Economy
Commodity Exchanges Must Always Protect Investors’ Interests—SEC
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Commodity exchanges have been tasked to have investor protection at the centre of their operations to improve investor confidence and attract more investors.
This charge was given by the Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Mr Lamido Yuguda, at the presentation of Eko Gold Coins to the agency by the Lagos Futures and Commodities Exchange in Abuja on Thursday.
Mr Yuguda specifically urged the LCFE and the entire value chain to always have investor protection at the core of their work because, eventually, this is what will make the product succeed.
“Now, the gold itself has great value; once you put out your money and buy it, you have a value that is incontrovertible, but where we need to be careful is the associated investment product, the derivatives products.
“The derivatives products are built around the product itself. We must have investor protection at heart because if it is taken off and investors have confidence that anytime I want to sell this investment,” the SEC DG stated.
He noted that when people invest, they are postponing current consumption for future consumption and need to be paid some returns as a price for that postponement of current consumption.
“So, when you sell this product in the future and make a gain, you are actually being rewarded, but when you sell the product in the future and you make a loss, you are making two losses.
“One, you are postponing current consumption and two, you have not recovered your principal in the future. When people do that, as it happened in the stock market in 2008, you find out that investor confidence wanes.
“So, when we do things, we have investor protection and investor interest at heart; you find out that you create a product, everything you are doing tells you this is the direction I am going.
“When you see that product deviating, you go back to the drawing table and say, I must make sure that investors make money out of this. If we do that, the sky is the limit for this product that you have demonstrated today,” he said.
Mr Yuguda commended the LCFE on the demonstration and presentation and assured the exchange’s support in the development of the product and in the efforts to enlighten both the market participants and the investors who will put in their money.
“I wish you all the best in this market, and whatever the SEC can do to support the development of this gold market, we will do. This is an important consideration because this is something that has a dual use. You can use gold as a store of value, i.e. monetary gold or as jewellery.
“When the price of gold moves in Dubai, the people in Zamfara state they know, people in Lagos state they know and ladies who have gold, and every time they take the gold to the market, the gold dealers are actually prepared to buy.
“This is one product that does not get old; the older, the better because you buy at a cheap price and sell at a much higher price. So this is something that we truly want to support,” he said.
In his remarks, the Chairman, Board of Directors, Lagos Commodities and Futures Exchange, Mr Onyewenchukwu Patrick Ezeagu, said the core vision of setting up LCFE was to provide a viable structure that will transform the Nigerian commodities market and redefine practice standards which would catalyse economic growth in Nigeria.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The deadline for filing of employers’ annual tax returns in Lagos State has been extended by one week from February 1 to 7, 2026.
This information was revealed in a statement signed by the Head of Corporate Communications of the Lagos State Internal Revenue Service (LIRS), Mrs Monsurat Amasa-Oyelude.
In the statement issued over the weekend, the chairman of the tax collecting organisation, Mr Ayodele Subair, explained that the statutory deadline for filing of employers’ annual tax returns is January 31, every year, noting that the extension is intended to provide employers with additional time to complete and submit accurate tax returns.
According to him, employers must give priority to the timely filing of their annual returns, noting that compliance should be embedded as a routine business practice.
He also reiterated that electronic filing through the LIRS eTax platform remains the only approved method for submitting annual returns, as manual filings have been completely phased out. Employers are therefore required to file their returns exclusively through the LIRS eTax portal: https://etax.lirs.net.
Describing the platform as secure, user-friendly, and accessible 24/7, Mr Subair advised employers to ensure that the Tax ID (Tax Identification Number) of all employees is correctly captured in their submissions.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The chief executive of Airtel Africa Plc, Mr Sunil Kumar Taldar, has disclosed that the company is still on track to list its mobile money business, Airtel Money, before the end of June 2026.
Recall that Business Post reported in March 2024 that the mobile network operator was considering selling the shares of Airtel Money to the public through the IPO vehicle in a transaction expected to raise about $4 billion.
The firm had been in talks with possible advisors for a planned listing of the shares from the initial public offer on a stock exchange with some options including London, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), or Europe.
However, so far no final decisions have been made regarding the timing, location, or scale of the IPO.
In September 2025, the telco reportedly picked Citigroup Incorporated as advisors for the planned IPO which will see Airtel Money become a standalone entity before it can attain the prestige of trading on a stock exchange.
Mr Taldar, noted that metrics continued to show improvements ahead of the listing with its customer base hitting 52 million, compared to around 44.6 million users it had as of June 2025.
He added that the subsidiary processed over $210 billion in a year, according to the company’s nine-month financial results released on Friday.
“Our push to enhance financial inclusion across the continent continues to gain momentum with our Mobile Money customer base expanding to 52 million, surpassing the 50 million milestone. Annualised total processed value of over $210 billion in Q3’26 underscores the depth of our merchants, agents, and partner ecosystem and remains a key player in driving improved access to financial services across Africa.
“We remain on track for the listing of Airtel Money in the first half of 2026,” Mr Taldar said.
Estimating Airtel Money at $4 billion is higher than its valuation of $2.65 billion in 2021. In 2021, Airtel Money received significant investments, including $200 million from TPG Incorporated at a valuation of $2.65 billion and $100 million from Mastercard. Later that same year, an affiliate of Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund also acquired an undisclosed stake in the unit.
The mobile money sector in Africa is expanding rapidly, driven by a young population increasingly adopting technology for financial services, making the continent a key market for fintech companies.
By Dipo Olowookere
A cryptocurrency investor and owner of Polyfarm, Mr Bamu Gift Wandji, is currently cooling off in the custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
He was handed over to the anti-money laundering agency by the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) on Friday, January 30, 2026, after his arrest on Monday, January 12, 2026.
A statement from the EFCC yesterday disclosed that the suspect was apprehended by the NSCDC in Gwagwalada, Abuja for running an investment scheme without the authorisation of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which is the apex capital market regulator in Nigeria.
It was claimed that Mr Wandji created a fraudulent crypto investment platform called Polyfarm, where he allegedly lured innocent Nigerians to invest in Polygon, a crypto token that attracts high returns.
Investigation further revealed that he also deceived the public that his project, Polyfarm, has its native token called “polyfarm coin” which he sold to the public.
In his bid to promote the scheme, the suspect posted about this on social media platforms, including WhatsApp, X (formally Twitter) and Telegram. He also conducted seminars in some major cities in Nigeria including Kaduna, Lagos, Port Harcourt and Abuja where he described the scheme as a life-changing programme.
Further investigation revealed that in October, 2025, subscribers who could not access their funds were informed by the suspect that the site was attacked by Lazarus group, a cyber attacking group linked to North Korea.
Further investigations showed that Polyfarm is not registered and not licensed with SEC to carry out crypto transactions in Nigeria. Also, no investment happened with subscribers’ funds and that the suspect used funds paid by subscribers to pay others in the name of profit.
Investigation also revealed that native coin, polyfarm coin was never listed on coin market cap and that the suspect sold worthless coins to the general public.
Contrary to the claim of the suspect that his platform was attacked, EFCC’s investigations revealed that the platform was never attacked or hacked by anyone and that the suspect withdrew investors’ funds and utilized the same for his personal gains.
The EFCC, in the statement, disclosed that Mr Wandji would be charged to court upon conclusion of investigations.
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