Economy
NEITI Moves to Uncover Real Owners of Oil, Mining Companies
By Dipo Olowookere
The Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) has expressed its willingness to unravel real owners of companies in the country, especially in the oil, gas and mining sectors.
The agency described Nigeria’s membership of Open Government Partnership (OGP) as a timely platform to achieve this aim.
Speaking at a Consultative Forum on OGP in Abuja, the Executive Secretary of NEITI, Mr Waziri Adio, disclosed that, “Knowing how much companies paid in the form of taxes, royalty, rents etc. and how much government received is important, but not enough. Knowing those who are the real owners of the companies is critical to checking corruption, money laundering, drug and terrorism financing, tax avoidance and evasion.”
Mr Adio urged the Federal Government to enact a special legislation that will compel companies in the extractive sector to make public the names and identities of their real owners.
He also called on the President to issue an Executive Order on compulsory beneficial ownership disclosure by extractive industries companies in Nigeria. He explained that such legislation can be embedded or part of the Petroleum Industry and Governance Bill (PIGB) and should also constitute amendments to the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA).
Mr Adio announced that nine countries including Nigeria have published EITI reports that disclosed the beneficial owners of one or more companies.
He also told participants that 43 EITI implementing countries have published roadmaps on beneficial ownership out of which twenty, including Nigeria, plan to establish public registers of beneficial owners by 2020.
The Executive Secretary noted that NEITI has published a road map on beneficial ownership disclosure which provided clear definition of who beneficial owners are the level of details to be disclosed and institutional framework that are required for effective implementation of beneficial ownership disclosure.
The document also defined Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs) and their reporting obligations, challenges around data collection, reliability, accessibility, timeliness and provided clear guides on them.
The NEITI Executive Secretary identified the absence of specific legal framework that imposes mandatory beneficial ownership disclosure as a major challenge to the implementation of ownership transparency in Nigeria.
While acknowledging the existence of laws like the Companies and Allied Matters Act, Freedom of Information Act, Code of Conduct and Tribunal Act and Public Complaints Commission Act as relevant legislations for beneficial ownership, he noted that there are other policies of the Nigerian government that support efforts at ownership disclosures.
They include the Financial Action Task Force, Bank Verification Number, Automation and Access to Corporate Affairs Commission’s register.
Mr Adio remarked that because of the limitations of these policies and laws, they can at best be used as interim and complementary instruments while efforts should be made to make them more effective in demanding for the disclosure of the real owners of companies operating in Nigeria especially in the extractive industry.
He said in fulfilment of the requirement of the global EITI, NEITI duly reported beneficial ownership of companies covered in its 2012, 2013 and 2014 oil, gas and solid minerals audits.
According to him, “In the 2013 oil and gas audit by NEITI, forty one (41) out of the forty four (44) companies covered responded to NEITI questions and inquiries by returning the completed templates on beneficial ownership.
“However, most of the ownership information were about the legal owners as opposed to the beneficial owners or real owners of the Companies.”
Mr Adio identified delay and refusal to provide the real information on the audit templates, confusion over ownership structure (legal), conflict with existing confidentiality agreements, negative perception of beneficial ownership by covered entities (witch hunting), inconsistencies between beneficial ownership disclosures and information in CAC, use of surrogates by Politically Exposed Persons and government officials, as some of the challenges confronting NEITI.
Earlier in his presentation, the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr Abubakar Malami, reiterated the commitment of the Federal Government to the implementation of beneficial ownership disclosure in Nigeria.
According to him, “More than ever before, the Government is determined to implement the legal basis on which beneficial ownership is founded from both an international and national perspectives”.
Mr Malami noted that some business entities exist solely on paper without the requisite obligation to list the real people who actually own or control them.
The Attorney General argued that “in the extractive industry, for example, these business entities are used to hold extractive rights and provide a channel for transferring extracted resources out of the host countries without paying specified royalties and taxes.
“These practices also allow the beneficial owners to avoid responsibility for violation of laws and regulations on labour and tax.”
Based on the requirement of the global EITI, NEITI has been doing some pioneering work in this direction since 2013.
The EITI defines beneficial owner as the natural person(s) who directly or indirectly benefits from, owns or controls the corporate entity. EITI standard requires that countries must disclose their beneficial owners by January 2020 and recommends establishment of beneficial ownership register.
The roadmap developed by NEITI on beneficial ownership envisaged the need for capacity building for all stakeholders that will be involved in the implementation of ownership transparency given the complexity of the extractive industries.
Nigeria was admitted into the Open Government Partnership (OGP) in 2016, following her commitment to the Open Government Partnership (OGP) Principles on Transparency, Accountability and Citizens Participation. One of the commitments under the Nigeria OGP National Action Plan is the need to ensure transparency of beneficial owners of businesses.
This commitment underscores the determination of Nigeria to fight corruption by ensuring transparency and accountability in the conduct of government business.
By Adedapo Adesanya
A 0.91 per cent growth was recorded by the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange on Friday, May 22, after the share prices of four securities ended in green.
According to data, FrieslandCampina Wamco Plc went up by N15.61 to N179.67 per share from N164.06 per share, Newrest Asl Plc grew by N6.11 to N67.26 per unit from N61.15 per unit, Food Concepts Plc appreciated by 17 Kobo to N2.75 per share from N2.58 per share, and Nitrox Industrial Gases Plc added 6 Kobo to sell at N25.50 per unit compared with the previous day’s N25.44 per unit.
At the close of business, the market capitalisation chalked up N23.22 billion to settle at N2.561 trillion versus Thursday’s N2.538 trillion, and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) increased by 38.81 points to 4,281.28 points from 4,242.47 points.
During the session, the price of Central Securities and Clearing System (CSCS) Plc was down by N3.13 to N71.07 per share from N74.20 per share.
The activity chart showed that the volume of securities transacted by the market participants decreased yesterday by 81.6 per cent to 590,339 units from the 3.2 million units recorded on Thursday, as the number of deals shrank by 28.6 per cent to 30 deals from the 42 deals recorded a day earlier, while the value of securities increased by 0.5 per cent to N95.3 million from the preceding session’s N94.8 million.
Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc closed the day as the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with a turnover of 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units sold for N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 61.2 million units traded for N4.1 billion.
The most active stock by volume on a year-to-date basis was GNI Plc, with the sale of 3.4 billion units for N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units valued at N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units exchanged for N415.7 million.
By Dipo Olowookere
The Nigerian Exchange witnessed a decline in transactions on Friday despite closing higher by 0.22 per cent on the back of sustained bargain-hunting.
During the last trading session of the week, investors transacted 711.9 million equities valued at N29.1 billion in 62,386 deals compared with the 1.1 billion equities worth N31.0 billion traded in 62,448 deals in the previous day, indicating a decline in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 35.28 per cent, 6.13 per cent, and 0.10 per cent, respectively.
Fidelity Bank closed the day as the most active stock with the sale of 198.1 million units for N4.6 billion, Access Holdings traded 69.7 million units worth N1.8 billion, Mutual Benefits exchanged 42.7 million units valued at N197.4 million, Japaul transacted 33.9 million units worth N134.4 million, and Zenith Bank sold 24.4 million units valued at N3.2 billion.
Yesterday, the industrial goods index rose by 0.53 per cent, the consumer goods sector jumped 0.28 per cent, the banking industry improved by 0.25 per cent, and the energy counter soared by 0.18 per cent, while the insurance space shed 0.18 per cent.
At the close of business, the All-Share Index (ASI) gained 536.98 points to finish at 249,712.37 points compared with the previous day’s 249,175.39 points, and the market capitalisation grew by N344 billion to N160.077 trillion from N159.733 trillion.
Aluminium Extrusion and DAAR Communications expanded by 10.00 per cent each to sell for N9.90 and N2.09, respectively, RT Briscoe surged by 9.93 per cent to N14.06, Learn Africa increased by 9.79 per cent to N12.90, and Red Star Express advanced by 9.56 per cent to N34.95.
On the flip side, Trans-Nationwide Express depreciated by 9.92 per cent to N5.72, Livestock Feeds dipped by 9.64 per cent to N8.90, The Initiates crashed by 8.65 per cent to N33.80, Ellah Lakes drowned by 8.64 per cent to N10.05, and Neimeth lost 6.36 per cent to trade at N10.30.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira weakened against the United States Dollar by N3.15 or 0.23 per cent to N1,375.46/$1 from N1,372.31/$1 in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Friday, May 22.
It was also a similar situation for the domestic currency against the Pound Sterling in the official market yesterday, as it lost N9.46 to sell for N1,849.72/£1 compared with the preceding session’s N1,840.26/£1, and against the Euro, it depreciated by N6.26 to close at N1,597.04/€1, in contrast to Thursday’s exchange rate of N1,590.78/€1.
At the GTBank FX desk, the Nigerian Naira tumbled against the Dollar during the session by N2 to trade at N1,381/$1 versus the previous day’s N1,379/$1, and at the parallel market, it remained unchanged at N1,390/$1.
Analysts at Cowry Asset Management Limited, in their weekly financial outlook, have projected the Naira will remain under soft pressure in near term due to continuous FX demand.
“Looking ahead, the Naira may remain under mild pressure in the near term due to persistent FX demand, though rising external reserves could help cushion volatility,” they noted.
Meanwhile, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) this week reiterated that it would continue with its current policy direction to sustain the fight against inflation and stabilise the exchange rate.
This comes as the FX market has changed significantly under the ongoing reforms introduced by the apex bank, with increased market liquidity reducing the need for heavy intervention by the CBN. Its intervention currently accounts for only about 1.2 to 1.3 per cent of total market turnover in 2025, a development he said reflects the growing strength of the market.
Turnover has risen sharply from about $100 million in 2023 to roughly $550 million presently, with transactions occasionally climbing to as high as $1 billion in a single day.
A look at the cryptocurrency market showed that it was down on Friday as Mr Kevin Warsh was sworn in by President Donald Trump as the chairman of the US Federal Reserve, replacing Mr Jerome Powell, who will continue as a governor in the US central bank.
The appointment was made in the hope that he would lead the central bank to cut interest rates, but the Iran war has sent oil prices soaring and re-ignited what had been cooling inflation.
Ethereum (ETH) depreciated by 5.5 per cent to $2,010.90, Dogecoin (DOGE) lost 5.2 per cent to trade at $0.1001, Cardano (ADA) fell by 5.0 per cent to $0.2389, Solana (SOL) slipped by 4.9 per cent to $82.69, and Bitcoin (BTC) slid by 3.3 per cent to $74,950.02.
Further, Ripple (XRP) went down by 2.9 per cent to $1.32, Binance Coin (BNB) declined by 2.6 per cent to $641.61, and TRON (TRX) shrank by 1.2 per cent to $0.3606, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.
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