By Son Tertsea, Abuja

The Bola Tinubu Government has drawn down $1.5bn from a $5bn financing facility arranged with First Abu Dhabi Bank, United Arab Emirates’ largest lender. This is despite concerns from local and global financial institutions over the increasing use of complex derivative financing by African countries.

On Friday, the latest drawdown was reported by Bloomberg as the first tranche of a $5bn Total Return Swap facility approved by the National Assembly on March 31, 2026, and is expected to augment the 2026 budget, finance infrastructure projects, and meet existing debt obligations.

The Bloomberg report quoted sources versed with the transaction, that pledged not to be identified because they were not authorised to speak publicly about it.

“Nigeria has accessed the first tranche of a $5bn derivatives deal with the United Arab Emirates’ largest lender, pressing ahead with a transaction that has been scrutinised for being opaque.

“The West African nation drew about $1.5bn in the last couple of weeks from a total return swap transaction with First Abu Dhabi Bank PJSC, according to people familiar with the transaction, who asked not to be identified because they were not authorised to speak to the media.”

The transaction comes at a time when Nigeria is facing higher borrowing costs in international capital markets, forcing the government to seek alternative financing arrangements to shore up its fiscal position and improve access to foreign exchange liquidity.

Under the arrangement, Nigeria is required to pledge Federal Government securities worth about 133 per cent of any amount drawn under the facility. The implication is, for the $5bn facility, the government would have to post approximately $6.65bn worth of naira-denominated bonds as collateral.

In return, the Abu Dhabi-based lender provides dollar liquidity to the Nigerian government. The Federal Government will pay a floating interest rate benchmark plus about four percentage points, while the lender receives the returns generated by the underlying government securities.

The transaction effectively allows Nigeria to unlock immediate dollar funding without issuing new Eurobonds or taking traditional external loans at prevailing market rates, which have become increasingly expensive for frontier economies.

However, the financing arrangement has attracted criticism from international financial institutions and market analysts over transparency concerns and potential hidden liabilities.

In its June 2026 assessment of African sovereign debt markets, the International Monetary Fund, IMF, cautioned that derivative financing structures such as total return swaps are often opaque and difficult for investors and creditors to monitor.

The IMF noted that such arrangements are “hard to track, hard to value in real time, and can obscure the true extent of a country’s financial obligations.”

Relatedly, Fitch Ratings, 3 days ago, had advised against Nigeria’s $5bn financing arrangement with First Abu Dhabi Bank arguing it could increase sovereign debt risks that reduce transparency in public debt reporting.

By Son Tertsea, Abuja

Elon Musk, who, on June 12, 2026 was shot into world’s first trillionaire status, has been taken out of it, by the falling stocks of SpaceX and Tesla, his tech groups.

They pushed the mogul back down to billionaire ranks by the time markets closed on Wednesday, June 24.

Plunging shares in Tesla and SpaceX dragged the tech magnate down to net worth of $970.2bn.

Musk reached trillionaire status on 12 June after SpaceX’s historic initial public offering (IPO). The rocket, satellite and AI company’s debut on the stock market made Musk the first person with a net worth of more than $1tn. His fortune continued to hover around that gigantic figure in the weeks following the initial public offering (IPO).

A global stock selloff this week led to sharp declines for major tech stocks and dealt a blow to Musk’s wealth, however, as investor concerns that the Federal Reserve will potentially raise interest rates and looming fears of an AI bubble rattled the market.

Companies with values heavily tied to AI boom, such as Google’s parent, Alphabet, and chip makers like Samsung, were hit quite hard.

The SpaceX IPO, the largest in history, immediately plummeted Musk’s wealth while also tying it to the company’s stock price. SpaceX raised $75bn from its record-breaking IPO and its stocks increased by 19%, from its initial price of $135 per share, within 24 hours of going public. On Wednesday, SpaceX’s stocks were listed at $154.35.

Musk’s wealth is tied up in stock and equity, and is not cash he can quickly spend. Still, his fortune is unprecedented, not just for its size but its speed of growth.

Market fluctuations foretell Musk could regain his trillionaire status in the near future if either Tesla or SpaceX shares rebound.

Although not a trillionaire now, Musk is easily still the world’s richest person. Wealthiest billionaire next is the Google co-founder Larry Page, whose net worth is about $284bn, according to Forbes.

Musk made more money than Page’s entire fortune this year alone, increasing his net worth by $338bn since January.

By Son Tertsea, Abuja

Oil prices had taken a nosedive early Monday following the U.S. and Iran announced deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz more than 100 days after its closure.

Today, Brent crude had dropped 3.95% to trade at $83.88 per barrel, while WTI had fallen 4.62% to $80.96 per barrel. Oil prices, which peaked in mid-May, have been slowly but surely trending downward in recent weeks on rumors of a deal, even after multiple escalatory strikes.

With President Trump’s
Sunday night declaration that a deal with Iran was complete, writing on social media that “oil will flow” through the Strait of Hormuz once the deal is signed on Friday.

In his confirmation, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said that the text of a memorandum of understanding had been finalized and that a formal signing ceremony would take place in Switzerland on Friday.

Pakistan and Qatar, the two lead mediators in the deal, also confirmed the agreement.

While details of the deal are yet sketchy, semi-official Iranian state news outlet Mehr News Agency published details from a source “close to Iran’s negotiating team”. Those details include an end to the war in Lebanon, the suspension of sanctions on Iranian oil, the release of $24 billion in frozen Iranian funds, and an affirmation that Iran will not produce nuclear weapons.

The release of funds and the broader lifting of sanctions on Iran are set to take place during the ceasefire period, although reporting by Mehr News Agency suggested that $12 billion would be made available to Iran before negotiations begin.

Perhaps more importantly for oil markets, Iran will be able to resume crude exports during the 60-day ceasefire period while broader nuclear negotiations continue. This may include possible hand over of all uranium stockpiled for nuclear weapons, as demanded by the USA president.

The diplomatic breakthrough was nearly foiled at the eleventh hour when Israel conducted an air strike on southern Beirut, with Trump saying the attack “should not have happened”. The President took to social media immediately after the attack to say “all sides should stand down” and added that there should be no more attacks by Israel anywhere in Lebanon.

While the agreement represents the most serious diplomatic breakthrough since the war began, markets will remain on edge until the Strait is cleared of mines, the deal is signed, and normal shipping flows resume.

The mood is no doubt warm that after more than three months of war, there is greaer prospect for normalcy to return. And traders are finally beginning to price in the possibility of peace and a return to normal. Whether that peace holds, and just how long a return to normal will take, remains to be seen