By Adedapo Adesanya

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the National Orientation Agency (NOA) have partnered to enlighten Nigerians on illegal investment schemes in Nigeria.

The director-general of SEC, Mr Emomotimi Agama, stated this during a meeting with his NOA counterpart, Mr Lanre Issa-Onilu, in Abuja on Thursday, according to a statement from SEC.

Mr Agama said the capital market is an available tool for national development, but beyond all that, there is a tendency for people to do the wrong things that will lead to the impoverishment of Nigerians.

According to him, these are not supposed to be, but many people fall victim due to a lack of knowledge. He stated that these schemes are springing up daily, and those involved are defrauding Nigerians, as people are always gullible because of the need to survive.

“As a management, we decided to move out to enlighten people; we cannot assume that people know, we need to go out for mass communication, hence this collaboration. It is only by co-operation that we can achieve the purpose of our existence,” he stated.

The SEC DG solicited the co-operation of the NOA to reach Nigerians because of its capacity and vast network of mass media, in a bid to ensure that the message reaches every nook and cranny of the country.

“This collaboration is important because it will go a long way in ensuring that Nigerians are no longer victims of these fraudulent schemes. We appreciate that you value this country, and we value the work that you do,” he added.

On his part, Mr Issa-Onilu commended the SEC for the capital market’s achievements in recent times, adding that the commission has not been celebrated enough.

“We commend you and thank you on behalf of the country, but most Nigerians are not aware of the opportunities in the capital market. An ignorant society will fall victim to many things that are avoidable. It is our responsibility to enlighten people to make the right decisions.

“We request that you provide information on what you do to enable us to propagate them. Our primary assignment is to serve all government institutions as the communications arm. We do a lot of enlightenment in places like the religious houses, motor parks, town halls, among others.”

Mr Issa-Onilu said the NOA engages in civic education to create the right values that will help most Nigerians be better citizens, saying that “many Nigerians are deficient in good behaviour. Both the Ponzi scheme promoters and those who patronise them are suffering from the wrong attitude and values.

“We have to encourage people to have the right attitude so they do not fall victim to Ponzi schemes. We have created a lot of platforms to interact with Nigerians.”

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

President Bola Tinubu has expressed satisfaction with the disbursement of N636 billion as loans to business owners in the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in the country by the Bank of Industry (BoI) in 2025.

In a statement signed by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Mr Bayo Onanuga, the Nigerian leader disclosed that the development validates his government’s economic reform agenda.

Over 7,000 enterprises were given soft loans worth N636 billion by the lender last year, the highest annual financing volume in the institution’s history.

A breakdown of the financing shows that N202 billion was allocated to agro-allied enterprises, N100 billion to critical national infrastructure, including broadband, power, aviation, and transportation, N79 billion to manufacturing, N77 billion to extractive industries, and N55 billion to services.

In addition, the bank deployed N73 billion in managed and matching funds on behalf of state governments and institutional partners.

Under the BoI 2025 disbursement, strategic interventions included upgrading a tomato processing facility from 3.1 metric tonnes per hour to 10 metric tonnes per hour and linking 47,508 smallholder farmers to formal processing value chains.

The bank also supported the deployment of 100 mini-grids in partnership with global development finance institutions, connecting 11,777 new customers to electricity. BOI-financed projects contributed to an estimated annual reduction of over 20,000 tonnes of carbon emissions.

“The N636 billion disbursed by the Bank of Industry in 2025 translates directly into productive capacity across Nigeria. It financed agro-processing expansion, strengthened manufacturing output, supported infrastructure delivery, and empowered thousands of enterprises across our states.

“At a time of global financing constraints, Nigeria expanded access to long-term capital for its businesses. That is a direct outcome of reform, credibility, and institutional discipline,” Mr Tinubu said.

It was observed that disbursement by business size reflects a deliberate inclusion strategy. Nano enterprises received N51 billion. Micro businesses accessed N32 billion. Small and medium enterprises received N178 billion in financing, while large enterprises accounted for N375 billion.

Under the federal government’s N200 billion MSMEs intervention programme, BoI recorded over 95 per cent performance as the disbursing institution. The Presidential Conditional Grant Scheme reached 957,400 beneficiaries in 2025 alone.

In addition, BOI’s financing activities led to the creation and retention of approximately 1.6 million jobs. The bank supported more than 7,000 MSMEs and 570 startups during the year.

Inclusive financing initiatives also recorded a measurable impact. Through the Guaranteed Loans for Women Programme, a N10 billion gender-focused facility providing up to N50 million per beneficiary, women-owned enterprises expanded access to affordable credit. Youth-owned enterprises received N12 billion in financing. Under the Rural Area Programme on Investment for Development, 880 rural-based enterprises across the 36 states and the FCT accessed over N6.5 billion.

The President further noted that BOI maintained strong asset quality, recording a non-performing loan ratio below 1.5 per cent despite macroeconomic headwinds. He also acknowledged the €2 billion syndicated facility secured in 2024 and the additional €210 million mobilised from international partners in 2025, which strengthened the Bank’s lending capacity.

“Development finance must be disciplined, measurable, and aligned with national priorities. What we are witnessing is the transition from strategy to scale.

“Our economic transformation will be built on production, value addition, and enterprise growth. We will continue to crowd in capital, deepen institutional reform, and ensure that access to finance supports real sector expansion across Nigeria,” President Tinubu stated.

He reaffirmed his administration’s resolve to consolidate reform gains and expand credit access to enterprises as part of a long-term strategy to accelerate industrialisation and inclusive economic growth.

By Adedapo Adesanya

Six equities buoyed the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 2.13 per cent on Thursday, February 12, as the market capitalisation added N49.12 billion to end at N2.357 trillion compared with the previous day’s N2.308 trillion.

In the same vein, the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) went up by 82.09 points during the session to settle at 3,940.90 points versus Wednesday’s closing value of 3,858.81 points.

Okitipupa Plc improved its value by N22.00 yesterday to N242.00 per share from N220.00 per share, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc grew by N6.55 to N77.08 per unit from N70.53 per unit, NASD Plc rose by N4.62 to N50.88 per share from N46.26 per share, Food Concepts Plc appreciated by 29 Kobo to N3.20 per unit from N2.91 per unit, IPWA Plc advanced by 28 Kobo to N3.13 per share from N2.85 per share, and UBN Property Plc rose 1 Kobo to sell at N2.20 per unit compared with the preceding session’s N2.19 per unit.

Conversely, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc went down by N1.57 to N68.10 per share from N69.67 per share, and Geo-Fluids Plc depreciated by 39 Kobo to N3.63 per unit from N4.02 per unit.

As for the activity chart, the volume of trades declined by 99.2 to 8.6 million units from 1.06 billion units, the value of transactions shrank by 88.4 per cent to N53.9 million from N465.7 million, and the number of deals decreased by 25 per cent to 42 deals from 56 deals.

CSCS Plc remained the most active stock by value (year-to-date) with 18.2 million units valued at N790.9 million, trailed by Resourcery Plc with 1.05 billion units traded at N408.6 million, and Geo-Fluids Plc with 29.5 million units sold for N150.9 million.

Resourcery Plc closed the session as the most traded stock by volume (year-to-date) with 1.05 billion units worth N408.6 million, followed by Geo-Fluids Plc with 29.5 million units exchanged for N150.9 million, and Mass Telecom Innovation Plc with 20.1 million units transacted for N8.1 million.