Economy
SEC, Lawyers Partner to Deepen Capital Market Operations
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has agreed to partner with members of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) to deepen understanding of the capital market in the country among youths and citizens.
Recently, Chairman of the NBA Section on Business Law (SBL), Mr Olumide Akpata, led his group to the SEC head office in Abuja.
During the meeting, the lawyers agreed to work with the nation’s apex capital market regulator to ensure free, fair and transparent market, which in turn further boost confidence of investors.
He commended SEC management on their efforts in ensuring that lawyers were carried along on issues relating to rules and regulations in the capital market.
A statement issued by the Acting Head of Corporate Communications at SEC, Mrs Efe Ebelo, quoted Mr Akpata as saying that, “The NBA-SBL has embarked on a number of initiatives like its annual conference and the setting up of various committees to build capacity in business law.
“We are building capacity among our members to assist in capital market operations and we hope to partner with SEC to deepen this understanding.
“We also go to the Nigeria Law School to mentor the students on the operations of capital market and we are working with the Nigeria Stock Exchange to get a proper framework.
“We are also contemplating a collaboration with the National Institute of Advanced Legal Studies (NIALS) to commence a diploma in advanced commercial law.
“This will enable our people to better understand the workings of the capital market.”
In her remarks, the SEC spokesperson said the role of lawyers in the capital market cannot be overemphasised.
She solicited support of the lawyers and encouraged them to impart the knowledge gained from conferences abroad for easy operations of the market.
According to her, SEC was ready to support actions that would help deepen and grow the Nigerian capital market, describing lawyers as one of the key stakeholders in the sector.
“Lawyers are key players in the transactional processes which permeate the world of capital markets.
“They advise debt and equity issuers and the investment banks which structure and sell the financial instruments,” Mrs Uduk said.
She urged them to be more involved in the structuring of transactions and the structuring and drafting of legal documents, noting that in other climes, lawyers were at the forefront of capital market transactions, and Nigeria’s case should not be different.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) is seeking a reduction in import duty exemptions, which rose to N34 trillion, limiting its ability to increase its revenue generation threshold.
The Comptroller-General of the Customs Service, Mr Adewale Adeniyi, disclosed that the value of import duty exemption certificate approvals increased to that level in 2025, describing the policy as one of the major factors restricting its revenue generation.
At an investigative session of the Senate Committee on Finance with revenue-generating agencies in Abuja on Monday, Mr Adeniyi explained that government fiscal policies have continued to impact the revenue-generating capacity of the Customs Service, both positively and negatively.
“The NCS would have generated significantly higher revenue over the years if not for government-approved import duty waivers and other external factors affecting collections,” he said.
He added that the Import Duty Exemption Certificate scheme, introduced in March 2020, accounted for about N34 trillion in approvals in 2025, with nearly 60 per cent covering duty-free importation of military hardware due to Nigeria’s prevailing security challenges.
Other government-backed duty waivers, he noted, covered the importation of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), electric and hybrid vehicles, healthcare equipment and medical supplies, industrial machinery and manufacturing inputs, as well as food import intervention programmes.
While acknowledging the impact of the waivers on Customs revenue, Mr Adeniyi argued that fiscal policy should not be assessed solely on the basis of revenue generation but also on its broader economic and social objectives.
He, however, urged the federal government to establish stronger monitoring mechanisms to ensure beneficiaries of duty waivers deliver the intended economic outcomes, including lower consumer prices, increased local production and improved healthcare access.
The committee also expressed displeasure over the absence of several heads of government agencies invited to the hearing, including the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), Industrial Training Fund (ITF), and the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Jabi.
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, Mr Sani Musa, warned that the affected chief executives must appear at the committee’s next sitting or face severe sanctions under the Senate’s rules.
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By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange rose by 0.40 per cent on Monday, July 13, buoyed by buying interest in 11 Plc, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc and UBN Property Plc, which offset the profit-taking in Food Concepts Plc, the parent company of Chicken Republic.
11 Plc gained N20.69 to end at N227.64 per share compared with last Friday’s price of N206.95 per share, CSCS Plc grew by N1.83 to N91.48 per unit from N89.65 per unit, and UBN Property Plc added 1 Kobo to sell at N1.81 per share versus N1.80 per share.
On the flip side, Food Concepts Plc depreciated by 24 Kobo to close at N2.45 per unit, in contrast to the preceding session’s N2.69 per unit.
As a result, the market capitalisation increased by N9.2 billion to N2.587 trillion from N2.578 trillion, and the NASD Security Index (NSI) improved by 15.33 points to 4,311.67 points from 4,296.34 points.
Yesterday, the volume of securities traded by investors surged by 615.9 per cent to 9.1 million units from the previous 1.3 million units, and the value of securities rose by 997.1 per cent to N320.4 million from the preceding session’s N29.2 million, while the number of deals decreased by 12.5 per cent to 28 deals from last Friday’s 32 deals.
At the close of trades, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units worth N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 73.9 million units exchanged for N5.2 billion.
GNI Plc also closed the session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units traded for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units transacted for N415.7 million.
