Economy
SEC to Remove Needless Requirements for Efficient Capital Market
By Dipo Olowookere
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has promised to review some of the rules guiding the capital market with a view to making them more flexible and attractive to investors.
The Director-General of the agency, Mr Lamido Yuguda, while speaking recently in Lagos at the CEO Roundtable organised by the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited, admitted that there are some requirements preventing companies from listing their shares for public trading, promising to collaborate with other regulatory organisations in the ecosystem to make them better.
He said SEC was happy to have an engagement with other regulators and issuers to hear directly from them, saying in 2021, the commission partnered with the Nigeria Employers Consultative Association (NECA) to inaugurate the Securities Issuers Forum (SIF) to create an avenue for issuers to engage directly with regulators on pertinent regulatory issues.
According to him, the objectives of the forum, amongst others, are to maintain regular contact with the regulator; promote sound corporate governance and ethical conduct; advise the regulator on regulations affecting companies and issuers; promote healthy competition; and maintain an enabling business environment by monitoring issues of direct relevance to members.
“Let me reiterate that the SEC is continually focused on increasing the visibility and attractiveness of our market and will continue to focus on building and sustaining a fair, transparent and efficient capital market.
“The commission will also continue to embrace the ease-of-doing-business principle by simplifying its processes and enhancing time-to-market through the elimination of superfluous requirements that lead to inordinate delays in capital raising and other capital market operations.
“This is particularly important so that the market be deepened further and provide an avenue for hitherto inadmissible entities to be eligible for listing,” Mr Yuguda stated.
The SEC DG further said efforts are being made to ensure the repeal of the Investments and Securities Act (ISA) 2007 and the passage of a new Investments and Securities Bill into law.
He explained that this is to align the law with current realities and global trends in capital market regulation, including growing changes in market practices, processes and products.
“We have consistently focussed on the creation of an ecosystem in which governments, entrepreneurs and other issuers can efficiently access capital. Stakeholders must however look further to introduce more products, leveraging on the emerging trend of financial technology,” he added.
Mr Yuguda stated that the theme of the event, Creating the enabling ecosystem for accessing capital from the Nigerian capital markets, resonates with the mandate of the agency of developing and regulating the market while protecting investors.
He said the demutualisation of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), which led to the emergence of the current NGX Group, has brought with it a renewed focus on expanding the market by consolidating the successes achieved through the traditional methods of capital raising while working with important stakeholders to introduce new sources of financing.
“The commission welcomes the sound initiatives of NGX for continued engagement with experts to share their perspectives on changes that would lead to the much-desired expansion of the market.
“This effort would not have come at a better time than now when economies are just beginning to face the devastating economic reality of the Ukraine and Russia crisis, which reared its head, just as nations were still grappling with the health and economic challenges posed by the Coronavirus pandemic.
“You may be aware that the commission is in the implementation phase of a comprehensive market and institutional reform programme, the Capital Market Master Plan that is intended to reposition the Nigerian capital market to be globally competitive.
“The commission has successfully completed a comprehensive review of the master plan. The reviewed plan is expected to guide further development of the capital market so as to attract more funds for economic growth and development,” he informed the participants.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The deadline for filing of employers’ annual tax returns in Lagos State has been extended by one week from February 1 to 7, 2026.
This information was revealed in a statement signed by the Head of Corporate Communications of the Lagos State Internal Revenue Service (LIRS), Mrs Monsurat Amasa-Oyelude.
In the statement issued over the weekend, the chairman of the tax collecting organisation, Mr Ayodele Subair, explained that the statutory deadline for filing of employers’ annual tax returns is January 31, every year, noting that the extension is intended to provide employers with additional time to complete and submit accurate tax returns.
According to him, employers must give priority to the timely filing of their annual returns, noting that compliance should be embedded as a routine business practice.
He also reiterated that electronic filing through the LIRS eTax platform remains the only approved method for submitting annual returns, as manual filings have been completely phased out. Employers are therefore required to file their returns exclusively through the LIRS eTax portal: https://etax.lirs.net.
Describing the platform as secure, user-friendly, and accessible 24/7, Mr Subair advised employers to ensure that the Tax ID (Tax Identification Number) of all employees is correctly captured in their submissions.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The chief executive of Airtel Africa Plc, Mr Sunil Kumar Taldar, has disclosed that the company is still on track to list its mobile money business, Airtel Money, before the end of June 2026.
Recall that Business Post reported in March 2024 that the mobile network operator was considering selling the shares of Airtel Money to the public through the IPO vehicle in a transaction expected to raise about $4 billion.
The firm had been in talks with possible advisors for a planned listing of the shares from the initial public offer on a stock exchange with some options including London, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), or Europe.
However, so far no final decisions have been made regarding the timing, location, or scale of the IPO.
In September 2025, the telco reportedly picked Citigroup Incorporated as advisors for the planned IPO which will see Airtel Money become a standalone entity before it can attain the prestige of trading on a stock exchange.
Mr Taldar, noted that metrics continued to show improvements ahead of the listing with its customer base hitting 52 million, compared to around 44.6 million users it had as of June 2025.
He added that the subsidiary processed over $210 billion in a year, according to the company’s nine-month financial results released on Friday.
“Our push to enhance financial inclusion across the continent continues to gain momentum with our Mobile Money customer base expanding to 52 million, surpassing the 50 million milestone. Annualised total processed value of over $210 billion in Q3’26 underscores the depth of our merchants, agents, and partner ecosystem and remains a key player in driving improved access to financial services across Africa.
“We remain on track for the listing of Airtel Money in the first half of 2026,” Mr Taldar said.
Estimating Airtel Money at $4 billion is higher than its valuation of $2.65 billion in 2021. In 2021, Airtel Money received significant investments, including $200 million from TPG Incorporated at a valuation of $2.65 billion and $100 million from Mastercard. Later that same year, an affiliate of Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund also acquired an undisclosed stake in the unit.
The mobile money sector in Africa is expanding rapidly, driven by a young population increasingly adopting technology for financial services, making the continent a key market for fintech companies.
By Dipo Olowookere
A cryptocurrency investor and owner of Polyfarm, Mr Bamu Gift Wandji, is currently cooling off in the custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
He was handed over to the anti-money laundering agency by the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) on Friday, January 30, 2026, after his arrest on Monday, January 12, 2026.
A statement from the EFCC yesterday disclosed that the suspect was apprehended by the NSCDC in Gwagwalada, Abuja for running an investment scheme without the authorisation of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which is the apex capital market regulator in Nigeria.
It was claimed that Mr Wandji created a fraudulent crypto investment platform called Polyfarm, where he allegedly lured innocent Nigerians to invest in Polygon, a crypto token that attracts high returns.
Investigation further revealed that he also deceived the public that his project, Polyfarm, has its native token called “polyfarm coin” which he sold to the public.
In his bid to promote the scheme, the suspect posted about this on social media platforms, including WhatsApp, X (formally Twitter) and Telegram. He also conducted seminars in some major cities in Nigeria including Kaduna, Lagos, Port Harcourt and Abuja where he described the scheme as a life-changing programme.
Further investigation revealed that in October, 2025, subscribers who could not access their funds were informed by the suspect that the site was attacked by Lazarus group, a cyber attacking group linked to North Korea.
Further investigations showed that Polyfarm is not registered and not licensed with SEC to carry out crypto transactions in Nigeria. Also, no investment happened with subscribers’ funds and that the suspect used funds paid by subscribers to pay others in the name of profit.
Investigation also revealed that native coin, polyfarm coin was never listed on coin market cap and that the suspect sold worthless coins to the general public.
Contrary to the claim of the suspect that his platform was attacked, EFCC’s investigations revealed that the platform was never attacked or hacked by anyone and that the suspect withdrew investors’ funds and utilized the same for his personal gains.
The EFCC, in the statement, disclosed that Mr Wandji would be charged to court upon conclusion of investigations.
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