Economy
Amosun Tasks SEC to Explore Areas to Improve Government Revenue
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Capital Market, Mr Ibikunle Amosun, has appealed to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to think outside the box and come up with ways the federal government can generate more funds and improve the economy.
The current administration under President Muhammadu Buhari has plunged the nation into huge debts, and despite earning from crude oil sales and raising taxes, the country is unable to fund its budget without borrowing.
This has put the economy under pressure as most revenues generated are used to service debts, making many citizens worry about the future of the nation.
But the immediate past Governor of Ogun State believes that the capital market has the capacity to assist Nigeria in achieving its economic goals if given the needed support.
Speaking at the budget defence exercise by SEC in Abuja, the chartered accountant advised the agency to explore other areas that could aid in revamping the economy and improve government revenue, promising that the apex regulatory agency in the Nigerian capital market of the support of the parliament.
“The capital market is very important to the development of any economy. When the economy is stressed, the capital market can help,” he said, noting that the committee is very interested in the activities of the market as it is capable of providing the country with the needed long-term funding to get out of the woods as well as fund the budget.
He stated that the capital market in Nigeria was important to the economy of the nation as it was capable of providing the government with the much-needed revenue for infrastructural development.
“We know that globally, nations have been suffering the effects of COVID-19, and Nigeria is no exception. But we believe that with a vibrant capital market, our growth and development will be faster.
“We now know what the capital market can do to rescue the economy at a time like this. If we have to diversify our economy, the capital market has a role to play, which is why we are here to support you. We will support the capital market for our country to realise these economic goals.
“That is why the Senate is very interested in ensuring that our capital market does well. We are here to encourage you in the work that you do to ensure that we achieve success. We will encourage companies to list so as to further deepen the capital market,” he said.
Mr Amosun, who is not returning to the Senate next year, commended the management of SEC for its efforts to deepen the market.
Earlier in his presentation, the Director-General of SEC, Mr Lamido Yuguda, told the senators that despite the global economic climate the world over, the commission had been able to improve its budget performance.
Mr Yuguda stated that due to a series of interactions with the lawmakers in the past, the organisation has been able to explore various areas in a bid to shore up its finances.
“This improvement in our performance is as a result of some of the fees that we introduced at the beginning of this year.
“When we came to you last year, the commission was facing a very difficult financial situation. We had various interactions with this committee, and we were asked to think outside the box so that we could bring measures to improve our performance.
“It is these measures that we started to introduce that have led to an improvement in our performance. We looked inwards and introduced various measures that drastically cut down our expenditures.
“We had a staff strength that we said was top heavy, and we were able to implement voluntarily early retirement programme in 2021 and concluded in December 2021.
“We also turned our attention to the revenue side and we looked at certain areas like the fixed-income market. The fixed-income market is highly regulated by the commission but was not generating revenues for the SEC, so from January 2022, we started accessing a small fee from the secondary fixed-income market. So, it is the combined effect of this that you see in the revenue performance of the commission,” Mr Yuguda said.
He stated that the agency looked at the Collective Investment Scheme sector and explored avenues of improving its performance in a bid to increase the revenues of the organisation.
“The collective investment scheme is one of the areas that account for our improved performance. It has been with us for a decade, but the Commission has not been taking revenues from that sector.
“We have an investment management department, which is devoted to the regulation of the collective investment schemes; we have other services like the monitoring department, which goes out and monitors.
“In terms of funds on this particular side of the market, we have not been taking in many revenues.
“So, effective January 2022, as we announced last year, the commission started taking less than 0.5 per cent of the funds in collective investments schemes so that it will help the commission give good regulation and oversight,” he stated.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The positive run of the Naira against the US Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) continued on Wednesday, June 3, with the former chalking up N3.79 or 0.28 per cent against the latter, closing at N1,357.26, in contrast to the preceding session’s N1,361.05/$1.
Similarly, the Nigerian currency gained N10.52 against the Pound Sterling in the official market during the session to close at N1,822.67/£1 compared with the previous rate of N1,833.19/£1, and appreciated against the Euro by N9.56 to N1,574.83/€1 from N1,584.39/€1.
Further, at the black market, the Naira improved its value against the greenback at midweek by N5 to trade at N1,375/$1 compared with the N1,380/$1 it was traded a day earlier, and at the GTBank FX counter, it gained N6 to sell for N1,372/$1 versus N1,378/$1.
The boost came as the country’s external reserves continued to gain momentum. A look at the updated data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) showed that foreign reserves continue to increase with two consecutive inflows in June 2026, settling at $49.876 billion as of Tuesday.
Foreign portfolio investors, exporters and non-bank corporates continue to keep the supply side strong, with the less aggressive FX interventions by the CBN at the official window in recent times helping to ease worries about capital flight.
The apex bank reported that interbank FX turnover declined to $133.731 million across 136 deals, from $169.822 million the previous day.
Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market remained bearish due to sell-offs triggered by geopolitical uncertainties and the US stock market rally.
Cardano (ADA) dipped by 5.5 per cent to $0.2046, Binance Coin (BNB) slumped by 4.8 per cent to $627.56, Solana (SOL) shrank by 3.9 per cent to $72.99, Ethereum (ETH) depreciated by 2.9 per cent to $1,844.53, and Bitcoin (BTC) slipped by 2.7 per cent to $65,675.87.
Further, Dogecoin (DOGE) depleted by 1.4 per cent to $0.0928, Ripple (XRP) declined by 0.7 per cent to $1.21, and TRON (TRX) lost 0.4 per cent to sell at $0.3336, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) gained 0.01 each to settle at $0.9986 and $0.9997, respectively.
By Dipo Olowookere
Nigeria’s stock market further depleted by 1.44 per cent on Wednesday following panic sell-offs by investors, who are cutting down their exposure to local equities.
Business Post observed that profit-taking dominated Customs Street at midweek, with all the key sectors of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited closing in red.
The insurance space shed 2.76 per cent, the industrial goods index lost 1.55 per cent, the banking counter declined by 1.53 per cent, the consumer goods segment shrank by 0.28 per cent, and the energy sector weakened by 0.05 per cent.
As a result, the All-Share Index (ASI) contracted by 3,554.05 points to 243,132.61 points from 246,686.66 points, and the market capitalisation moderated by N2.279 trillion to N155.940 trillion from N158.219 trillion.
Lafarge Africa led the losers’ chart yesterday after it gave up 9.97 per cent to trade at N307.90, Zichis lost 9.82 per cent to close at N29.20, Learn Africa depreciated by 9.80 per cent to N11.50, John Holt crashed by 9.80 per cent to N13.80, and Consolidated Hallmark dipped by 8.84 per cent to N6.19.
On the flip side, Abbey Mortgage Bank topped the gainers’ log after it grew by 9.93 per cent to N7.75, International Energy Insurance appreciated by 9.89 per cent to N6.00, Tripple G gained 9.80 per cent to sell for N4.37, Universal Insurance expanded by 8.91 per cent to N1.10, and Royal Exchange improved by 7.14 per cent to N1.50.
A total of 17 stocks gained weight yesterday, while 43 stocks lost weight, indicating a negative market breadth index and weak investor sentiment. This has been the mood of the market since the beginning of this week.
Market participants transacted 923.0 million shares worth N42.3 billion in 69,332 deals on Wednesday, in contrast to the 718.8 million shares valued at N29.3 billion traded in 71,683 deals on Tuesday, representing a drop in the number of deals by 3.28 per cent, and a rise in the trading volume and value by 28.41 per cent and 44.37 per cent, respectively.
Sterling Holdings led the activity chart with 264.6 million units valued at N2.1 billion, Access Holdings traded 76.7 million units worth N1.8 billion, Linkage Assurance exchanged 55.1 million units for N99.2 million, VFD Group sold 35.5 million units worth N378.8 million, and Ellah Lakes transacted 33.1 million units valued at N334.3 million.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Oil prices rose around 2 per cent on Wednesday as hostilities in the Middle East erupted anew and talks between Iran and the United States showed little progress.
Brent futures grew by $1.81 or 1.89 per cent to $97.81 per barrel, and the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude climbed $2.26 or 2.41 per cent to $96.02 a barrel.
According to reports, Iran launched ballistic missiles toward regional neighbours Kuwait and Bahrain, killing one person and injuring dozens, while the US forces conducted strikes on Iran’s Qeshm Island.
Iranian drones and missiles struck Kuwait International Airport overnight, causing the country to immediately suspend air traffic, activate emergency procedures, and divert flights to alternative airports.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said the operation was retaliation for recent US military actions and warned that regional states supporting American operations could face further consequences. Kuwait hosts major US military facilities and serves as a key logistics hub for American operations across the Middle East, but until then had largely avoided becoming a direct target.
Following the overnight attack, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) called for a united Gulf stance.
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump said Iran had agreed not to have a nuclear weapon and that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei was involved in negotiations. He has insisted this week that discussions remain active and said a broader agreement could emerge within days, while Iranian officials have delivered contradictory messages.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said contacts with American representatives have not been cut off, but no progress has been made in the negotiations.
The prolonged closure of the Strait of Hormuz continues to bottleneck global energy supplies, driving sustained upward pressure on oil markets.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) has warned that global oil inventories could hit critical levels ahead of peak summer demand if stock draws continue at their current pace.
Crude oil inventories in the US decreased by 8.0 million barrels during the week ending May 29, according to data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) released on Wednesday. The EIA’s data release follows figures by the American Petroleum Institute (API) that were released a day earlier, which reported that crude oil inventories saw a draw of 6.75 million barrels in the period.
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