Economy
SEC Engages Other Agencies to Curb Ponzi Schemes
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is working in collaboration with other agencies to clean up the Nigerian capital market of Ponzi schemes.
The Director-General of SEC, Mr Lamido Yugudu, expressed displeasure over the proliferation of illegal fund managers in Nigeria’s investment climate.
He lamented that promoters of these schemes continue to defraud millions of citizens by promising them mind-boggling returns on investments.
Speaking at a National Fact-Checking Course organised by the National Orientation Agency (NOA) in Abuja of Tuesday, Mr Yuguda said the agency will engage other organisations to curb the activities of illegal operators.
The SEC chief, who was represented by the Executive Commissioner Corporate Services of the SEC, Mr Ibrahim Boyi, stated that “Such Schemes with all the illegality and promises of unrealistic returns have burnt the fortunes of many ambitious investors, from Yuan Dong Ponzi to Galaxy Transport, Famzhi Interbiz Limited, Cowlane and Durell, and the infamous Mavrodi Mundial Movement (MMM).
“The upsurge of these Schemes has undermined the reputation of the capital market and dampened investors’ confidence, among other things. This has created a considerable challenge to the growth of our market, and the Commission is striving to change the narrative by instilling a fair, transparent, and orderly market,” he stated.
Mr Yuguda said while the SEC, in collaboration with other regulators in the financial sector, strives to clamp down on merchants of fake news and Ponzi Schemes, investors also have a huge role to play.
“Investors are advised to always confirm if the investment product, scheme, or company is registered with the SEC before investing. This could be done through our website: www.sec.gov.ng or via email to [email protected] or from other regulatory authorities.
“Investments enable growth in wealth, thus while encouraging more retail investments, we urge you to invest in investment classes and products approved by the SEC, which can be confirmed through the channels provided above,” he stated.
The SEC DG described the course as a timely programme that would go a long way to check the scourge of fake news, misinformation, and disinformation.
He said disinformation, misinformation, and fake news are often intended to instigate hate, anger, and acrimony, consequently, causing disaffection, division, violence, and even war.
“Disinformation in the media has long existed in different forms. However, modern fake news has attracted significant attention due to its prevalence and impact in the social media era.
“The SEC, as the apex regulator of the Nigerian capital market recognizes the effect fake news can have on the market, as it can significantly impact prices in the capital market.
“NOA’s drive to build detectors is therefore commendable. The capital market requires such fact-checkers to mitigate measures from fraudsters in the field of information-based securities fraud,” he stated.
Mr Yuguda, therefore, assured of the commission’s continuous support, engagement, and collaboration towards bringing sustainable growth and development to our markets and the nation at large.
In his remarks, DG of NOA, Mr Garba Abari, expressed the need to expand the frontiers of the conversation around the issue of fake news which has become a matter of concern both in Nigeria and the world over.
He said it has become more imperative now especially with the elections approaching, which makes the training more compelling.
Mr Abari said the aim is to train 37,000 Nigerian fact-checkers cutting across different spheres of national life; the military and security agencies, organized private sector, the public service at large, newspapers and online media practitioners, bloggers, and private citizens, that whatever knowledge applied within here is a knowledge that can be replicated at home through our family members and in our respective places of work.
“The idea is first is to help the country before we enjoy all the freedom that we need. The social, conventional, and orthodox media have become an agent of propagating hate, mischief and creating an atmosphere that should not arise, thereby escalating our diversity, religious and different partisan preferences,” he stated.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
A minority equity stake in Chappal Energies Mauritius Limited has been acquired by a Nigerian energy firm, Aradel Holdings Plc.
This deal came a few days after Chappal Energies purchased a 53.85 per cent equity stake in Equinor Nigeria Energy Company Limited (ENEC).
Chappal Energies went into the deal with Equinor to take part in the oil and gas lease OML 128, including the unitised 20.21 per cent stake in the Agbami oil field, operated by Chevron.
Since production started in 2008, the Agbami field has produced more than one billion barrels of oil, creating value for Nigerian society and various stakeholders.
As part of the deal, Chappal will assume the operatorship of OML 129, which includes several significant prospects and undeveloped discoveries (Nnwa, Bilah and Sehki).
The Nnwa discovery is part of the giant Nnwa-Doro field, a major gas resource with significant potential to deliver value for Nigeria.
In a separate transaction, on July 17, 2024, Chappal and Total Energies sealed an SPA for the acquisition by Chappal of 10 per cent of the SPDC JV.
The relevant parties to this transaction are working towards closing out this transaction and Ministerial Approval and NNPC consent to accede to the Joint Operating Agreement have been obtained.
“This acquisition is in line with diversifying our asset base, deepening our gas competencies and gaining access to offshore basins using low-risk approaches.
“We recognise the strategic role of gas in Nigeria’s energy future and are happy to expand our equity holding in this critical resource.
“We are committed to the cause of developing the significant value inherent in the assets, which will be extremely beneficial to the country.
“Aradel hopes to bring its proven execution competencies to bear in supporting Chappal’s development of these opportunities,” the chief executive of Aradel Holdings, Mr Adegbite Falade, stated.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Afriland Properties Plc helped the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange record a 0.04 per cent gain on Tuesday, December 10 as the share price of the property investment rose by 34 Kobo to N16.94 per unit from the preceding day’s N16.60 per unit.
As a result of this, the market capitalisation of the bourse went up by N380 million to remain relatively unchanged at N1.056 trillion like the previous trading day.
But the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) closed higher at 3,014.36 points after it recorded an addition of 1.09 points to Monday’s closing value of 3,013.27 points.
The NASD OTC securities exchange recorded a price loser and it was Geo-Fluids Plc, which went down by 2 Kobo to close at N3.93 per share, in contrast to the preceding day’s N3.95 per share.
During the trading session, the volume of securities bought and sold by investors increased by 95.8 per cent to 2.4 million units from the 1.2 million securities traded in the preceding session.
However, the value of shares traded yesterday slumped by 3.7 per cent to N4.9 million from the N5.07 million recorded a day earlier, as the number of deals surged by 27.3 per cent to 14 deals from 11 deals.
Geo-Fluids Plc remained the most active stock by volume (year-to-date) with 1.7 billion units sold for N3.9 billion, trailed by Okitipupa Plc with 752.2 million units valued at N7.8 billion, and Afriland Properties Plc with 297.5 million units worth N5.3 million.
Also, Aradel Holdings Plc remained the most active stock by value (year-to-date) with 108.7 million units worth N89.2 billion, followed by Okitipupa Plc with 752.2 million units valued at N7.8 billion, and Afriland Properties Plc with 297.5 million units sold for N5.3 billion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira continued to appreciate on the US Dollar at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM), gaining 0.7 per cent or N10.23 on Tuesday, December 10 to trade at N1,542.27/$1 compared with the preceding day’s N1,552.50/$1.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)-backed Electronic Foreign Exchange Matching System (EFEMS) platform introduced to tackle speculation and improve transparency in Nigeria’s FX market has been attributed as the source of the Naira’s appreciation.
Speculators holding foreign currencies, particularly the US Dollar, have seen the value of their money drastically drop due to the appreciation of the local currency. This is forcing them to dump greenback into the system and take the domestic currency alternative- a move that has seen available FX increase.
Equally, the domestic currency improved its value against the Pound Sterling in the official market during the trading day by N6.81 to sell for N1,955.12/£1 compared with Monday’s closing price of N1,961.93/£1 and against the Euro, it gained N10.84 to close at N1,613.00/€1, in contrast to the previous day’s rate of N1,623.84/€1.
Data from the FMDQ Securities Exchange showed that the value of forex transactions significantly increased yesterday by $228.85 million or 257.2 per cent to $401.17 million from the preceding session’s $112.32 million.
However, in the parallel market, the Nigerian currency weakened against the US Dollar on Tuesday by N5 to settle at N1,625/$1 compared with the previous day’s value of N1,620/$1.
In the cryptocurrency market, Dogecoin (DOGE) lost 4.8 per cent to sell at $0.39116, Litecoin (LTC) depreciated by 3.3 per cent to trade at $110.25, Binance Coin (BNB) went south by 2.3 per cent to $681.44, Ethereum (ETH) dropped 1.6 per cent to finish at $3,671.08, and Cardano (ADA) slid by 0.5 per cent to $0.8837
Conversely, Ripple (XRP) jumped by 5.4 per cent to $2.23 amid a continued shift for the coin with its parent company seeing the benefits of a crypto-friendly regulatory environment for US-based companies.
XRP is closely related to Ripple Labs, a high-profile payments company targeted by the SEC in 2020 on allegations of selling the token as a security to U.S. investors. Ripple fully cleared a long-drawn court case in 2024.
Further, Solana (SOL) expanded by 0.8 per cent to $219.75, Bitcoin (BTC) grew by 0.4 per cent to $97,446.95, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.
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