Economy
Investors Lambast SEC for Double-Standards
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Investors in the Nigerian capital market have slammed the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for failing the corporate governance test it punishes players in the sector for.
According to a report by The Nation, the apex industry regulator has not published its yearly reports and accounts for four years.
The last annual reports and accounts of the commission was for the year ended December 31, 2013, halting a tradition that had seen SEC publishing its annual reports yearly for more than a decade.
However, any company listed on the trading floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), which fails to file its earnings is heavily fined by the regulators and sometimes suspended from trading.
According to The Nation, the failure of SEC to publish its financial statements is a violation of the Investment and Securities Act (ISA) 2007, Code of Corporate Governance and extant rules at the capital market.
Asked why SEC has been unable to prepare and publish annual reports and accounts and whether the failure to publish annual reports for years will not undermine the moral authority of the agency, SEC’s Corporate Communication Department requested for “some time” to respond. It has not responded for more than three weeks.
Those who spoke on the matter on condition of anonymity, because they were under the regulatory purview of SEC, decried what they described as double-standards of the regulator.
A survey of stakeholders, including shareholders, capital market operators and quoted companies, was unanimous that the inability of SEC to publish its annual reports and accounts annually was a major failure that exposes capital market to ridicule in the comity of international markets.
Both the SEC and Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) enforce stringent disclosure and transparency rules that include submission of quarterly and annual reports within stipulated timelines, with penalties for violation including monetary fine, suspension of trading, “naming and shaming” and in the extreme cases, delisting of such violators. The NSE has meanwhile maintained publication of its annual report and holding of annual general meeting.
A source blamed the failure on “some internal challenges”, including the absence of a board for the Commission. However, the failure to publish yearly report predated the dissolution of the board of the Commission in 2015 by President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.
According to ISA, the board of SEC is responsible for the financial management of the Commission. The ISA stipulates that the Commission shall cause to be kept, proper books of records and accounts “which shall be audited by auditors appointed by the board of the Commission”.
ISA requires SEC to, not later than three months after the end of each year, submit to the Minister and the National Assembly, a report on the activities and administration of the Commission during the immediately preceding year and, shall include in such reports, audited accounts of the Commission and the report of the Auditor on the accounts.
Existing rules at SEC requires capital market operators to file their annual reports and accounts “not later than six months after the end of the accounting year” and “where a market operator fails to file quarterly returns twice in a year and nine months after the annual accounts becomes due, the market operator shall be referred for further enforcement action”.
SEC is proposing to tighten the rules by reducing the submission period to three months, citing the need to harmonise the rules with the requirements at the NSE.
In justifying the reduction of the period to three months, SEC noted that “the current practice is not in tune with the risk-based approach to monitoring of capital market operators (CMOs) and the information required may have become obsolete six months after the accounting year of a CMO”.
Corporate governance rules at the stock market require quoted companies to submit their audited annual reports, not later than 90 calendar days, or three months, after the expiration of the period.
Economy
BNB Price Reflects Changing Dynamics in the Digital Asset Market
Economy
NASD Unlisted Security Index Crosses 4,000-point Benchmark Again
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange achieved a milestone on Friday, April 24, 2026, after five securities on the platform helped with a 1.85 per cent growth.
Data showed that the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) again crossed the 4,000-point benchmark yesterday.
The index chalked up 73.64 points during the trading day to close at 4,052.59 points compared with the preceding session’s 3,978.95 points, while the market capitalisation added N5.38 billion to finish at N2.424 trillion versus Thursday’s closing value of N2.380 trillion.
The price gainers were led by Okitipupa Plc, which grew by N25.00 to sell at N305.00 per share compared with the previous price of N280.00 per share. Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc gained N6.92 to close at N76.26 per unit versus N69.34 per unit, Afriland Properties Plc appreciated by N1.00 to N17.00 per share from N18.00 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc improved by 55 Kobo to N99.55 per unit from N99.00 per unit, and Food Concepts Plc increased by 5 Kobo to N2.70 per share from N2.65 per share.
However, there was a price loser, MRS Oil, which dipped by N21.75 to N195.75 per unit from N217.50 per unit.
During the final session of the week, the value of securities jumped 75.2 per cent to N41.3 million from N23.6 million units, and the number of deals expanded by 62.9 per cent to 44 deals from 27 deals, while the volume of securities declined marginally by 0.9 per cent to 447,403 units from 451,522 units.
At the close of trades, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc was the most traded stock by volume (year-to-date) with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, trailed by Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units valued at N415.7 million, and Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc with 400 million units traded for N1.2 billion.
GNI was also the most active stock by value (year-to-date) with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, followed by CSCS Plc with 59.6 million units transacted for N4.0 billion, and Okitipupa Plc with 27.8 million units exchanged for N1.9 billion.
Economy
Naira Slips to N1,358/$1 as FX Reserves, Policy Uncertainty Concerns
By Adedapo Adesanya
It was not a good day for the Nigerian Naira in the currency market on Friday, April 24, as its value depreciated against the major foreign currencies at the close of transactions.
In the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX), it lost N4.53 or 0.33 per cent against the United States Dollar yesterday to trade at N1,358.44/$1, in contrast to the N1,353.91/$1 it was exchanged on Thursday.
Equally, the domestic currency slipped against the Pound Sterling in the official market during the session by N8.14 to close at N1,834.02/£1, compared with the previous rate of N1,825.88/£1 and dropped N8.01 against the Euro to sell at N1,590.73/€1 versus N1,582.72/€1.
Also, the Naira depreciated against the US Dollar at the GTBank FX desk on Friday by N4 to quote at N1,370/$1 compared with the previous session’s N1,366/$1, and at the parallel market, it depleted by N5 to settle at N1,380/$1 versus the preceding day’s N1,375/$1.
Data published by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) indicated that NFEM interbank turnover surged to N43.562 million across 68 deals, up from N28.117 million the previous day.
Despite the CBN’s reassurance that the recent drop in external reserves is not worrisome, the market remains unsettled by persistent concerns over liquidity constraints, policy transparency, and weakening confidence in Nigeria’s FX market as gross reserves continue to decline to $48.4 billion.
The outlook for the Dollar appears supported by broader macro risks, including elevated oil prices tied to the tanker traffic disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz and a continued US-Iran standoff over ceasefire negotiations.
A look at the digital currency market showed that investors are sitting on the edge as the US Dollar rebounded amid geopolitical and inflation risks despite continued inflows into US spot bitcoin Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs).
Solana (SOL) rose by 1.2 per cent to sell $86.45, Cardano (ADA) appreciated by 1.1 per cent to $0.2517, Dogecoin (DOGE) grew by 0.9 per cent to $0.0989, Ripple (XRP) improved by 0.3 per cent to $1.43, Ethereum (ETH) soared by 0.2 per cent to $2,316.83, and Binance Coin (BNB) chalked up 0.1 per cent to sell for $637.44.
However, TRON (TRX) depreciated by 1.3 per cent to $0.3235, and Bitcoin (BTC) lost 0.2 per cent to close at $77,562.27, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00 each.
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