Economy
How We Selected Beneficiaries of N5000 Monthly Stipends—FG
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Details are emerging on how the Federal Government determined the beneficiaries of the Conditional Cash Transfer who are now receiving the N5000 monthly stipends across the nine pilot states.
According to the Senior Special Assistant on Media & Publicity in the Office of the Vice President, Mr Laolu Akande, the nine States are Bauchi, Borno, Cross Rivers, Ekiti, Kwara, Kogi, Niger, Osun and Oyo.
Mr Akande clarified that reference to Ogun, instead of Osun-among the pilot states- in his last press statement on the issue was a typo.
In his press update on the progress of the Buhari administration’s Social Investment Programmes, SIP, over the weekend, Mr Akande explained how the Community-Based Targeting, CBT model of the World Bank was used two years ago to identify most of the beneficiaries in the pilot States, as the World Bank is also an active agent in the entire process. But he added that the data collected belongs to Nigeria.
According to Mr Akande, ” there is no way anyone can describe the selection of the beneficiaries of the CCT as partisan as the beneficiaries from eight of the nine pilot States were picked even before this administration came into office.”
“First, the officials at Federal level, working with the State officials, identify the poorest Local Government Areas, using an existing poverty map for the State, then the LG officials identify the poorest communities in the LGAs and we send our teams there.
The first thing our team does after selection of the LGAs is to select members of the NOA, the LGA and community officials to form the CBT team. Then we train the selected officials on how to conduct Focus Group discussions at community level. These focus groups comprise of women, men, youth, as the community determines.
After training them, the CBT teams now go to each of their communities to sensitize the leaders, including traditional rulers, on the CBT process and the necessity for objectivity and openness in the process. At that meeting, they firm up a date to convene a community meeting at a designated location within the community.
On the set date, discussions are held in the local languages, using terminologies that resonate in that community. The CBT team will explain to the community the purpose of the gathering, i.e. to determine the parameters of poverty upon which persons can be described as poor and vulnerable within the context of that community.
The CBT teams will then engage each group (men, women and youth) in the conversation around the criteria and parameters for determining the poorest people. The groups would then be encouraged to identify those households that fall within the criteria that the community itself determines, and told that the information is required for government’s planning purposes.
(Various poverty criteria have been thrown up so far. In some cases, people have said it’s the number of times they eat, it’s the number of times the fumes of firewood go up from the house, the size of farmland or type of crops grown, etc.)
Then the groups resume in plenary and report back the criteria and parameters discussed.
The CBT team would then compile the criteria and parameters and ask each group to return to their break-out sessions and now begin to identify the households in the community that have been identified as fitting the criteria and parameters.
Once that is done at the groups, everybody comes together again with names compiled by each group. Now, when the same name is featured in at least two of the three groups, it is deemed qualified to be listed on the Social Register.
At this stage, we now enumerate the members of the household and open a bank account for each of the caregivers by capturing the biometric data of households identified as among the poorest and vulnerable.”
According to Mr Akande, in 8 of the nine pilot states, this process had taken place at least 2 years ago under a programme supported by the World Bank under an Agreement entered into directly with the state governments, on the YESSO project. The ninth state is Borno, which was added because of the IDP situation, with the list of the beneficiaries that has been verified by SEMA.
“This is an entirely fair and transparent process and short of mischief, there is no way you can describe this process as partisan. The President is President of the entire country and the SIPs are for all Nigerians as the case may be.”
In addition to the nine pilot states, and with the release of funds for the programmes, the CBT model has now commenced in other States.
The states have been updated on the requirements for the engagement by the Federal team and once the lists from States are enumerated, their details are uploaded onto a server at the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS), which hosts the electronic platform that validates all the payments of the FG for the SIPs.
Banks have been informed that payments must be at community level, so those banks engaged for the pilot stage have in turn engaged several payment agents, to ensure cash-out to the beneficiaries in their places of residence which are distant to the bank locations.
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.
