The federal executive council (FEC) has approved contracts of N44.2 billion for the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) to procure vehicles and construct residential accommodations.

Mohammed Idris, minister of information and national orientation, spoke to journalists at the end of the weekly FEC meeting on Wednesday in Abuja

The meeting was presided over by President Bola Tinubu.

Speaking on behalf of the ministry of finance, Idris said the council also approved a credit facility of €443 million and $141 million for the procurement of six M346 fighter aircraft for the Nigerian Air Force.

The minister also said FEC approved agreements to eliminate double taxation with Hong Kong and Botswana, aimed at preventing tax evasion

“The contracts include the construction of residential accommodations and procurement of operational vehicles,” he said.

“We are committed to enhancing the efficiency of the Nigeria Customs Service.

“The first one is that there have been approvals for some contracts, about seven of them for the Nigerian custom service.

“The next one is that there’s an approval for an agreement for the elimination of double taxation with respect to taxes on income and prevention of tax evasion and avoidance between the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China.

“The third one is that the council gave approval to obtain a credit facility in a sum of 443,330,781.49 euros and another $141 million from a group of financiers for the procurement of six units of M346 fighter aircraft and ammunition for the Nigerian Air Force. 

“And the last one from the Federal Ministry of Finance is the approval for signing of an agreement for the elimination of double taxation with respect to taxes on income and the prevention of tax evasion and avoidance between the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Republic of Botswana.”

Zenith Bank has announced the successful conclusion of its system upgrade.

In a message on Tuesday, Zenith Bank expressed gratitude to its customers for their patience during the upgrade process, promising improved services moving forward.

“Dear valued customer, thank you for your patience. We have successfully concluded the system upgrade, and you will experience improved services going forward,” Zenith Bank said.

Zenith Bank made a similar announcement on October 14, noting that it has upgraded the bank’s core information technology (IT) infrastructure after embarking on the system upgrade on October 1, with assurance that the downtime will last from 12:01am and 2:30pm.

“We have upgraded our core IT infrastructure to ensure you enjoy memorable banking experiences going forward,” the bank said.

“Perform your transactions quickly, safely and conveniently 24/7 with our digital banking channel(s) of your choice.”

On September 29, Zenith Bank informed its customers via various channels that its app would be automatically updated to a new version on October 1.

Following the development, the bank’s customers took to X to complain about their inability to access the financial institution’s mobile app.

Due to the technical issues and challenges faced by Zenith Bank customers, Spectranet had advised its subscribers to avoid making payments via Zenith Bank.

Keystone Bank says the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has no plans to withdraw its licence.

On Tuesday, Hassan Imam, the chief executive officer (CEO) of Keystone Bank, said the clarification became necessary due to the constant spread of fake news, especially on social media platforms like WhatsApp.

In June, the CBN said it has no plans to revoke the licences of Unity, Polaris, and Keystone banks.

Online reports had claimed the apex bank would terminate the licences of the three banks, following the revocation of Heritage Bank’s licence.

Imam said the bank’s retail services remain strong, maintaining second place in the industry rankings and being recognised as the ‘Retail Bank of the Year’ in KPMG’s 2023 report.

“We wish to set the records straight that we are strong and have continued to grow our balance sheet while delivering exceptional value to our stakeholders,” the CEO said.

“We are actively pursuing legal action against those responsible for spreading fake news and are committed to holding them accountable.

“As a bank, we have continued to operate from a position of financial strength, consistently meeting our obligations as well as all regulatory requirements.

“Our retail banking services have also been recognised for excellence, ranking second in the industry according to the KPMG BICX 2023 Report, and the bank emerged as the ‘Retail Bank of the Year’ at the Africa Industrial and Development Conference and Awards 2024.”

Imam said the recent appointment of the board of directors by CBN, made up of experienced bankers and professionals from various fields, has further strengthened their governance structure.