Economy
2Baba Seeks NSE Support for Agro-Allied Business
By Adedapo Adesanya
Popular Nigerian musician, Innocent Idibia, otherwise known as 2Face or 2Baba, has veered into an agro-allied business.
The talented music act on Monday during a chat with the chief executive officer of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), Mr Oscar Onyema, stated that he now has an agribusiness called Innobia Agro-Allied Limited.
According to him, the project is expected to drive agriculture and create a thousand jobs for youths in each of the 36 states of the federation, including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja.
He, therefore, called for the support of the exchange in actualising this laudable goal.
The singer is the Good Cause Ambassador of the NSE and he was hosted by the exchange today and given the honour to close the market by beating the closing gong, though digitally.
At the closing gong ceremony held on Instagram live chat this afternoon, the multiple award-winning music star used the opportunity to drive home the importance of collaboration and appreciated the NSE for using him to inform youths in the country on the message of social change.
“I am really grateful for the opportunity and would like to thank the Nigerian Stock Exchange. I would also like to call on Nigerians to join the movement,” he said.
In his remarks, Mr Onyema lauded the impact that the entertainment sector has played in driving social change, and in particular, 2Baba’s influence.
He said the vital member of the defunct Plantainshun Boiz has used his voice to raise awareness and mobilize support for the Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability initiatives of the bourse toward achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) in Nigeria.
“Since his appointment, 2Baba has been collaborating with NSE on its various CSR programmes such as the NSE Corporate Challenge, NSE Essay competition and more recently the Masks for All Nigerians campaign.
“The campaign aims at galvanizing individuals and companies towards donating 400 million masks for Nigerians especially low-income households.
“We are pleased to note that for 2Baba, music is more than making hit tracks which he has done since he hit the limelight over twenty years ago. It is also an instrument of driving change and impact within society.
“It was, therefore, not surprising that many organisations continue to desire to collaborate with him to bring about the desired social change,” he noted.
Mr Onyema further noted that the exchange has continued to thrive despite the limitations brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, through its Business Continuity Plan established in March.
“We have remained supportive of issuers and have added close to N1 trillion of fresh capital since the activation of the Business Continuity Plan in March,” the NSE chief said.
He noted that, “Recently, we committed the sum of N100 Million to support the fight against COVID-19 in Nigeria. The sum of N60 million was donated to the Capital Market Support Committee for COVID-19 (CMSCC), led by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
“The balance of N40 Million was deployed to the Masks For All Nigeria campaign, which was launched to galvanize private organizations and individuals to provide 400 million face masks to Nigerians, especially the low-income households.
“We kicked off the campaign with a donation of over 100,000 face masks. I, therefore, use this opportunity to invite corporates and well-meaning individuals to join the campaign and donate masks via http://masksforallng.com.”
By Adedapo Adesanya
Dangote Petroleum Refinery imported a total of $3.74 billion) worth of crude oil in 2025, to make up for shortfalls that threatened the plant’s 650,000-barrel-a-day operational capacity.
The data disclosed in the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Balance of Payments report noted that “Crude oil imports of $3.74 billion by Dangote Refinery” contributed to movements in the country’s current account position, as Nigeria imported crude oil worth N5.734 trillion between January and December 2025.
Last year, as the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC), which is the refinery’s main trade partner and minority stakeholder, faced its challenges, the company had to forge alternative supply links. This led to the importation of crude from Brazil, Equatorial Guinea, Angola, Algeria, and the US, among others.
For instance, in March 2025, the company said it now counts Brazil and Equatorial Guinea among its global oil suppliers, receiving up to 1 million barrels of the medium-sweet grade Tupi crude at the refinery on March 26 from Brazil’s Petrobras.
Meanwhile, crude oil exports dropped from $36.85 billion in 2024 to $31.54 billion in 2025, representing a 14.41 per cent decline, further shaping the external balance.
The report added that the refinery’s operations also reduced Nigeria’s reliance on imported fuel, noting that “availability of refined petroleum products from Dangote Refinery also led to a substantial decline in fuel imports.”
Specifically, refined petroleum product imports fell sharply to $10.00 billion in 2025 from $14.06 billion in 2024, representing a 28.9 per cent decline, while total oil-related imports also eased.
However, this was offset by a rise in non-oil imports, which increased from $25.74 billion to $29.24 billion, up 13.6 per cent year-on-year, reflecting sustained demand for foreign goods.
At the same time, the goods account remained in surplus at $14.51 billion in 2025, rising from $13.17 billion in 2024, supported largely by activities linked to the Dangote refinery and improved export performance in other segments.
The CBN stated that the stronger goods balance was driven by “significant export of refined petroleum products worth $5.85bn by Dangote Refinery,” alongside increased gas exports to other economies.
Nigeria posted a current account surplus of $14.04 billion in 2025, lower than the $19.03 billion recorded in 2024 but significantly higher than $6.42 billion in 2023. The decline from 2024 was driven partly by structural changes in oil trade flows, including crude imports for domestic refining, according to the report.
Pressure on the current account came from higher external payments. Net outflows for services rose from $13.36 billion in 2024 to $14.58 billion in 2025, driven by increased spending on transport, travel, insurance, and other services.
Similarly, net outflows in the primary income account surged by 60.88 per cent to $9.09 billion, largely due to higher dividend and interest payments to foreign investors.
In contrast, secondary income inflows declined slightly from $24.88 billion in 2024 to $23.20 billion in 2025, as official development assistance and personal transfers weakened, although remittances remained a key source of inflow, as domestic refineries grappled with persistent feedstock shortages, exposing a deepening supply paradox in the country’s oil sector.
This comes despite the Federal Government’s much-publicised naira-for-crude policy designed to prioritise local supply.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
An application has been submitted by Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc for its proposed N5.0 billion rights issue.
The application was sent to the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited, and it is for approval to list shares from the exercise when issued to qualifying shareholders.
A notice signed by the Head of Issuer Regulation Department of the exchange, Mr Godstime Iwenekhai, disclosed that the request was filed on behalf of the underwriting firm by its stockbrokers, Cordros Securities Limited, Dynamic Portfolio Limited and Cedar of Lebanon Securities.
The company intends to raise about N5.022 billion from the rights issue to boost its capital base, as demanded by the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) for insurers in the country.
Sovereign Trust Insurance plans to issue 2,510,848,144 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each at N2.00 per share on the basis of three new ordinary shares for every 17 existing ordinary shares held as of the close of business on Tuesday, March 17, 2026.
“Trading license holders are hereby notified that Sovereign Trust Insurance has through its stockbrokers, Cordros Securities Limited, Dynamic Portfolio Limited and Cedar of Lebanon Securities, submitted an application to Nigerian Exchange Limited for the approval and listing of a rights issue of 2,510,848,144 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each at N2.00 per share on the basis of three new ordinary shares for every 17 existing ordinary shares held as of the close of business on Tuesday, March 17, 2026,” the notification read.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Food Concepts Plc, the parent company of fast food brands like Chicken Republic and PieXpress, has disclosed plans to pay 10 Kobo in interim dividend to new and existing shareholders for the 2026 financial year.
This was disclosed by the company in a notice to the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange, where it trades its securities.
The notice indicated that the proposed interim dividend, which comes with no bonus, will be paid to those who hold the stocks of the company as of the qualification date for the dividend, which was Tuesday, March 24.
This means only those who hold the company’s shares as of the closing session will be eligible to receive the stipulated dividend payment.
The shareholders of the company will be credited with the 10 Kobo dividend on Tuesday, March 31.
The notice noted that the closure of the company’s register will be on Wednesday, March 25, through Friday, March 27, 2026, both days inclusive.
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