By Adedapo Adesanya

The Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) has called for the establishment of a single, harmonised national register for beneficial ownership to strengthen Nigeria’s anti-corruption framework and improve the fight against corporate and financial crimes.

The Registrar-General of CAC, Mr Hussaini Magaji, made the call during the commission’s 35th anniversary celebration, designated as Anti-Corruption Day on Tuesday in Abuja.

Mr Magaji said the current fragmented system of beneficial ownership disclosure, where some sectors maintained separate registers outside the CAC framework, created duplication, inconsistencies and regulatory loopholes that could be exploited for illicit activities.

According to him, CAC is legally and institutionally positioned to serve as the central repository for beneficial ownership information in Nigeria.

He said that access to accurate corporate records was critical to the successful investigation and prosecution of financial crimes.

He said that the CAC remained the custodian of information on company ownership, control and management.

“No successful prosecution of corporate and financial crimes can be achieved without the support of the Corporate Affairs Commission,” Mr Magaji said.

He reaffirmed the commission’s commitment to sustained collaboration with anti-corruption and law enforcement agencies.

“These include the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) and the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA),” he said.

Mr Magaji called for deeper information sharing, joint investigations and real-time verification processes to enhance enforcement outcomes.

The CAC boss also urged stakeholders to support the passage of the Persons with Significant Control (PSC) Rules into an Act of the National Assembly, saying a stronger legal framework was required to address sophisticated abuses of corporate structures.

He disclosed that companies that failed to disclose their beneficial owners were flagged as inactive in CAC records, adding that such entities should not enjoy the privileges of legality.

Mr Magaji, however, expressed concern that some financial institutions continued to transact with non-compliant companies, describing the practice as a major weakness in the national compliance chain.

On internal reforms, he said, CAC had demonstrated zero tolerance for corruption by surrendering three staff members to the ICPC over alleged misconduct and submitting details of 248 fake company registrations to the EFCC for investigation.

According to him, the fight against corruption requires coordinated efforts across institutions and sustained commitment to transparency and accountability.

By Adedapo Adesanya

The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange extended its gains by 1.68 per cent on Tuesday, February 10, further lifting the Unlisted Security Index (NSI) by 63.37 points to 3,830.31 points from the previous session’s 3,766.94 points.

In the same vein, the market capitalisation of the bourse expanded by N37.92 billion during the session to N2.291 trillion from the N2.253 trillion it ended on Monday.

The growth was helped by six price gainers led by Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS), which gained N5.88 to sell at N64.73 per share versus N58.85 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc rose by N3.67 to N69.67 per unit from N66.00 per unit, Afriland Properties Plc increased by 94 Kobo to N15.95 per share from N15.01 per share, Geo-Fluids Plc appreciated by 33 Kobo to N4.41 per unit from N4.08 per unit, IPWA Plc soared by 26 Kobo to N2.85 per share from N2.59 per share, and Food Concepts Plc improved by 26 Kobo to N2.89 per unit from N2.63 per unit.

Business Post reports that there were three price losers yesterday, led by MRS Oil, which lost N20.00 to trade at N180.00 per share versus N200.00 per share, NASD Plc dipped by N3.60 to N51.40 per unit from N55.00 per unit, and Air Liquide Plc depreciated by N2.21 to N20.32 per share from N22.53 per share.

The activity level was down on Tuesday, as the volume of securities slid 50.1 per cent to 6.9 million units from 13.3 million units, the value of securities decreased by 10.4 per cent to N89.1 million from N99.3 million, and the number of deals reduced by 2.1 per cent to 46 deals from 47 deals.

CSCS Plc was the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 17.7 million units sold for N752.8 million, Geo-Fluids Plc recorded the sale of 29.2 million units valued at N149.8 million, and FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc ended with a turnover of 1.8 million units worth N119.8 million.

The most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis was Geo-Fluids Plc with 29.2 million units exchanged for N149.8 million, followed by CSCS Plc with 17.7 million units traded for N752.8 million, and Mass Telecom Innovation Plc with 15.1 million units valued at N6.1 million.

By Adedapo Adesanya

The consistent reform agenda of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) aimed at enhancing market stability by improving foreign exchange (FX) liquidity further strengthened the Nigerian Naira against the US Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Tuesday, February 10, by N3.24 or 0.24 per cent to N1,351.02/$1 from the previous day’s N1,354.26/$1.

At the black market, the Naira gained N20 against the United States Dollar yesterday to trade at N1,430/$1 compared with the preceding day’s N1,450/$1, and at the GTBank FX desk, it improved its value by N16 to sell for N1,363/$1, in contrast to the N1,379/$1 it was exchanged a day earlier.

The domestic currency also appreciated against the Euro in the official market during the session by N6.70 to N1,606.49/€1 from the preceding session’s N1,613.19/€1 but depreciated against the Pound Sterling by 85 Kobo to close at N1,846.57/£1 compared with Monday’s closing price of N1,845.72/£1.

Nigeria’s FX market has continued the year on a firmer footing, extending the positive momentum recorded in 2025.

The Governor of the central bank,  Mr Yemi Cardoso, said reforms have extended across the financial landscape, anchored on disinflation, FX market normalisation, and financial-system resilience, which are strengthening real-sector confidence.

In addition, stronger trade receipts, reflecting the impact of elevated global oil prices, helped boost FX supply and support currency stability.

Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market was under pressure, with analysts saying the recent drawdown, which is the steepest since the 2024 halving, has come on low spot trading volumes, suggesting retail investors have mostly stepped aside while leveraged derivatives drive price moves.

This comes ahead of a closely-watched US employment data for January due on Wednesday, which the US government officials suggest could be weaker than forecast.

Originally scheduled for last Friday, the government’s January Nonfarm Payrolls Report is now coming out on Wednesday morning due to the brief federal shutdown last month.

Solana (SOL) weakened by 4.5 per cent to $81.91, Binance Coin (BNB) slumped 4.4 per cent to  $608.22, Ripple (XRP) dipped 4.3 per cent to $1.37, Ethereum (ETH) dropped 3.7 per cent to $1,975.44, and Dogecoin (DOGE) saw a 3.2 per cent fall in value to trade at $0.0916.

Further, Bitcoin (BTC) went down by 2.8 per cent to $67,517.93, Cardano (ADA) slid 2.7 per cent to $0.2581, and Litecoin (LTC) declined by 2.1 per cent to $52.55, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00 each.