant prices go up easily but almost never come down
The clearest example is January 2026. That month, food and drink prices in the market fell 7.10%, a huge drop. Restaurant prices? Down just 0.08%. That's basically flat.

Then in March, restaurants jumped 6.92% in a single month. No other major spending group in the CPI has risen that much in a single month this year.

Economists call this "sticky prices". Your buka woman calls it common sense. Once she has painted ₦1,500 on the board, she isn't repainting it to ₦1,400 because tomatoes got cheaper this week. Too much wahala, and she's not sure the drop will last.

Why your plate isn't getting cheaper
Food is only part of what you pay for at a restaurant. The rest includes:

• Cooking gas and diesel. The NBS energy index jumped sharply in September. For a canteen running a generator and two gas burners all day, that's a direct hit.

• Rent for the shop. House rent is up more than 22% in a year, and shop owners face similar pressure when their leases come up.

• Staff wages. Workers are asking for more because their costs went up.

• Packaging. Takeaway packs, nylon and the rest are mostly made from petroleum products.

• Water. Restaurants buy a lot of it.

When food prices fall, only one part of the restaurant's cost drops. Everything else keeps rising. So the plate price stays where it is or keeps creeping up.

This matters more than you think
Restaurants and accommodation services carry a weight of 12.92 in the national CPI basket. That's the second largest of all the spending groups, behind food and non-alcoholic beverages. In September, this group alone contributed 1.89 percentage points to the 14.63% headline inflation rate.

That makes sense when you think about how Nigerians eat. Workers in Lagos, Abuja, Kano or Onitsha often buy at least one meal a day outside. Some buy two.

Read more: https://naijup.ng/blog/market-prices-dropped-in-september-so-why-is-your-plate-of-rice-at-the

For years the story was simple. Anything imported got expensive fast, because the naira kept losing value. Local food was supposed to be the cheaper, steadier option.

The NBS September 2026 numbers don't fit that story any more.

The gap in one table
Index Yearly change, Sept 2026 Yearly change, Aug 2026
Imported food 9.18% 12.82%
Farm produce (local) 18.85% 21.52%
All food 19.59% 19.57%
Imported food prices are rising at roughly half the speed of farm produce. And imported food is slowing faster. Its yearly rate dropped more than 3.6 points in one month.

Month on month, imported food barely moved at all: +0.04% between August and September.

How we got here
Imported food inflation actually rose through the first half of the year. It went from 7.62% in January to a peak of 14.66% in May. Since then it has come down every single month:

• May: 14.66%

• June: 13.63%

• July: 13.24%

• August: 12.82%

• September: 9.18%

Farm produce went the opposite direction for most of the year. It started at 9.76% in January and climbed to 21.52% by August, before easing a bit in September.

A quick note on the chart: farm produce shows a strange dip in May (-1.30%). That isn't a real price crash. In May 2025 the farm produce index spiked unusually high, so May 2026 is being compared against a very inflated base. Ignore that single point and the upward trend is clear.

Why would local food rise faster than imports?

Read more: https://naijup.ng/blog/imported-food-is-now-rising-half-as-fast-as-food-grown-in-nigeria-here

On paper, September 2026 was a good month for rural Nigeria. The NBS says average prices in rural areas actually fell 0.89% from August. In towns and cities they rose 0.53%.

But averages hide a lot. When we broke the rural numbers down by spending group, we found two very different stories in the same village.

Story one: the harvest effect
Most of the rural drop came from food.

• Rural food index: down 4.90% in one month

• Rural farm produce: down 5.11%

• Rural food and non-alcoholic beverages: down 2.74%

This is what harvest season looks like in the data. The new crop comes in, supply in village markets goes up, and prices drop. Food also carries a big weight in rural spending, so a fall like this drags the whole rural average down.

In the cities, food and drinks prices were basically flat (+0.04%). New harvest takes time to travel. It also has to pay its way through transport, middlemen and market levies before it reaches urban buyers.

Story two: services got pricier in the village
Here's the part the headline misses. While food got cheaper, several other costs in rural areas jumped:

Rural spending group Aug to Sept 2026
Education services +5.12%
Personal care and miscellaneous +4.39%
Transport +4.01%
Restaurants +3.02%
Energy +4.25%
Compare those with the cities. Urban transport rose 0.65%, urban education 1.15%, and urban restaurants just 0.13%.

So the rural family saved on garri, beans and yam, then spent some of it on okada fare, school bills and the barber. That's the real picture of September in many villages.

Rural core inflation is now running hotter than urban

Read more: https://naijup.ng/blog/village-prices-fell-in-september-but-not-where-it-counts-transport-and

₦100,000? In this economy?

Not too long ago, having ₦100,000 in your account felt like a safety net. It could cover a significant portion of your monthly expenses, fund a small business idea, or even handle a few unexpected emergencies. Today, however, that same amount seems to disappear almost as quickly as it arrives.

With rising inflation, higher transportation costs, increasing food prices, and a steadily rising cost of living, many Nigerians are discovering that ₦100,000 doesn't stretch nearly as far as it used to. What once felt like a substantial amount of money now barely scratches the surface of many household expenses.

Wondering how far ₦100,000 can really go in Nigeria today? Here are five things ₦100,000 can barely buy in Nigeria today.

1. One Major Grocery Run for a Family
Walking into a supermarket or market with ₦100,000 today can be a humbling experience. A basket containing rice, vegetable oil, bread, noodles, eggs, beverages, toiletries, cleaning supplies, and other household essentials can easily consume most, if not all, of that amount. For larger households, it may not even be enough to cover groceries for an entire month.


Read more: What ₦100,000 Can Barely Buy in Nigeria Today

₦100,000? In this economy?

Not too long ago, having ₦100,000 in your account felt like a safety net. It could cover a significant portion of your monthly expenses, fund a small business idea, or even handle a few unexpected emergencies. Today, however, that same amount seems to disappear almost as quickly as it arrives.

With rising inflation, higher transportation costs, increasing food prices, and a steadily rising cost of living, many Nigerians are discovering that ₦100,000 doesn't stretch nearly as far as it used to. What once felt like a substantial amount of money now barely scratches the surface of many household expenses.

Wondering how far ₦100,000 can really go in Nigeria today? Here are five things ₦100,000 can barely buy in Nigeria today.

1. One Major Grocery Run for a Family
Walking into a supermarket or market with ₦100,000 today can be a humbling experience. A basket containing rice, vegetable oil, bread, noodles, eggs, beverages, toiletries, cleaning supplies, and other household essentials can easily consume most, if not all, of that amount. For larger households, it may not even be enough to cover groceries for an entire month.

Read more:https://naijup.ng/blog/what-100000-can-barely-buy-in-nigeria-today

Living in Nigeria comes with an uncomfortable reality: your money doesn't go as far as it used to. Now it seems like your salary is chasing your expenses. The ₦100,000 that comfortably covered monthly expenses a few years ago now struggles to handle the basics. From groceries and transportation to rent and electricity, prices continue to climb while incomes often remain stagnant.

Inflation is more than an economic buzzword. It's the silent force reducing purchasing power and making it harder for individuals and families to achieve their financial goals. While you may not have control over the economy, you can control how you manage your money during uncertain times.

The good news is that surviving inflation is not necessarily about earning a massive income. Here are five practical ways Nigerians can protect themselves from inflation in 2026.

1. Focus on increasing your income, not just cutting expenses
When inflation rises, many people's first reaction is to reduce spending. While cutting unnecessary expenses is important, there is a limit to how much you can save. There is, however, often no limit to how much you can earn.

Read more: https://naijup.ng/blog/how-to-survive-inflation-in-nigeria-in-2026

From side hustles and online businesses to remote work and skilled trades, Nigerians are finding creative ways to survive rising living costs.

For many people, making ends meet has become a daily concern. Food, transport, rent, school fees, electricity, and healthcare costs continue to put pressure on household budgets, and a monthly salary no longer stretches as far as it once did.

Ask a typical Nigerian how things are going these days, and you'll likely hear the familiar response: "We thank God. We dey manage."

Yet behind that familiar response, many Nigerians are looking for ways to bring in extra money. Some are starting small businesses, others are taking on side hustles or learning new skills. In today's Nigeria, survival has become a skill of its own.

When one salary isn't enough
A few years ago, a decent salary could cover a reasonable share of monthly expenses. Today, rising prices have changed that reality for many households. Even people with full-time jobs are looking for ways to supplement their income.

Teachers bake cakes after school, bankers sell shoes, civil servants run online thrift stores, and office workers market everything from perfumes to food and fashion items. In many workplaces, asking someone, "What are you selling?" has become perfectly normal.

For some, these businesses start as a way to cover transport costs or buy groceries without dipping into their salaries. Others hope to grow them into something more substantial over time. The challenge is finding a business that fits around existing responsibilities and actually leaves a profit after expenses.

And selling more does not always mean earning more. Stock, delivery, packaging, and other costs can eat into the money coming in. Still, for many Nigerians, having an additional source of income provides some breathing room when their main salary falls short.

The smartphone marketplace
One major change is that starting a business no longer requires renting a shop or securing an expensive location. A smartphone and an internet connection can help sellers reach customers far beyond their immediate neighbourhoods.

WhatsApp Status has become a familiar storefront for many small businesses. Sellers post new arrivals, upload customer feedback, and rely on referrals to attract buyers. Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok also give businesses ways to showcase their products and reach people they might never meet in person.

A student can sell skincare products from a hostel room, while someone selling clothes can take orders from customers in different cities without opening a physical store. Some businesses even begin with pre-orders, allowing sellers to test demand before committing too much money to stock.

But social media visibility does not automatically translate into sales. Sellers still have to earn customers' trust, respond to inquiries, deliver what they promise, and handle complaints when things go wrong. There is also the cost of advertising, delivery, and replacing unsold stock.

The opportunity is real, but running an online business still requires planning, patience, and good customer service.

Chasing dollars from home
For some Nigerians, the search for better-paying opportunities has extended beyond the local job market. Remote work allows people with relevant skills to work for businesses and clients in other countries without relocating.

Writers, graphic designers, virtual assistants, software developers, and digital marketers are among those offering services remotely. Depending on the role and the client, payment may come in dollars, pounds, or euros. When converted to naira, that income can go further than a comparable local payment, although exchange rates and payment charges also matter.

Getting into remote work, however, is not as simple as opening a laptop and waiting for foreign clients to appear. Competition can be intense, and beginners often need to build a portfolio, learn how to find clients, and demonstrate that they can deliver good work. Poor internet access and unreliable electricity can make things even harder.

Still, remote work gives people another market to explore. Someone who develops a useful skill and consistently finds clients may be able to earn beyond what the local market alone offers.

read more: https://naijup.ng/blog/how-nigerians-are-finding-ways-to-make-money-in-tough-times

In January 2026, Ekiti State's FAAC line showed something you rarely see: a negative number.

Ekiti's gross allocation that month was ₦15.57 billion. After deductions, the "Total Net Amount" was minus ₦6.69 billion. A single line called "Other Deductions" took ₦21.21 billion, more than the state's entire allocation for the month.

Ekiti isn't the only one. We went through 10 months of FAAC data (September 2025 to July 2026) and added up what was taken out of each state's allocation before the money reached the state.

The big picture: ₦832 billion deducted at source
From September 2025 to July 2026, the 36 states were allocated ₦8.75 trillion (gross). ₦831.7 billion was deducted at source:

Type of deduction 10-month total
External debt service ₦343.1bn
Other deductions ₦239.2bn
VAT deduction (Lagos only) ₦93.6bn
Contractual obligations (ISPO) ₦94.6bn
ISPO means "Irrevocable Standing Payment Orders," a state's promise that a lender or contractor can be paid straight from its FAAC money.

These deductions are not "missing" money. They pay off loans and bills the states themselves signed up for. But they show how much of a state's monthly allocation is already spent before it arrives.

The states that lose the most
Here are the states with the biggest share of their FAAC money deducted at source:

Rank State Gross allocation Deducted % deducted
1 Ekiti ₦157.6bn ₦44.0bn 27.9%
2 Kaduna ₦221.9bn ₦56.1bn 25.3%
3 Bauchi ₦197.7bn ₦46.8bn 23.7%

Read more: https://naijup.ng/blog/states-faac-deductions-at-source-ekiti-lagos-kaduna-2026

Lagos Got More VAT Than 8 States Combined, and VAT Now Beats Statutory Allocation

Ask most Nigerians where state governments get their money and they'll say "oil." For a long time, that was mostly true.



Now look at the numbers for the last 10 FAAC sharing months (September 2025 to July 2026):



• States' VAT allocation: ₦3.80 trillion

• States' statutory allocation: ₦3.10 trillion



Over this period, VAT paid states ₦700 billion more than the main statutory allocation from the Federation Account. (Statutory allocation is the regular share of oil and non-oil revenue such as company tax and customs duties, not counting the 13% derivation that goes only to oil states.)



How the gap moved month by month



Month-shared Statutory VAT VAT-bigger?

Sep 2025 ₦337.8bn ₦336.5bn Almost level

Oct 2025 ₦287.1bn ₦406.3bn✅

Nov 2025 ₦321.1bn ₦335.2bn✅

Jan 2026 ₦257.0bn ₦423.3bn✅

Feb 2026 ₦209.7bn ₦536.0bn✅ (2.6x)

Mar 2026 ₦302.6bn ₦331.1bn✅

Apr 2026 ₦312.0bn ₦274.6bn❌

May 2026 ₦286.7bn ₦399.9bn✅

Jun 2026 ₦370.1bn ₦362.2bn Almost level

Jul 2026 ₦419.2bn ₦397.9bn❌

February 2026 stands out.

States got ₦536 billion of VAT, more than 2.5 times their statutory share that month.

VAT made up 62% of everything states received in February.



read more: https://naijup.ng/blog/lagos-vat-faac-states-statutory-allocation-2026

Local governments are the tier of government closest to the people. They're meant to handle primary healthcare, local roads, markets, primary schools and sanitation. They're also the tier we know least about.

So we did something we haven't seen done much: we added up FAAC allocations for all 774 local government councils over 10 sharing months (September 2025 to July 2026) and ranked them.

The headline numbers

• Total allocated to all 774 councils: ₦5.21 trillion

• Richest council: Alimosho, Lagos, ₦33.81 billion

• Poorest council: Ifedayo, Osun, ₦4.06 billion

• Gap: Alimosho received 8.3 times what Ifedayo received

• Typical (median) council: about ₦5.94 billion, roughly ₦594 million a month

All 20 Lagos councils are in the top 20

Rank Council State 10-month allocation
1 Alimosho Lagos ₦33.81bn
2 Ajeromi/Ifelodun Lagos ₦27.53bn
3 Kosofe Lagos ₦27.22bn
4 Mushin Lagos ₦26.92bn
5 Oshodi/Isolo Lagos ₦26.82bn
6 Ojo Lagos ₦26.60bn

read more: https://naijup.ng/blog/richest-local-governments-nigeria-faac-allocation-2026

Local governments are the tier of government closest to the people. They're meant to handle primary healthcare, local roads, markets, primary schools and sanitation. They're also the tier we know least about.

So we did something we haven't seen done much: we added up FAAC allocations for all 774 local government councils over 10 sharing months (September 2025 to July 2026) and ranked them.

The headline numbers

• Total allocated to all 774 councils: ₦5.21 trillion

• Richest council: Alimosho, Lagos, ₦33.81 billion

• Poorest council: Ifedayo, Osun, ₦4.06 billion

• Gap: Alimosho received 8.3 times what Ifedayo received

• Typical (median) council: about ₦5.94 billion, roughly ₦594 million a month

All 20 Lagos councils are in the top 20

Rank Council State 10-month allocation
1 Alimosho Lagos ₦33.81bn
2 Ajeromi/Ifelodun Lagos ₦27.53bn
3 Kosofe Lagos ₦27.22bn
4 Mushin Lagos ₦26.92bn
5 Oshodi/Isolo Lagos ₦26.82bn
6 Ojo Lagos ₦26.60bn

read more: https://naijup.ng/blog/richest-local-governments-nigeria-faac-allocation-2026

The 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory owed a combined ₦4.59 trillion in domestic debt at the end of June 2026, according to the latest data from the Debt Management Office (DMO).

That is 15.8% higher than a year earlier, when the figure was ₦3.96 trillion.

The total hides a split. 23 of the 37 governments cut their domestic debt over the past year, but the 14 that borrowed more did so heavily enough to push the total up.

The three numbers that matter
1. Total state domestic debt: ₦4.59 trillion
• Year-on-year: +15.8% (from ₦3.96trn in Q2 2025)

• Quarter-on-quarter: +1.5% (from ₦4.52trn in Q1 2026)

2. Lagos alone: ₦1.20 trillion (26% of the total)
Lagos owes more at home than the next three states (Delta, FCT and Rivers) combined, and accounts for about one in every four naira of state domestic debt in Nigeria.

3. Top five states: 54% of the total
Lagos, Delta, FCT, Rivers and Edo together owe ₦2.49 trillion, more than the other 32 combined.

Nigeria's Top 10 States by Domestic Debt (Q2 2026)

Read more: https://naijup.ng/blog/lagos-owes-12-trillion-at-home-but-fcts-debt-jumped-405-nigerias-state

Nigeria’s aviation industry is one of the most important parts of the country’s transport and business economy. Millions of passengers travel by air every year, connecting Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Kano, Enugu, Uyo and other Nigerian cities, while Nigerian airlines also connect the country to destinations across Africa, Europe, the Middle East, Asia and the Caribbean.

But which airlines are the biggest in Nigeria?

Passenger numbers provide one way of measuring an airline’s size, but fleet size, revenue, profitability, international routes and aircraft investment can tell a different story.

Using the latest available passenger data, airline disclosures and 2026 fleet and route information, here is a look at some of the major airlines operating in Nigeria.

Nigeria’s Major Airlines at a Glance
The latest full-year domestic passenger figures reported from NCAA data show Air Peace leading the market, followed by Arik Air, Ibom Air, Aero Contractors and Max Air.

Airline 2024 Passengers Headquarters/Base Major Market

Air Peace 3.11 million Lagos Domestic, regional and international

Arik Air 2.24 million Lagos Domestic

Ibom Air 1.32 million Uyo

Read more: https://naijup.ng/blog/nigerias-biggest-airlines-in-2026-passengers-fleet-routes-and-business

There’s a particular kind of exhaustion that comes with checking your bank balance the day after payday and feeling as though payday happened weeks ago. You didn’t take a pay cut. Your job title didn’t change. Yet your money seems to move differently than it used to, thinner, faster, and less forgiving.

The feeling isn’t in your head. For many workers, a widening gap between how quickly prices rise and how slowly wages catch up has made it harder to keep up financially.

Understanding that gap is the first step toward realizing that the problem is not necessarily your spending habits or financial discipline.

The paycheck illusion
Inflation plays a strange psychological trick on people. The number in your salary alert looks the same as it did before, or perhaps even slightly larger, so part of your brain interprets that as progress.

But a salary figure on its own does not tell you what that income is actually worth. Real value comes from what money can buy. Once the cost of everyday life changes, the meaning of the number changes too.

In practical terms, you are not simply spending naira; you are spending purchasing power. A decline in purchasing power means the same amount of money buys less food, less transportation, less housing, and fewer opportunities.

The gap between what your salary says on paper and what it can actually provide is where the feeling of financial worthlessness begins.

Prices move every day. Salaries don’t.
Timing is one of the biggest problems.

Food prices, transport fares, utility bills, and rent can change almost overnight, influenced by fuel costs, exchange-rate movements, supply-chain disruptions, and broader economic conditions. Salaries, on the other hand, are often reviewed annually, if they are reviewed at all.

By the time a salary increase arrives, prices may have already moved higher. The same salary can then continue losing purchasing power in the meantime, which buys less than it did before.

No dramatic moment announces the shift. Purchasing power simply weakens month after month until the impact becomes impossible to ignore.

Food and rent absorb the shock first

Read more: https://naijup.ng/blog/why-your-salary-feels-worthless-in-nigeria-today

Banks is currently 45%.

3. Monetary Policy Rate — MPR
The MPR is the central bank's main policy interest rate.

Unlike the CRR, which directly affects the quantity of liquidity available to banks, the policy rate works primarily through the price of money.

When the policy rate rises, borrowing generally becomes more expensive and monetary conditions become tighter. When it falls, borrowing conditions can become less restrictive.

Nigeria: A High-Reserve, High-Interest-Rate System
Nigeria stands out in this comparison because it is using both quantity-based and price-based monetary policy tools aggressively.

Read more: https://naijup.ng/blog/nigerias-45-crr-how-the-countrys-monetary-policy-compares-with-china-t

Football is more than a sport in Nigeria. It is also a growing business involving sponsorships, player transfers, broadcasting, ticket sales, merchandise and brand partnerships.

But which Nigerian football clubs are currently the most valuable?

One useful way to compare clubs is by looking at squad market value, which estimates the combined market value of their players. While this does not represent the actual value of a football club, it provides an indication of the quality and commercial potential of its playing squad.

Top Nigerian Clubs by Squad Value
According to available Transfermarkt data for the 2025/26 NPFL season, the leading clubs include:

Club Approx. Squad Value
Remo Stars €2.27 million
Rivers United €2.18 million
Ikorodu City €2.16 million

Read more: https://naijup.ng/blog/nigerias-most-valuable-football-clubs


Football Is Becoming a Bigger Business
The Nigerian football industry has significant room for growth.

Clubs can generate revenue through:

Sponsorships
Player transfers
Broadcasting
Match-day tickets
Merchandise
Digital content
Academy development
Continental competitions
Corporate partnerships
The increasing presence of private investment could also encourage clubs to operate more like commercial businesses rather than relying primarily on government funding.

The Dangote Refinery IPO is not the Dangote Flour Mills IPO. The numbers, scale, business model, earnings profile and capital-market strategy are fundamentally different.

Nigeria's biggest public share offering has generated an unusual debate. On one side are investors who see Dangote Petroleum Refinery as a potentially undervalued industrial giant being offered to Nigerians at ₦525 per share. On the other are critics, including social commentator VeryDarkMan (VDM), who have questioned whether ordinary Nigerians can genuinely become wealthy from buying a small number of shares and have described the offer in highly critical terms.

The debate deserves more than social-media arguments.

The important question is not simply “Should Nigerians buy Dangote shares?”

It is:

What exactly is being offered, how is it priced, what happened with Dangote Flour Mills, and what lessons from previous public offerings appear to have been incorporated into the refinery IPO?

What happened with Dangote Flour Mills?
Dangote Flour Mills provides an important historical case study.

In 2007, Dangote Flour Mills offered approximately 1.25 billion shares at ₦15 each. The offer was seeking roughly ₦18.75 billion.

Demand was extraordinary.

The company received applications for about 7.8 billion shares, equivalent to roughly 621% subscription after applications that did not comply with the offer terms were excluded. In other words, investors applied for more than six times the number of shares available.

That was one of the most heavily oversubscribed IPOs in the history of Nigeria's capital market at the time.

The shares were subsequently listed in February 2008 at ₦15 and closed their first trading day at ₦15.75.

But there is an important lesson here.

A heavily oversubscribed IPO does not automatically guarantee extraordinary long-term returns.

Dangote Flour Mills eventually went through a complicated corporate history. Tiger Brands acquired control in 2012, Dangote later reacquired the business, and Olam eventually acquired Dangote Flour Mills in 2019. Olam's transaction valued the company at approximately ₦130 billion for its 5 billion issued shares, equivalent to about ₦26 per share on the headline consideration before transaction adjustments.

This means investors should not simply look at the 2007 oversubscription and conclude that every Dangote IPO must behave the same way.

Why Dangote Flour Mills cannot simply be used to predict Dangote Refinery
There is a temptation to say:

“Dangote Flour was oversubscribed, so Dangote Refinery will also be massively oversubscribed.”

That comparison is incomplete.

read more: https://naijup.ng/blog/dangote-refinery-ipo-what-the-dangote-flour-mills-ipo-really-teaches-u

Turn your knowledge into content, grow your audience, and earn with NaijUp!

NaijUp is looking to partner with passionate vloggers, content creators, and industry experts who can create engaging video content around finance, business, investment, and the Nigerian economy.

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Accountant, Banker or Businessman? A Deep Dive into the Economic Backgrounds of Nigeria's Two Political Heavyweights.

When Nigerians debate who understands the economy better, two names frequently enter the conversation: Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Peter Gregory Obi.

Both men have spent decades in business and public life. Tinubu built a career in accounting and corporate finance before becoming Lagos State governor and later Nigeria's president. Obi built a trading and investment career, chaired the board of Fidelity Bank and served as governor of Anambra State.

But who has more financial, economic or business experience?

The answer depends on what is being measured. Accounting experience is different from running a business. Managing a bank's board is different from managing a state budget. And governing Nigeria's national economy is a different responsibility from running a state.

NaijUp examines their education, business careers, financial management experience and economic records to understand what each man's background actually tells us.

1. Bola Tinubu's Financial and Business Background
From accounting to corporate leadership
Bola Ahmed Tinubu studied Business Administration, specialising in accounting and management, at Chicago State University in the United States, graduating in 1979.

His professional career included working with accounting and consulting firms such as Arthur Andersen and Deloitte Haskins & Sells. He later joined Mobil Oil Nigeria, where he worked in financial roles and rose to the position of treasurer.

These positions are relevant to corporate accounting, auditing, treasury operations, financial controls and business management.

Tinubu's experience was not limited to politics. Before becoming governor of Lagos State, he had spent years in the private sector, working within large corporate organisations.

His formal accounting background is one of the clearest distinctions between his career and Peter Obi's.

Tinubu's Lagos State experience
Tinubu served as Lagos State governor from 1999 to 2007.

One of the most significant parts of his administration's economic record was the development of Lagos's internally generated revenue system.

Lagos began strengthening tax administration, expanding collection capacity and reducing dependence on federal allocations. Revenue collection reforms during Tinubu's tenure and the administration that followed helped establish Lagos as a major example of state-level revenue mobilisation in Nigeria.

However, Lagos already had a large commercial economy, a substantial population and a broad tax base. These advantages matter when comparing its revenue performance with that of other states.

The growth of Lagos revenue cannot be attributed to one governor alone. Successive administrations, economic growth, population expansion and changes in tax administration all played roles.

Still, Tinubu's tenure provides documented experience in state-level fiscal administration, revenue generation and public-sector management.

2. Peter Obi's Financial and Business Background

read more: https://naijup.ng/blog/tinubu-vs-peter-obi-who-has-more-financial-economic-and-business-exper

The Middle East is heating up, and Nigeria's oil market could feel the impact. But which NGX-listed oil and gas companies stand to benefit — and which could face rising costs?

Whenever tensions escalate in the Middle East, global oil markets pay attention. Concerns over crude oil supply, shipping routes and energy infrastructure can push oil prices higher, creating both opportunities and risks for oil-producing countries like Nigeria.

For investors on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX), this raises an important question: Could the latest geopolitical tensions create opportunities in Nigerian oil and gas stocks?

Nigeria has several listed companies operating across the petroleum value chain. Some produce crude oil and natural gas, while others focus on refining, petroleum marketing or energy services. This distinction matters because rising crude oil prices do not affect every company in the same way.

Here are seven NGX-listed oil and gas companies worth understanding as the global energy market navigates renewed Middle East uncertainty.

1. Seplat Energy Plc (SEPLAT)
Seplat Energy is one of Nigeria's major independent oil and gas producers, with onshore and offshore operations and a significant natural gas business.

The company reported average production of 131,506 barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2025, following the full-year contribution of its offshore assets.

Why it matters: Higher crude oil prices can improve revenue and cash flow when production remains strong. However, operating costs, taxes, production disruptions and capital expenditure still influence the company's profitability.

Seplat is one of the largest companies in the supplied NGX oil and gas market-capitalisation data, making it an important name to follow in the sector.

2. Aradel Holdings Plc (ARADEL)

Read more:
https://naijup.ng/blog/middle-east-crisis-7-ngx-oil-and-gas-stocks-nigerian-investors-should-

Nigeria has the bigger economy. Kenya has the higher income per person. Nigeria has the bigger population and consumer market. Kenya has a more concentrated technology and regional-business ecosystem.

So, which country is actually more developed?

The answer becomes much more interesting when you look beyond GDP.

Nigeria and Kenya are two of Africa’s most important economies, but they have taken very different development paths. Nigeria has built its economic strength around population, natural resources, financial services, telecommunications, manufacturing and an enormous domestic market.

Kenya, meanwhile, has built a smaller but highly connected economy around Nairobi, financial services, mobile money, agriculture, tourism, technology and its position as a gateway to East Africa.

And the numbers tell a fascinating story.

According to the latest World Bank data, Nigeria's economy was worth about $290.8 billion in 2025, compared with $135.9 billion for Kenya. But Kenya's GDP per capita was almost twice Nigeria's at about $2,363 versus $1,224.

That raises a bigger question:

Is a bigger economy necessarily a more developed economy?

Here is the full Nigeria vs Kenya comparison.

Read more: https://naijup.ng/blog/nigeria-vs-kenya-which-economy-is-more-developed

Let's be honest.

If someone gave you ₦1 million today, what would you do with it?

Keep it in your bank account?

Start a business?

Buy shares?

Invest in Treasury Bills?

Put it into a money-market fund?

Buy dollars?

Or use it to start something that generates monthly income?

There is no single answer because the right decision depends on your risk tolerance, time horizon, income and financial goals.

But one thing is certain:

₦1 million sitting idle today will not necessarily have the same purchasing power several years from now.

That is why I have been looking at different ways Nigerians can put their money to work instead of simply allowing it to sit in an account.

I also came across a useful Nigerian-focused resource from NaijUp, which has a financial calculator section (https://naijup.ng/calculators) where you can test different investment and savings scenarios.

So What Can You Actually Do With ₦1 Million?

Let's look at some possibilities.

1. Put It Into a Fixed-Income Investment

For someone who doesn't want the daily price movements associated with stocks, fixed-income investments can be worth researching.

Treasury Bills, for example, allow investors to lend money to the government for a specified period in exchange for a return.

But there is an important point people sometimes overlook.

Today's rate is not necessarily tomorrow's rate.

If your Treasury Bill matures and you want to reinvest the money, the rate available at that time could be higher or lower.

That's why I wouldn't simply say:

"Treasury Bills give X%, therefore ₦1 million will become Y."

The actual outcome depends on the rate, tenor and what happens when you reinvest.

You can use the NaijUp financial calculators (https://naijup.ng/calculators) to model different investment assumptions rather than relying on guesswork.

2. Consider Nigerian Stocks

Another option is the Nigerian stock market.

The NGX has companies across banking, telecommunications, consumer goods, industrials, energy and other sectors.

But stocks are fundamentally different from a fixed-income investment.

Your ₦1 million can increase.

It can also decrease.

There is no guarantee that buying a popular stock today will result in a profit tomorrow.

This is why I prefer looking at actual market information before making assumptions.

The NaijUp Market (https://naijup.ng/market) provides a snapshot of Nigerian financial markets, including NGX equities and other asset classes.

You can use market information to start researching things such as:

- Which stocks are gaining?
- Which stocks are falling?
- Which stocks are heavily traded?
- What is happening across the broader NGX?
- How is the naira performing?
- What is happening with other financial assets?

That doesn't tell you what to buy.

It simply gives you information with which to begin your own research.

3. Don't Underestimate Dividend Investing

One interesting strategy is investing in companies that pay dividends.

Suppose you buy shares worth ₦1 million.

If the company pays dividends, you could potentially receive cash distributions while still holding the shares.

You could then:

Take the dividend

or

Reinvest the dividend.

Reinvesting dividends introduces another layer of compounding.

For example, if dividends are used to buy additional shares, those additional shares may themselves generate future dividends.

Again, there is no guarantee.

Companies can increase, reduce or suspend dividends.

The share price can also fall.

For anyone researching this strategy, NaijUp has a dividend calculator (https://naijup.ng/calculators) that can help model potential dividend income.

4. What About Starting a Business?

This is where things get interesting.

With ₦1 million, you don't necessarily have to buy financial assets.

You could use the money to start or expand a small business.

For example:

- Food business
- Online retail
- Digital services
- Software development
- Fashion
- Logistics
- Agricultural trading
- Phone accessories
- Beauty products
- Cleaning services
- Content creation
- Repair services

But there's a catch.

A business can potentially produce much higher returns than a passive investment.

It can also lose your entire capital.

And unlike buying a financial asset, running a business requires:

Time + execution + customers + cash-flow management.

So don't confuse "higher potential return" with "guaranteed higher return."

5. What If You Don't Have ₦1 Million?

This is probably the more important question for many people.

You don't necessarily need ₦1 million before you start investing.

Imagine someone starts with:

₦100,000

and then contributes:

₦20,000 every month.

The person is not relying only on the original capital.

They are combining:

Initial capital + regular contributions + investment returns + time.

This is one reason I think young Nigerians should focus less on finding the "perfect investment" and more on developing the habit of saving and investing consistently.

The NaijUp calculators (https://naijup.ng/calculators) can be useful for testing different starting amounts and monthly contributions.

Try changing the numbers.

Start with ₦50,000.

Try ₦100,000.

Try ₦500,000.

Then add a monthly contribution.

You may be surprised by how much the numbers change when time is added to the equation.

6. What About Buying Dollars?

Another popular strategy among Nigerians is holding foreign currency.

The motivation is understandable.

When the naira depreciates against the dollar, the naira value of dollar-denominated assets can increase.

But currency is not automatically an investment that will make you money.

There are risks.

The exchange rate can move in either direction, and there can be differences between buying and selling rates.

If you want to understand what is happening with currencies and other Nigerian financial markets, you can check the NaijUp Market Watch (https://naijup.ng/market).

The point isn't to predict tomorrow's exchange rate.

The point is to understand what the market is doing before making a decision.

7. The Biggest Mistake: Chasing Huge Returns

This is probably the most important part of this entire discussion.

If someone tells you:

"Give me ₦1 million and I'll give you ₦2 million in three months guaranteed."

Be very careful.

There is a huge difference between:

"This investment has the potential to generate a high return."

and:

"I guarantee you a huge return."

The Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission has warned investors about unregistered investment schemes and platforms promising unrealistic or guaranteed returns. The SEC advises investors to verify the registration status of investment operators before putting money with them.

So before sending money to an investment platform, ask:

Who regulates them?

Are they registered?

Where does the return come from?

What are the risks?

Can I withdraw my money?

What happens if the investment loses money?

Don't invest simply because someone posted screenshots of profits online.

8. Calculate Before You Invest

This is something I think more Nigerians should do.

Before investing ₦1 million, don't just ask:

"How much will I make?"

Ask:

"What happens if the investment returns 5%?"

Then:

"What happens at 10%?"

Then:

"What happens at 15%?"

And importantly:

"What happens if I lose 10%?"

This is where investment calculators become useful.

Instead of relying on somebody's WhatsApp message telling you that your money will "double," you can actually model different scenarios.

NaijUp has a collection of investment and financial calculators (https://naijup.ng/calculators) covering areas such as savings, stock returns, dividends, Treasury Bills and mutual funds.

9. Keep an Eye on the Market

Another thing I have started doing is separating investment research from investment decisions.

For example, if I'm interested in Nigerian stocks, I first want to know what is happening in the market.

Are stocks generally rising?

Which sectors are active?

Which companies are being heavily traded?

What is happening with the naira?

What's happening with bonds and other assets?

The NaijUp Market page (https://naijup.ng/market) is useful as a starting point because it brings several Nigerian market indicators into one place.

It doesn't replace proper investment research, but it can make it easier to see what is happening across the market.

10. So What Would I Do With ₦1 Million?

Rather than putting the entire ₦1 million into one idea, I'd first divide the problem into three questions:

How much do I need for emergencies?

Money needed in the short term shouldn't necessarily be exposed to significant market risk.

How much can I invest for the medium term?

This could potentially go into assets where the investor understands the risks and expected returns.

How much can I invest for the long term?

Long-term money gives an investor more time to potentially benefit from compounding and market growth, while still carrying investment risk.

The exact allocation will be different for everyone.

A 25-year-old with stable income and no dependants will have a different financial situation from someone supporting a family and planning to buy a house next year.

The Real Money-Making Formula

If there is one thing I have taken away from looking at investment returns, it is this:

Making money is not only about finding an investment that gives a high return.

It is about:

Earning → Saving → Investing → Compounding → Repeating.

For example:

Earn ₦300,000
↓
Save ₦50,000
↓
Invest consistently
↓
Reinvest returns
↓
Increase income
↓
Invest more
↓
Repeat for years

That process may not be as exciting as someone promising 50% returns in a few weeks.

But sustainable wealth is generally a longer game.

What Would You Do With ₦1 Million?

This is where I'd like to hear from Nairaland members.

If you suddenly received ₦1 million today, and you couldn't spend it on a car, phone, vacation or personal luxury:

What would you do with it?

1. Nigerian stocks?
2. Treasury Bills?
3. Mutual funds?
4. Start a business?
5. Buy dollars?
6. Real estate?
7. Agriculture?
8. Keep it in savings?
9. Split it across several investments?
10. Something completely different?

And more importantly:

What return would you realistically target over five years?

For anyone who wants to play around with the numbers, you can test different scenarios using the NaijUp financial calculators (https://naijup.ng/calculators) and follow Nigerian market movements through NaijUp Market Watch (https://naijup.ng/market).

NaijUp: https://naijup.ng

Let's hear what people would actually do with ₦1 million.

Five years doesn't sound like a long time. But ask anyone who's been managing a household budget in Nigeria since 2021, and they'll tell you it feels like a different economic era entirely. The naira you earned then and the naira you earn now don't buy the same life, not even close.

This isn't nostalgia for its own sake. It's a real look at how far things have shifted and why so many people feel like they're working harder for less. Here's what used to be within easy reach and what changed underneath it.

1. Filling Up a Tank of Petrol Without Flinching
Back in 2021, fueling a car was a routine errand, not a financial event. You'd pull into the station, fill up, and barely think about it afterward. Fast forward to today, and petrol prices have moved in ways that turned "let me just drive there" into a real calculation of "Is this trip worth the fuel it'll cost?’

The removal of the fuel subsidy in 2023 is the single biggest reason for this shift. For decades, the government absorbed a chunk of the real cost of petrol, so pump prices stayed artificially low. When that support was withdrawn, prices adjusted toward their true cost almost overnight, and they've kept climbing since, compounded by naira depreciation and the exchange-rate exposure of imported fuel and other petroleum supply-chain costs.

This one change rippled into everything else. Transport fares went up because drivers pass on fuel costs directly. Food prices rose because transporting goods from farm to market got more expensive, and that cost gets added at every stage between farm gate and market stall.

Small businesses that depend on generators for power, given how unreliable the national grid still is, saw their overhead quietly balloon. A single line item on the household budget ended up touching almost every other line item too, which is why this one shift is often cited as the starting point for the broader affordability crisis

2. Renting a Decent Apartment on a Single Salary
Five years ago, a graduate with a stable entry-level job could at least imagine moving into their own one-bedroom apartment within a year or two of working. It required saving, sure, but for many people, it felt achievable. Today, in most major cities, that same salary trajectory doesn't stretch nearly as far, and the gap has widened for a stack of overlapping reasons. Rents have climbed in raw naira terms as landlords adjust to inflation, and rising costs of building maintenance, agency, and agreement fees remain punishing.


Read more: https://naijup.ng/blog/things-nigerians-could-easily-afford-5-years-ago

Dangote Refinery has quietly entered a revenue league that puts one of the world's most talked-about private companies, SpaceX, in the spotlight.

In just six months of 2026, Dangote Petroleum Refinery generated approximately $13.9 billion in revenue and $1.82 billion in profit after tax.

At that pace, the refinery would generate roughly $27.8 billion in revenue over a full year. That is significantly higher than the approximately $18.7 billion in revenue reported by SpaceX for 2025.

But there is an important distinction: Dangote's $27.8 billion figure is an annualized run-rate based on its first-half performance, not reported full-year revenue. And that distinction makes the comparison even more interesting.

₦19 Trillion in Six Months
Dangote Refinery's financial performance has accelerated dramatically as the 650,000-barrel-per-day refinery has moved further into commercial operations.

For the first half of 2026, the refinery recorded approximately:

₦19.1–₦19.5 trillion in revenue
About $13.9 billion in revenue
About $2.6 billion EBITDA
About $1.82 billion profit after tax
Average utilisation of approximately 83.6%
Production capacity reaching as high as 700,000 barrels per day
The most striking figure may be the revenue.

The refinery generated roughly as much revenue in six months as it generated during the whole of 2025. That shows how quickly the business has scaled.

Dangote Refinery vs SpaceX

Read more: https://naijup.ng/blog/dangote-refinery-is-now-on-pace-to-outpace-spacex-in-revenue

Nobody wakes up and decides to stay broke. Poverty, for most people, isn't a single bad decision, it's a thousand small, quiet ones repeated until they harden into a lifestyle. And in Nigeria, where the economy already makes saving and building wealth an uphill climb, certain habits make that climb even steeper.

The good news? Habits can be unlearned. Here are seven things that quietly keep a lot of Nigerians stuck, what they actually look like day to day, why they cost more than they seem to, and what shifting them could look like.

1. Living Paycheck to Paycheck by Design, Not Just Necessity
Yes, inflation is brutal and salaries rarely stretch as far as they should. But there's a difference between genuinely not having enough and spending every kobo simply because it's there. Here's what it looks like in practice: alert comes in on the 25th, and by the 27th, half of it is already gone, some to legitimate bills, some to things that felt urgent in the moment but weren't. A colleague's contribution here, a "let me just" purchase there, a meal out because the day was stressful.

None of these decisions feel reckless individually. That's exactly the problem, they're invisible one at a time, and only add up to something painful in hindsight, usually around the third week of the month when the account is empty again.

The fix isn't a more painful budget, it's a more honest one. Track spending for thirty days before changing anything. Most people are shocked not by the big expenses, which they already know about, but by the accumulation of small ones they'd stopped noticing. You can't manage what you haven't measured.

2. Treating Savings as What's Left Over
The common approach is: spend first, save whatever remains. The problem is, there's rarely anything left, because expenses have a way of expanding to match whatever is available. This is called Parkinson's Law of money: spending rises to meet income, no matter how much that income grows.

Financially secure people flip the order. The moment income arrives, a fixed percentage, even a modest one, 5% or 10% moves out of reach immediately, into a savings account, a fixed deposit, or an investment platform, before a single bill gets paid. This is often called "paying yourself first." It works because it removes willpower from the equation. You're not relying on having enough discipline at the end of the month to save whatever's left; you're removing the money before the temptation to spend it even exists.

Even automating a small, fixed transfer the day salary lands, something that happens without a decision each time builds more wealth over five years than sporadic "big" savings attempts that rarely survive contact with real life.

read more: https://naijup.ng/blog/7-habits-keeping-many-nigerians-poor-without-realizing-it

#PersonalFinanceNigeria
#FinancialLiteracy
#MoneyHabits
#MoneyManagement
#WealthBuilding
#FinancialGrowth

Nigeria’s stock market could be heading for some major additions, with some of the country’s biggest companies and institutions either preparing for a listing or reportedly considering one.
From Africa’s largest refinery to one of Nigeria’s biggest fintechs, here are four names investors should keep on their radar.

1. Dangote Refinery
The biggest and most immediate story is Dangote Petroleum Refinery.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has approved the refinery’s IPO, with 4.1 billion shares priced at ₦525 each, potentially raising about ₦2.15 trillion ($1.63 billion). The offer is expected to open on September 14, 2026, with a possible 15% greenshoe option if demand is strong.
The 650,000-barrel-per-day refinery is already one of Africa’s most important industrial projects. Dangote plans to use funds from the offering, alongside other financing, to expand capacity to about 1.4 million barrels per day.
If completed as planned, the offering could become Africa’s largest IPO to date.

2. NNPC Limited
Nigeria’s state-owned oil company, NNPC Limited, could also eventually become publicly traded.

Rwad more:https://naijup.ng/blog/4-nigerian-giants-that-could-soon-hit-the-stock-market

#Opay
#Dangote
#DangoteRefinery
#NNPCL
#OPAY
#DangoteFertiliser

Dangote Petroleum Refinery is set to make history on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX), with its highly anticipated initial public offering (IPO) priced at ₦525 per share and the order book expected to open on September 14, 2026.

The proposed IPO could raise about ₦2.15 trillion, or roughly $1.6 billion, from the sale of 4.1 billion ordinary shares, making it potentially the largest IPO in African capital-market history.

According to reports citing sources familiar with the transaction, the offering will also have a 15% greenshoe option, which could allow additional shares to be sold if investor demand is strong.

The development comes only weeks after Dangote Refinery attracted significant investor interest through a $2.5 billion private placement that reportedly valued the company at around $40 billion.

Dangote Refinery IPO at a Glance
IPO detail Information
Offer price ₦525 per share
Shares on offer 4.1 billion
Potential proceeds About ₦2.15 trillion
Dollar value About $1.55bn–$1.8bn
Greenshoe option 15%
Expected order book opening September 14, 2026

Read more: https://naijup.ng/blog/dangote-refinery-sets-525-ipo-price-as-africas-biggest-ever-share-sale

Is Lagos really Nigeria’s most developed state?The answer depends on what you measure.

GDP alone does not tell the full story. A truly developed state should combine economic strength with wealth, human development, healthcare, poverty reduction and the ability to provide a good quality of life.

Here are 10 important development metrics and the top five performers based on the latest comparable data available.

1. Largest State Economy — GDP
GDP (Gross Domestic Product) measures the total value of goods and services produced within a state.

According to the World Bank's 2025 Nigeria Development Update, 2023 state GDP showed a huge gap between Nigeria's economic centres.

Rank State GDP, 2023
? 1 Lagos ₦33.1tn
? 2 Delta ₦14.6tn
? 3 FCT ₦9.4tn
4 Rivers —
5 Ogun —

2. GDP Per Capita — Economic Output Per Person
GDP per capita divides GDP by population. It provides a better indication of the economic output associated with each resident.

Rank State GDP per capita, 2023
? 1 FCT ₦3.1m
? 2 Lagos ₦2.1m
? 3 Kwara ₦2.0m
4 Delta —
5 Bayelsa —


Read more: https://naijup.ng/blog/nigerias-most-developed-states-10-metrics-that-reveal-the-real-leaders#google_vignette

For many Nigerians today, there are two major dreams that seem to come up again and again. The first is to get a well-paying remote job and earn from outside Nigeria without leaving the country. The second is to japa. To relocate. Start again somewhere else. Find better opportunities. Earn in a stronger currency. Experience a different system and hopefully build a more stable life.

Both options can change a person's life. Both can also disappoint people who go into them with unrealistic expectations. That is why the conversation is no longer as simple as, "Should I japa?" or "How can I get a remote job?" The bigger question is: if you had the opportunity to do either one, which option would actually make more sense for your life?

Because remote work and relocation solve different problems. One allows you to earn globally while remaining in Nigeria. The other gives you the opportunity to physically enter another country's economy, work environment and system. But neither is automatically better.

There are Nigerians earning good salaries remotely from their bedrooms in Lagos, Enugu, Abuja and other parts of the country. At the same time, there are Nigerians abroad earning wages that may look impressive when converted to naira but struggling with rent, taxes, childcare and the high cost of living.

There are also people who relocated and genuinely changed their lives. And there are remote workers who lost international jobs and suddenly realised that earning in dollars does not automatically mean financial security.

So, before deciding that one path is better than the other, it is important to understand what each one really looks like.

What Remote Work Actually Means for Nigerians

Read more: https://naijup.ng/blog/remote-work-vs-japa

Running a small business in Nigeria has become an exercise in doing more with less. Prices keep climbing, customers are spending more carefully, and every month brings a new expense nobody budgeted for. The naira has spent most of this year trading between ₦1,350 and ₦1,400 to the dollar. Data top-up, transport, rent, and raw materials; everything costs more than it did last quarter, and salaries and sales haven't exactly kept pace. And yet, walk through any market in Nigeria and you'll find people still opening their shops every morning, still restocking, still finding a way.

What's interesting is how many one-man operations are holding their own in this economy: no big team, no deep pockets, just staying power. A phone accessories seller in Computer Village. A caterer running her business from a room-and-parlor kitchen. A mechanic with a single generator and a loyal customer base. What they all share is a set of survival habits that have basically become the informal MBA of doing business in Nigeria today.

The Numbers Behind the Struggle
There's actually some cautious good news for 2026.

Read more: https://naijup.ng/blog/how-small-businesses-are-surviving-nigerias-tough-economy