Business
Mutual Benefits Assurance’s annual profit jumps 45% amid boost in insurance revenue
Mutual Benefits Assurance reported on Friday a 45 per cent increase in net profit for the 2025 financial year, receiving a major boost from its insurance business.
Shares in the insurer had gone up by 9.5 per cent on Lagos’ Customs Street as of 10:32 West Africa Time, following the news.
Insurance service result leapt 718.9 per cent to N8.8 billion, according to its audited financials, easing the blow that a slide in net investment income would have had dealt on earnings.
The net investment income of the underwriter dropped by 11.1 per cent in the period under review after incurring N659.7 million in foreign exchange loss in contrast to a gain of N5.3 billion posted a year earlier.
Insurance revenue climbed by 19.6 per cent to N80 billion, with Nigeria contributing more than three-fourths of that sum, while Niger and Liberia – other markets where the company operates – accounted for the rest.
The results also showed that motor insurance remains the biggest contributor to insurance revenue pool of the insurer, whose underwriting operations span oil & gas, aviation, agriculture, marine and life among others. Revenue from motor insurance stood N26.2 billion, up from N17.9 billion a year earlier.
Apart from assurance business, the company has operations in real estate, microfinance as well as oil & gas exploration and production.
One of the key highlights of the reasonably strong performance was the N9.2 billion recorded as insurance service result before reinsurance contracts held, which compares to a negative position of N1.2 billion reported in 2024, when soaring insurance service costs wiped out insurance revenue.
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Mutual Benefits Assurance has proposed a dividend per share of N0.04 for the review period, translating into a potential payout of N802.5 million, two times what it paid shareholders for 2024.
Strengthening profit, the company cut back other employee benefit expenses by 7.8 per cent and other operating expenses by 40.5 per cent.
Profit before income tax rose by 47.6 per cent to N17.4 billion, while profit after tax advanced to N16.4 billion.
Total assets expanded by 19.8 per cent to N176.2 billion, driven by an increase in financial assets at amortised cost.
Business
Supreme Court Upholds APP’s Registration, Ends Deregistration Battle Ahead of 2027 Elections
BY NKECHI NAECHE-ESEZOBOR—The Supreme Court has brought an end to the legal dispute over the status of the Action Peoples Party (APP), affirming that the party remains duly registered and eligible to take part in the 2027 general elections.
The apex court struck out Appeal No. SC/CV/248/2026 after the appellant, Mr Blessing Elujiuba, voluntarily withdrew the case, bringing the challenge to a close.
This decision leaves intact earlier judgments delivered by both the Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal, which had upheld the party’s legal recognition.
The ruling was delivered on May 12, 2026, by a five-member panel of the Supreme Court led by Justice John Inyang Okoro, who noted that the matter was withdrawn without objection from other parties.
The court subsequently dismissed the appeal following its withdrawal, formally ending the proceedings at the apex level of the judiciary.
The case involved the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the Action Peoples Party (APP), and the party’s National Chairman, Uche Kingsley Nnadi.
The initial legal action had sought to force INEC to remove APP from its register on the allegation that it failed to meet constitutional requirements under Section 225A of the 1999 Constitution.
However, earlier rulings had found that APP met the necessary legal conditions for continued registration, citing evidence of electoral participation and victories at local government level.
The courts also upheld the interpretation that fulfilling any of the conditions outlined in Section 225A is sufficient for a political party to retain its registration status.
With all tiers of the judiciary aligned in its favour, APP’s legal standing remains intact, clearing the party to continue preparations for the 2027 elections without any outstanding court challenge.
The post Supreme Court Upholds APP’s Registration, Ends Deregistration Battle Ahead of 2027 Elections appeared first on Business Today NG.
The Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, said discussions on Nigeria’s nuclear power programme remain alive, amid continuous technical engagements with concerned authorities in the West African country.
Mr Grossi disclosed the progress made on the nuclear power arrangement with Nigeria while responding to a PREMIUM TIMES’ enquiry at an IAEA programme in Vienna, Austria.
The IAEA DG said the agency continues to work with Nigeria on its nuclear power plan and IAEA officials had held visits and technical meetings with relevant stakeholders to actualise the dream.
In May 2024, while on a visit to Nigeria for a seminar on ‘Promoting Cancer Awareness and Advocacy Programmes’, Mr Grossi expressed the agency’s readiness to support Nigeria’s efforts to develop a nuclear power programme during meetings with senior government officials, including the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume.
Speaking during the visit, he described Nigeria’s pursuit of nuclear energy as “a logical move for a country of your (Nigeria’s) size and importance.”
When this newspaper asked Mr Grossi about the progress of the discussions and technical meetings since the visit two years ago, the IAEA DG reassured that discussions are still ongoing.
“We have continued working with Nigeria, I have to tell you. It’s not that after that visit, things stopped. We have continued at technical levels, some visits, and technical meetings,” the IAEA DG said.
He noted, however, that no final decision has been taken on the programme, adding that Nigeria’s status as a big crude oil-producing nation makes its situation quite different from other economies.
“There hasn’t been a decision yet. There is like a pre-decision to explore the alternative. Of course, your country (Nigeria) is a big oil producer country, an exporter, etc. So the discussion in your country is different from that in other countries,” the DG said.
The IAEA boss insisted that the conversation around the programme is still alive, but Nigeria’s energy options are quite diversified.
“It’s a matter of diversification more than a matter of need, maybe. But the conversation space is pretty much alive, I must say,” Mr Grossi said.
Nigeria’s nuclear energy programme operates under the guidance and safety standards of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), aiming to add clean, stable nuclear electricity to the national grid. The programme is managed primarily by the Nigeria Atomic Energy Commission (NAEC) and is said to be advancing through the foundational infrastructure phases and planning stages.
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Earlier in September 2023, Nigeria signed its Country Programme Framework (CPF) for the period of 2024–2029 on the margins of the General Conference. A CPF is the frame of reference for the medium-term planning of technical cooperation between a Member State and the IAEA and identifies priority areas where the transfer of nuclear technology and technical cooperation resources will be directed to support national development goals.
Nigeria has been an IAEA Member State since 1957 and, according to the agency, its 4th CPF covering the period 2024 – 2029 identifies five priority areas, such as nuclear and radiation safety and security; food and agriculture; health and nutrition; water and environment; as well as energy planning and development.
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