Economy
Nigeria Mulls Debt Restructuring
By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria is considering restructuring its debt and extending the repayment period of its credit obligations.
This was disclosed by the Minister of Finance, Budget, and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, in an interview with Bloomberg TV.
She also revealed that the country has appointed consultants to advise the government on the proposed debt restructuring as it faces a rising debt-service burden, adding that the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari also plans to refinance domestic debt obligations that are due this year and 2023.
This will happen as the country’s N20 trillion in outstanding borrowings from the central bank will be bundled into government bonds.
“For the larger portfolio of debt, we have just appointed a consultant” to assess how the government can “get additional relief by way of restructuring and negotiating to stretch out the repayments to longer periods,” Mrs Ahmed said.
She, however, didn’t provide further details.
Africa’s largest economy faces a rising debt service burden that the World Bank estimates will hit 102 per cent of revenues this year.
President Buhari last week presented the largest budget of N20.51 trillion for next year, which has a deficit of over N12 trillion.
Members of the National Assembly approved the government’s plan to borrow as much as N8.4 trillion naira to plug part of the shortfall, an estimated N10.78 trillion or 4.8 per cent of gross domestic product.
“The budget is designed for us to raise financing 50 per cent from domestic and 50 per cent from the international financing, and this will be a combination of concessionary sources and bilateral sources as well as the international capital market,” Mrs Ahmed said.
She said Nigeria would only consider a Eurobond issuance if yields move to levels close to where they were when it last tapped international markets with a little markup.
Nigeria sold a seven-year bond in March at a yield of 8.375 per cent, far higher than a similar maturity it raised eight months earlier at 6.125 per cent. It later shelved plans to borrow another $950 million in May after yields on outstanding bonds spiked to mid-double digits.
“As it is right now, it’s too expensive for us to borrow from the international capital market,” Mrs Ahmed said.
Instead, the government will cut tax waivers and incentives given to companies and plan to introduce new excise duties or levies to ramp up revenues.
Mrs Ahmed expects that increased efforts to tackle crude theft, which has cut output to record lows, will produce results in the next three months.
“In the next one, two, three months, we should be able to hit the targets that we have in the budget, which is 1.6 million barrels a day,” she said.
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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