Economy
SEC Okays NSE’s Sustainability Disclosure Guidelines, Take Effect 2019
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has approved the Sustainability Disclosure Guidelines of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).
The sustainability guidelines are in fulfilment of the local exchange’s desire to champion sustainable capital market practices in Africa.
The Nigerian bourse said it recognises that the promotion of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) principles can facilitate more meaningful engagement between investors and listed companies on ESG risks and opportunities. This, in turn, is expected to further deepen the role played by market operators and regulators in leading sustainability policies and regulations.
The guidelines primarily provide the value proposition for sustainability in the Nigerian context and also articulate a step by step approach to integrating sustainability into organisations, indicators that should be considered when providing annual disclosure to the NSE and timelines for such disclosures.
Whilst developing the guidelines, the NSE noted that issuers may be at varying levels of understanding sustainability disclosure requirements and capacity to comply with the requirements, encouraging all issuers to adopt the practice of sustainability reporting.
The NSE said the guidelines are available in electronic form on its website, www.nse.com.ng and will be distributed to issuers listed on all its boards, adding that the guidelines will become effective on January 1, 2019.
They will be mandatory for companies listed on the Premium Board of the exchange, noting that companies having their year ending December 31, 2019 will have on or before March 30, 2020 to file their accounts.
Also, companies having their year ending February 28, 2020 will have on or before May 30, 2020 to file their accounts, while companies having their year ending May 31, 2020 will have on or before August 29, 2020 to file their accounts, and those ending their year on June 20, 2020, will have till on or before September 28, 2020 to file their accounts.
Whilst describing the objectives of the Sustainability Disclosure Guidelines, Chief Executive Officer of NSE, Mr Oscar Onyema, explained that, “We are supporting the global agenda of green and sustainable finance, which is so critical for Africa.
“As the first exchange to list a sovereign green bond in Africa, our issuance of these guidelines is to further enable investors to ascertain their exposure to ESG risks whilst providing our issuers with a platform to disclose them along common themes for comparability. We encourage peer exchanges on the continent to continue to enhance information disclosure in their markets as this will help build trust.”
On his part, Head of Corporate Communications at the NSE, Mr Olumide Orojimi, was of the view that, “With continued global participation in our market, a shared framework of ESG principles with multi-stakeholder approach and metrics is imperative.
“The guidelines set out recommendations for good practice in thirteen thematic areas under four core principles in ESG reporting. With the launch of these guidelines, investors can look forward to a consistent approach to ESG reporting from issuers listed on the NSE.”
As a member of the United Nations Sustainable Stock Exchanges (SSE) initiative, and the World Federation of Exchanges (WFE), NSE said it was committed to providing its listed companies with guidance on sustainability reporting and has taken steps to demonstrate its commitment through a number of pre-implementation activities.
The first major step was the hosting of the inaugural Nigerian Capital Market Sustainability Conference (NCMSC) in November 2015, which served as a stakeholder engagement session to discuss the business value of sustainable investment, enhancing corporate transparency and ultimately performance on Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) issues.
Outcomes from the conference and results from relevant assessments aided in the production of the draft Sustainability Disclosure Guidelines (SDG), the stock exchange said.
Also, the NSE held a Sustainability Reporting Seminar on June 8, 2016, to intimate stakeholders with the guidelines, the reporting format and template, and the real value proposition of reporting. The draft guidelines were subsequently taken through The Exchange’s rule-making process, exposed for stakeholders’ comments, and submitted to SEC for approval.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Oil traded lower on Wednesday after US President Donald Trump eased fears of disruptions to Iranian supplies, indicating that killings in Iran’s crackdown on civil unrest were subsiding.
Yesterday, the price of Brent futures declined by 92 cents or 1.41 per cent to $64.55 per barrel while the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures slipped 96 or 1.57 per cent to $60.19 a barrel.
Prices had risen on fears of Iranian supply disruptions due to a potential US attack on Iran and possible retaliation against US regional interests.
President Trump said on Wednesday afternoon he had been told that killings in Iran’s crackdown on nationwide protests were subsiding and he believed there was currently no plan for large-scale executions.
Still, tensions between Iran and the US remained high after Iran had warned US allies in the Middle East it would strike American bases on their soil if the US attacked it. The US began evacuating military personnel from a key Qatar air base on Wednesday.
While markets may have cooled somewhat on the back of President Trump’s comments, protests in Iran have persisted, and there remains plenty of uncertainty over what might come next.
Market analysts noted that continued protests in Iran risk tightening global oil balances through near-term supply losses, but mainly through rising geopolitical risk premium.
However, this remains somewhat minimal as the protests had not spread to the main Iranian oil-producing areas, which had limited the effect on actual supply.
Also supporting oil prices, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis President Neel Kashkari said on Wednesday he was optimistic about the economic outlook and expected inflation to ease.
It is also looking increasingly likely that Venezuela’s oil supply is set to return to markets, with the US completing its first sale of Venezuelan oil on Wednesday.
Two supertankers departed Venezuelan waters on Monday with about 1.8 million barrels each of crude in what may be the first shipments of a 50 million-barrel supply deal between Venezuela and the US to get exports moving again following the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
Crude oil inventories in the US increased by 3.4 million barrels during the week ending January 14, according to new data from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) released on Wednesday.
The EIA’s data release follows figures by the American Petroleum Institute (API) that were released a day earlier, which suggested that crude oil inventories grew by 5.27 million barrels.
By Adedapo Adesanya
TotalEnergies EP Nigeria has signed a Sale and Purchase Agreement with Vaaris for the divestment of its 10 per cent non-operated interest in the Renaissance JV licences in Nigeria.
The Renaissance JV, formerly known as the SPDC JV, is an unincorporated joint venture between Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (55 per cent), Renaissance Africa Energy Company Ltd (30 per cent, operator), TotalEnergies EP Nigeria (10 per cent) and Agip Energy and Natural Resources Nigeria (5 per cent), which holds 18 licences in the Niger Delta.
In a statement by TotalEnergies on Wednesday, it was stated that under the agreement signed with Vaaris, TotalEnergies EP Nigeria will sell its 10 per cent participating interest and all its rights and obligations in 15 licences of Renaissance JV, which are producing mainly oil.
Production from these licences, it was said, represented approximately 16,000 barrels equivalent per day in company’s share in 2025.
The agreement also stated that TotalEnergies EP Nigeria will also transfer to Vaaris its 10 per cent participating interest in the three other licences of Renaissance JV which are producing mainly gas, namely OML 23, OML 28 and OML 77, while TotalEnergies will retain full economic interest in these licences, which currently account for 50 per cent of Nigeria LNG gas supply.
Business Post reports that the conclusion of the deal is subject to customary conditions, including regulatory approvals.
“TotalEnergies EP Nigeria has signed a Sale and Purchase Agreement with Vaaris for the sale of its 10 per cent non-operated interest in the Renaissance JV licences in Nigeria.
“Under the agreement signed with Vaaris, TotalEnergies EP Nigeria will sell to Vaaris its 10 per cent participating interest and all its rights and obligations in 15 licences of Renaissance JV, which are producing mainly oil. Production from these licences represented approximately 16,000 barrels equivalent per day in the company’s share in 2025.
“TotalEnergies EP Nigeria will also transfer to Vaaris its 10 per cent participating interest in the 3 other licenses of Renaissance JV, which are producing mainly gas (OML 23, OML 28 and OML 77), while TotalEnergies will retain full economic interest in these licenses, which currently account for 50 per cent of Nigeria LNG gas supply. Closing is subject to customary conditions, including regulatory approvals,” the statement reads in part.
The development is part of TotalEnergies’ strategies to dump more assets to lighten its books and debt.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The trading licence of Monument Securities and Finance Limited has been revoked by the regulatory arm of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Group Plc.
Known as NGX Regulations Limited (NGX Regco), the regulator said it took back the operating licence of the organisation after it shut down its operations.
The revocation of the licence was approved by Regulation and New Business Committee (RNBC) at its meeting held on September 24, 2025, a notice from the signed by the Head of Market Regulations at the agency, Chinedu Akamaka, said.
“This is to formally notify all trading license holders that the board of NGX Regulation Limited (NGX RegCo) has approved the decision of the Regulation and New Business Committee (RNBC)” in respect of Monument Securities and Finance Limited, a part of the disclosure stated.
Monument Securities and Finance Limited was earlier licensed to assist clients with the trading of stocks in the Nigerian capital market.
However, with the latest development, the firm is no longer authorised to perform this function.
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