Economy
Traders Back Oyo N107b IGR Proposal
By Dipo Olowookere
Stakeholders in the informal sector in Oyo State have expressed their readiness to contribute to the realization of the benchmark of N107 billion Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) targeted by the state government in the 2017 fiscal appropriation proposal.
The stakeholders led by the Presidents of Oyo State Markets Association and Canteen Owners Association of Nigeria, Oyo State Chapter, Mr Dauda Oladapo and Mrs Amdalat Iyadunni Lawal respectively gave the assurances during an interactive session on 2017 budget of self-reliance analysis at the House of Chiefs, Agodi Ibadan at the weekend.
The state government had explained through the Commissioner for Finance, Budget and Planning, Mr Bimbo Adekanmbi to the stakeholders, which included representatives of various labour unions in the state, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), NGOs, civil societies, market men and women and the media, that the government was targeting the informal sector to boost its IGR, saying that the monthly projection valued at N5bn in the 2016 budget had been reduced to N4 billion in the face of current realities.
While speaking separately at the budget interactive session, the leaders of the stakeholders pledged their support for the actualization of the government plans and consequently urged that funds realized from the taxes collected should be channelled towards citizens’ oriented projects.
The President, Oyo State Markets Association, Mr Oladapo explained that market men and women across the 33 local governments of the state are ready to pay their dues into the government coffers, adding “All the leaders of the markets in the state have met several times and we have agreed to support the government’s revenue drive through the informal sector. Our members wanted to start paying since 2016 but the government directed that we should wait till January 2017. We are waiting for them to come for the money.”
In her own submission, Mr Iyadunni Lawal said, “We, the canteen owners, are ready to pay our taxes. We have over 8,000 members throughout the state and we are all prepared to pay our dues. However, we want the government to always specify benefits of our members in the budget.”
The duo of the Secretary of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) Oyo State chapter and the Vice Chairman of Joint Negotiating Council, Comrades Kofo Ogundeji and Eniola Kolawole urged the state government to adequately equip and release funds for the revenue generating Ministries, Department and Agencies (MDAs) for optimum performance.
The state Commissioner for Finance, Mr Adekanmbi, who was accompanied by the Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism, Mr Toye Arulogun and other top government functionaries explained that the informal sector is critical in the actualization of the N207,671,495,300 billion proposed self-reliance budget for the 2017 fiscal year.
Mr Adekanmbi noted that in spite of the low performance of the 2016 budget, the 2017 budget was evolved from a Zero Based Budgeting approach, which made it mandatory that every Budget item (Revenue and expenditure), was only included after strong and thorough justification, emphasizing that the priority of the Oyo state government shall be on Infrastructure, Agriculture, and its entire value chain, Commerce, Industrialisation, Education and Health while other sectors would also be given necessary attention.
The Commissioner lamented that the IGR, which was supposed to be the other mainstay of the State’s income performed at 20.69% of the total revenue performance of the 2016 budget and about 29% of the actual recurrent revenue, stressing that the state government’s efforts at improving the IGR had started with the restructuring and repositioning of the Board of Internal Revenue with the proposal of full autonomy and hoped that the effect of this (restructuring and repositioning) would be evident in the much desired enhanced IGR in the 2017 fiscal year.
According to him, “an average of N4 billion monthly is being proposed by the Board of Internal Revenue. This represents a 20 percent decrease when compared to the 2016 monthly projection of Five (5) Billion Naira. This projection is believed to be a more realistic estimate as we have married the actual monthly IGR average of N1.3 billion, to the positive expectation from the increasing understanding and positive disposition of the informal sector to payment of taxes.
“It is to be emphasized that it is not really that these categories of citizens were naturally averse to payment of taxes. The newly restructured BIR has only risen up to its responsibilities of sensitization, collection, storage and optimization of necessary tax payer database,” he stressed.
He assured that the Mr Ajimobi led administration was committed to steering the state towards the path of economic viability by driving her fiscal management towards an improved and self-sustaining IGR regime promising that there would be efficient and effective utilization of resources through rigorous monitoring of the implementation and evaluation of the impact of projects and programs on the citizenry.
Mr Adekanmbi listed Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban development as the top generating MDA, remarking that the efficiency in the processing of title documents and other new innovations by the Ministry gives the government the assurance of a higher revenue yield of about N40 billion.
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.
