Economy
Investors’ Protection Made us to Regulate Cryptocurrency in Nigeria—SEC
By Dipo Olowookere
A few days ago, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) introduced some rules to guide the use of cryptocurrency in Nigeria.
The decision by the apex capital market regulatory agency to regulate cryptocurrency in the country was applauded by many, who have yearned for this for a very long time.
For clarification sake, a cryptocurrency is a digital asset used as a form of exchange for goods and services. It can also be called a virtual currency, which is not controlled by any central bank.
SEC, in its Statement on Digital Assets and their Classification and Treatment, said cryptocurrency can be issued in Nigeria, but with specific guidelines.
Explaining why the guidelines were put in place, the Head of Registration, Exchanges, Market Infrastructure and Innovation at SEC, Mr Emomotimi Agama, stated that “the first thing the SEC bothers about is investor protection.”
According to him, “This is no different from what we have been doing. We are looking at investor protection, integrity, transparency and of course we want to make sure that the market is safe and everyone is comfortable with what is going on in the investment climate.”
Mr Agama noted that last year, the commission launched the Fintech roadmap and after that was done, it went ahead to set up the blockchain virtual financial assets committee.
“These committees are both market-wide and principally done to engage the market, to be able to have discussions with the market and get their buy-in into what we are doing,” he said.
“What we found out today is that a lot of persons, youths are all involved in this space and it is important that even as far as that is the case, the SEC lives up to the expectations and making sure that those people that are getting into the business are protected,” he explained.
“Clearly, that is our aim and the market is part of this and indeed the feedback has been wonderful. People are happy with what we are doing, being able to provide some clarity as to where we stand in terms of digital assets regulation,” Mr Agama added.
“Digital assets are the next thing, our idea is not to stifle innovation, but to promote innovation within a reasonable space and that is exactly what we are doing. Section 13 of the ISA empowers us to do this and so we are doing what we have been empowered to do by law,” the SEC executive noted.
On what internal capacities the SEC is developing to meet the challenges of this fast-changing digital financial world, Mr Agama said “the SEC is a knowledge-based institution and before we come out of this kind of initiatives, we would have done so much research.
“I need to tell you that the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance has been partnering with the SEC and up to this point, we have been engaging with them and several of our staff have been part of their programmes.
“The World Bank and other institutions are also working with us on Fintech to see that the Nigerian landscape is not left barren but guided with basic principles, we will not leave any stone unturned, but ensure that everyone within the SEC that has the responsibility to guiding investors and the populace in making sure we have an investment environment that people will be proud of is provided.
“Capacity building is a continuous exercise, we will continue to upgrade ourselves, we will continue to learn because knowledge is for life”.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
To unlock about $50 billion in deep offshore investment, President Bola Tinubu has signed the Deep Offshore Oil and Gas Projects Incentives (Tax Remission) Order, 2026, stressing that the aim is “to make Nigeria Africa’s regional hub for deep offshore project execution.”
In a statement personally signed by him on Wednesday, the Nigerian leader disclosed that he approved the executive order to create a clear and predictable framework for the sector.
According to him, the approval has already attracted approximately $10 billion for the Bonga South West project.
He stated that for projects accessing the supplementary incentives, the Order requires activities to be performed in Nigeria, subject to clearly defined exceptions and Nigerian content requirements.
The President noted that this part was included because “I want the work to come home to Nigeria. I want our engineers involved, our fabrication yards working, Nigerian marine and technical service companies securing contracts, and our young people acquiring world-class skills.”
“For me, the real measure of $50 billion will be what Nigerians see from it: good jobs, stronger Nigerian businesses, greater production, more revenue for the Federation and capabilities built here at home. Our natural resources must work harder for our people,” he added.
Mr Tinubu stated that this order is the tenth major policy directive of his administration targeted specifically at the oil and gas sector.
“We have been deliberate about removing the constraints holding back investment, production and value creation.
“For too long, some of our biggest offshore opportunities have remained stalled. We cannot afford to leave that opportunity beneath our waters for another decade. Capital moves, countries compete for it, and investors committing billions of dollars over many years need certainty,” he disclosed.
According to him, “We are providing that certainty, with a clear window for existing deep offshore leases to reach Final Investment Decision by 31 December 2029 and qualify for the full standard incentive.”
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange extended its stay in the red territory for a second consecutive session on Tuesday, August 11, declining by 1.81 per cent.
This pulled back the market capitalisation by N8.94 billion to N2.748 trillion from N2.798 trillion, and the NASD Security Index (NSI) dropped 84.44 points to 4,578.74 points from 4,663.18 points.
The market breadth index was at equilibrium yesterday, as there were four price gainers and four price losers.
On the red side, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc depreciated by N12.86 to N116.88 per share from N129.74 per share, Afriland Properties Plc declined by N1.95 per cent to N22.00 per unit from N23.95 per unit, Food Concepts Plc weakened by 25 Kobo to N2.50 per share from N2.75 per share, and Geo-Fluids Plc lost 22 Kobo to sell at N2.05 per unit versus Monday’s N2.27 per unit.
On the green side, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc gained N11.50 to finish at N156.50 per share compared with the previous day’s N145.00 per share, Nitrox Industrial Gases Plc expanded by N2.11 to N23.36 per unit from N21.15 per unit, NASD Plc advanced by N1.90 to N36.00 per share from N34.10 per share, and Nipco Plc surged by 50 Kobo to N457.00 per unit from N456.50 per unit.
During the session, the volume of securities rose by 31.2 per cent to 1.5 million units from 1.1 million units, the value of securities improved by 315.9 per cent to N42.3 million from N10.2 million, and the number of deals skyrocketed by 45.7 per cent to 51 deals from Monday’s 35 deals.
Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc ended as the most active stock by value (year-to-date), with 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, trailed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units sold for N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 77.0 million units transacted for N5.5 billion.
GNI Plc also closed as the most active stock by volume (year-to-date), with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units exchanged for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units traded for N415.7 million.
By Dipo Olowookere
The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited tumbled by 0.73 per cent on Tuesday on the back of profit-taking by investors.
The consumer goods counter shed 0.96 per cent, and the banking space crashed by 0.46 per cent due to selling pressure. But the insurance index gained 0.24 per cent, and the energy segment improved by 0.03 per cent, while the industrial goods sector closed flat.
When the bourse closed for the session, the All-Share Index (ASI) gave up 1,806.18 points to 246,723.57 points from 248,529.75 points, and the market capitalisation depreciated by N1.166 trillion to N159.256 trillion from N160.422 trillion.
Thomas Wyatt lost 9.97 per cent to quote at N2.89, AVA Capital declined by 9.60 per cent to N8.95, International Energy Insurance dipped by 6.32 per cent to N4.00, International Breweries dropped 5.98 per cent to close at N11.00, and Guinea Insurance shed 5.13 per cent to 74 Kobo.
On the flip side, UPDC REIT gained 10.00 per cent to end at N14.85, FTN Cocoa appreciated by 9.88 per cent to N8.90, C&I Leasing surged by 8.26 per cent to N5.90, Sovereign Trust Insurance went up by 6.74 per cent to N1.90, and Regency Alliance climbed 6.33 per cent to 84 Kobo.
Yesterday, Fortis Global Insurance was the busiest equity, leading the activity chart with a turnover of 3.3 billion units worth N9.6 billion. Trans-Nationwide Express transacted 84.6 million units for N181.9 million, Access Holdings sold 66.1 million units valued at N1.9 billion, Consolidated Hallmark exchanged 54.3 million units worth N379.4 million, and Fidelity Bank traded 46.9 million units for N1.0 billion.
Investors bought and sold 3.9 billion units worth N32.4 billion in 45,608 deals compared with the 1.1 billion units valued at N27.0 billion traded in 59,185 deals a day earlier. This indicated that the number of deals retreated by 22.94 per cent, the trading volume increased by 254.55 per cent, and the trading value soared by 20.00 per cent.
