Economy
Insurgency, Banditry Fuelling Food Crisis—FG
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The federal government has admitted that the rising insecurity in Nigeria was threatening the supply of food items across the country, deepening the food crisis.
But the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, has assured that efforts would be made to address the issue.
Speaking at the Consolidatory Dialogue for the Nigeria Food Systems in Abuja on Tuesday, she said the federal government has resolved to find lasting solutions to the issue through dialogue.
“Indeed, through these engagements, we have not only been able to identify some challenges intrinsic to our food systems from multiple perspectives, but we have equally been able to harvest some promising ideas, innovative solutions and approaches from diverse stakeholders,” she said.
According to her, the food systems encompass the entire food production, processing, supply chain, food environment as well as consumer behaviour.
“We have also recognised the need to make our food systems attractive to our teeming population especially to the youth of this country. For this reason, the government is deploying up to date technology in agricultural production and the entire food value chain,” she said.
In her words: “There is no gainsaying that the Nigeria food systems is currently being threatened by increasing cases of insurgency, kidnapping, armed banditry and other vices currently plaguing our country.”
“These challenges notwithstanding, the emphasis, according to her, has always been on protecting the economy and funding the country’s healthcare needs, with the COVID-19 response spurring necessary transformation and innovation in the fiscal space and beyond.
She said this informed the rationale for making food and nutrition key thematic areas in the medium-term national development plan (MTNDP 2021-2025) presently being developed by my Ministry in collaboration with relevant stakeholders.
“It is, therefore, my belief that the opportunity provided by these dialogues have created more awareness, a better understanding of the challenges of our food systems and actions needed to make our food systems more sustainable and more resilient.
“Solutions we shall be coming out with will be those that will further propel us to achieving Nigeria of our dream particularly in the quest to improving nutrition security, reducing hunger and prevalence of malnutrition as it was envisioned in the national food and nutrition policy for Nigeria,” Mrs Ahmed said.
The Minister noted that she sees dialogue as a platform to consolidate all conservations that have been made in Nigeria around the food systems since the inception dialogue in February 2021.
She noted that the event was to enable Nigerians to harmonise the major highlights that emanated from the series of government and independent-led dialogues that have taken place so far in the country and making some commitments on ways of making the food systems better, more inclusive and more sustainable.
“During this period that the dialogues lasted, participants from diverse sectors shaded lights on the synergies and trade-offs between the five actions trackers of the United Nations (UN) food systems.
“Thorough analysis was made of existing policies, plans and guidelines, in-country studies and on the field experiences leading to a better understanding of how our food systems are affected and pathways to a more drastic transformation of our food system,” the Minister said.
Mrs Ahmed disclosed that, “In line with the UN’s leadership directive, Nigeria under the leadership of the Permanent Secretary as the National Convenor has successfully organised an inception dialogue at the national level, exploratory dialogues in 12 States across the six geo-political zones and local government and community level dialogues in eight communities selected from eight states.
“We have also had over 30 independent dialogues” organised by a group of individuals as well as private organisations. With this, you will agree with one that the journey has been so tedious but with our collective resolve to succeed we were able to come this far.”
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian Insurers Association (NIA) has disclosed that seven additional insurance companies have secured full recapitalisation approval from the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), bringing the industry-wide recapitalisation exercise to a successful conclusion.
In a statement on Friday, NIA Chairman, Mrs Ebelechukwu Nwachukwu, said the milestone represented significant progress towards building a stronger, more competitive and trusted insurance market in Nigeria.
She said the seven companies, alongside the 41 insurance companies and two reinsurance companies earlier approved, had demonstrated resilience, financial discipline and corporate strength by successfully completing the final verification process.
“Having successfully navigated the rigorous final verification process, these companies, alongside the earlier approved 41 insurance companies and two reinsurance companies, have demonstrated exceptional resilience, corporate fortitude, and financial discipline,” Mrs Nwachukwu said.
She added that the successful recapitalisation had positioned the companies to deliver greater value to policyholders and contribute to deeper insurance penetration nationwide.
Mrs Nwachukwu commended NAICOM for its regulatory oversight during the exercise, describing the commission’s approach as fair, structured and focused on strengthening market integrity.
“NAICOM’s strategic foresight and structured execution have elevated the Nigerian insurance industry, reinforcing its position within the broader financial sector as a substantially stronger, highly resilient, and globally competitive market,” she said.
The NIA chairman reaffirmed the association’s commitment to supporting insurance companies as they adapt to new regulatory requirements under the Nigerian Insurance Industry Reform Act (NIIRA) 2025.
She said the association would continue to work with NAICOM to promote a sustainable and future-ready insurance sector.
Mrs Nwachukwu also assured policyholders, investors and other economic stakeholders that the recapitalised industry was better positioned to support economic growth.
“With this recapitalization complete, the Nigerian insurance sector enters a transformative era. The industry is fully equipped to settle genuine claims promptly, absorb higher local and international risks, and serve as a cornerstone of financial stability, directly supporting President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s vision of achieving a $1 trillion economy by 2030,” she said.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Capital market operators have been directed to immediately freeze the assets, funds, and other economic resources belonging to six individuals and three entities designated as terrorist financiers by the Nigeria Sanctions Committee (NSC).
This directive was given by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) via a circular to all Capital Market Regulated Entities (CMREs), warning that failure to comply would constitute a violation of the Investments and Securities Act, 2025, and the SEC Anti-Money Laundering/Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) Rules and Regulations.
It said violations could attract regulatory sanctions, including fines, suspension of operations or revocation of registration, reminding capital market operators that all unusual or suspicious transactions must be promptly reported to the NFIU.
The regulator, which stated that the designations were made in line with the Terrorism Prevention and Prohibition Act (TPPA) 2022, listed the six individuals as Babangida Muhammed Adamu Hammajam, Abdullahi Umar Usman, Ibrahim Abubakar, Adamu Chiroma, Muktar Muhammad Adamu and Yakubu Ogirima Ibrahim. The three designated entities are Nine to Nine BDC Ltd, Generation Currency BDC Ltd and Abbal Bako & Sons Bureau de Change.
According to the SEC, Hammajama was listed on June 18, 2026, for involvement in terrorism financing and support for the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), while Usman was designated for providing material support to a designated terrorist organisation through repeated financial transactions.
The commission said Abubakar was listed for involvement in terrorism financing and membership of ISWAP, while Chiroma was designated for allegedly using Bureau De Change (BDC) operations and related corporate entities to facilitate the movement of funds linked to terrorist activities.
Muktar Muhammad Adamu was listed on June 15, 2026, for providing financial support and facilitating transactions linked to the financing network of the ISWAP Okene cell, while Ibrahim was designated for providing material and financial support to the ISWAP Kogi cell.
The SEC said the three entities were listed for their alleged involvement in facilitating and channelling funds connected to the ISWAP Okene financing network.
The commission directed CMREs to immediately identify and freeze, without prior notice, all funds, assets and other economic resources in their possession belonging to the designated persons and entities.
They are also required to report frozen assets and other compliance actions, including attempted transactions, to the Secretariat of the Nigeria Sanctions Committee.
In addition, the SEC directed regulated entities to immediately file suspicious transaction reports with the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) for further analysis of the financial activities.
It further instructed operators to report as suspicious transactions all cases of name matches in financial transactions, whether occurring before or after receipt of the sanctions list.
The regulated entities are also required to prohibit dealings with the designated persons and entities and continue monitoring for transactions involving them.
The SEC said any findings should be reported to the Nigeria Sanctions Committee through its designated reporting channel.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc, Nigeria’s biggest sugar producer, has raised N486 billion ($356 million) through an oversubscribed rights issue as the company moves to reduce its debt burden and strengthen its capital base after three consecutive years of losses.
The company, founded by Mr Aliko Dangote, raised the funds through the issuance of 8.1 billion ordinary shares at N60 per share, according to a filing with the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited on Friday.
The development follows shareholders’ approval of the capital-raising plan at the company’s 20th Annual General Meeting held in April.
In a statement signed by the Company Secretary, Mr Temitope Hassan, the sugar firm said the rights issue is part of efforts to improve its financial position and provide funding to support its long-term growth plans.
The company’s directors are authorised to raise up to N500 billion through a rights issue, on terms and at a time to be determined by the Board.
Dangote Sugar increased its share capital to accommodate the new shares issued under the rights issue. The sugar producer’s board also authorised to allot the shares and the management of any fractional holdings in accordance with regulatory requirements.
The organisation said any shares remaining unallotted after the offer would be cancelled as permitted by law, describing the capital raise as one of the largest rights issues in Nigeria’s corporate history.
The capital raise comes against the backdrop of improved revenue performance but continued losses at the company.
In its 2025 audited results, Dangote Sugar recorded a 24.56 per cent increase in revenue to N829.2 billion, compared with the previous year. The growth was driven largely by strong demand for 50kg sugar, which generated N807 billion in revenue.
Retail sugar sales contributed N17.7 billion, while molasses and freight income generated N4.02 billion and N66.4 million, respectively.
Cost of sales increased by 11.35 per cent to N706.5 billion, largely due to raw material costs of N573.3 billion. This resulted in a gross profit of N122.6 billion.
Despite the improvement in revenue and gross profit, the company recorded a pre-tax loss of N72.2 billion in 2025, although this represented a significant improvement from the N270.8 billion loss reported in 2024.
Lagos remained the company’s largest market, accounting for 55.82 per cent of regional sales, followed by the North with 35.35 per cent, the West with 6.45 per cent and the East with 2.38 per cent.
The fresh capital is expected to provide Dangote Sugar with additional financial capacity as it works to reduce its debt obligations, strengthen its balance sheet and advance its long-term expansion plans.
