Economy
SEC Records 96% Compliance Level of Prudential Returns in 2022
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has stated that it has continued to employ its compliance tool to ensure that only fit and proper capital market operators practice in the market.
This, the commission said, has resulted in an improved level of compliance with the filing of prudential returns, rising to 96 per cent in 2022 compared with 81 per cent in 2021.
The Director-General of the agency, Mr Lamido Yuguda, described this in an interview as a welcome development, given the organisation’s quest to pursue a capital market that is based on the principles of increased transparency, efficiency and global competitiveness.
He described the year 2022 as another eventful year in which the commission continued its implementation of sound initiatives that are expected to bring about the much-desired market development that would deepen not only the market but also ensure the continued protection of investors.
“SEC released guidelines on the implementation of Sections 60-63 of the Investments and Securities Act 2007.
“The NCMI organized training for CEOs, CFOs and other officers of public companies to facilitate their compliance. The Commission also provided filing options for Audited (Annual) and Fourth Quarter Financial Statements.
“The commission has conducted the Risk Based Supervision (RBS) examination on 20 capital market subsidiaries of five financial holding companies aimed at supporting the entire financial system stability.
“To further protect investors and boost confidence in the market, the commission has commenced implementation of 100 per cent custody requirement on all Collective Investment Schemes (CIS).
“Also, after a thorough review of the status of privately managed funds, SEC mandated that Rule 95 should also apply to all Discretionary/Non-Discretionary Portfolios and Products to ensure the protection of investors’ funds in the fund management space,” Mr Yuguda stated.
The SEC DG disclosed that a comprehensive on-site inspection exercise was successfully carried out on the 95 registered fund managers to ensure that both the public and private funds registered by the commission are being operated in line with the relevant rules and regulations.
On non-interest, Mr Yuguda stated that the commission, working jointly with the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), the Non-Interest Finance Committee of the CMC and other stakeholders, has developed a taxation regulation on non-interest finance.
The non-interest finance (taxation) regulation, he stated, has been approved by the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning and has already been gazetted. This is a positive development that will spur investments in non-interest capital market products.
He disclosed that the Nigerian capital market witnessed significant momentum, with the main equity bourse (NGX) recording a N6.1 trillion increase in the equities capitalisation, from N21.82 trillion on December 31, 2021, to N27.96 trillion as of December 30, 2022, representing a 28 per cent increase, outshining most of the global securities markets.
The NGX All-Share Index also recorded a 19.98 per cent year-on-year growth from 42,716.44 points on December 31, 2021, to 51,251.06 points as of December 30, 2022.
“On the debt side of the capital market, the S&P FMDQ Sovereign Bond Index closed at 592.84 points on December 14, 2022, indicating a 4.8 per cent increase from 565.67 points in December 2021.
“The market witnessed this despite relatively weak corporate earnings, investor apathy and slow economic growth.
“However, we expect to see enhanced growth in 2023 driven by initiatives that target improvement in the business environment, increased liquidity, and a possible increase in sovereign bond issuances to finance the budget deficit,” he remarked.
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.
