Economy
Stakeholders Seek Standards for Financial Services in Africa
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Stakeholders in the financial services industry in Nigeria have commenced participation in the development of African standards for financial services under the auspices of the African Organization for Standardization (ARSO).
Welcoming members of the National Mirror Committee of the ARSO Technical Harmonization Committee on Good Financial Grant Practice (GFGP) (ARSO THC 12-2) to a meeting at the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) corporate headquarters in Abuja, the Director General, Mr Osita Aboloma, stated that the establishment of the THC 12-2 further emphasizes the importance of standards in every facet of human existence.
This, according to him, also re-emphasizes the relevance of SON’s mandate in establishing benchmarks in the form of standards for all aspects of the social and economic life of Nigerians.
Represented by the Head of International Standards, Mr Dauda Yakubu, the SON Chief Executive clarified that the financial services standards are being developed to support and manage the quality of services being offered in the financial services sector and ensure that they meet global best practices as well as the needs of the customers, continually.
The meeting, he said, was called to broaden the scope of participation of stakeholders in the sector as well as articulate Nigeria’s position towards deliberation on the harmonized draft of the GFGP standard towards the second meeting of the ARSO THC scheduled for Nairobi, Kenya. Members of the National Mirror committee were encouraged to join the Nigerian delegation to the ARSO meeting to advance the National position.
Mr Aboloma enumerated that more meetings and calls for comments will follow and urged the committee members to ensure active participation until the African standard on GFGP is concluded, published and adopted as Nigeria Industrial Standard.
In her address, the SON Acting Director, Standards Mrs Chinyere Egwuonwu, explained that National Mirror Committees are set up to replicate the activities of regional, continental or international standards development to ensure that stakeholders are carried along in the standards development process.
Mrs Egwuonwu reminded the committee members of the global principles of standardization as including; transparency, openness, impartiality, consensus, efficiency, relevance and consistency stressing that the GFGP standard will be voluntary and for certification of systems for optimal benefit.
Presenting an overview of the GFGP Standard, SON Head of Finance and Accounts, Mr David Okon enumerated the benefits as including to minimize the risk of corruption, bribery and fraud; increase grantors confidence in funding grantees; minimize the multifarious audits usually encountered by grantees from grant agencies; reduce administrative cost and time for both grantors and grantees; and increase the confidence of donor agencies to fund grantees directly.
Chairman of the National Mirror Committee is Dr Arome Salisu of African Youth Growth Foundation while participants at the meeting included representatives of the professional Associations, Nigerian Accounting Standards Board, Banking and Insurance Companies, Federal Inland Revenue Service, Offices of the Accountant General and Auditor General of the Federation, the Federal Ministries of Finance as well as Budget and Planning, the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) among others.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The federal government has been asked by the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) to suspend the implementation of the controversial tax laws.
In a reaction to the tax reform acts, the president of the group, Mr Afam Osigwe (SAN), the suspension of the laws would allow for a proper investigation into allegations of alterations in the gazetted and harmonised copies.
A member of the House of Representatives, Mr Abdussamad Dasuki, alleged that some parts of the laws passed by the parliament were different from the gazetted copy.
To address the issues raised, the NBA said it is “imperative that a comprehensive, open, and transparent investigation be conducted to clarify the circumstances surrounding the enactment of the laws and to restore public confidence in the legislative process.”
“Until these issues are fully examined and resolved, all plans for the implementation of the Tax Reform Acts should be immediately suspended,” the association declared.
It noted that the controversies “raise grave concerns about the integrity, transparency, and credibility of Nigeria’s legislative process.”
“These developments strike at the very heart of constitutional governance and call into question the procedural sanctity that must attend lawmaking in a democratic society,” it noted.
“Legal and policy uncertainty of this magnitude has far-reaching consequences. It unsettles the business environment, erodes investor confidence, and creates unpredictability for individuals, businesses, and institutions required to comply with the law. Such uncertainty is inimical to economic stability and should have no place in a system governed by the rule of law.
“Nigeria’s constitutional democracy demands that laws, especially those with profound economic and social implications, emerge from processes that are transparent, accountable, and beyond reproach. Anything short of this undermines public trust and weakens the foundation upon which lawful governance rests.
“We therefore call on all relevant authorities to act swiftly and responsibly in addressing this controversy, in the overriding interest of constitutional order, economic stability, and the preservation of the rule of law,” the organisation stated.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Demand for hot stocks, including MRS Oil Plc, buoyed the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 0.52 per cent on Tuesday, December 23.
The energy company was one of the three price gainers for the session as it chalked up N19.69 to sell at N216.59 per share versus the previous day’s value of N196.90 per share.
Further, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc gained N2.95 to close at N56.75 per unit versus N53.80 per unit and Golden Capital Plc appreciated by 84 Kobo to N9.29 per share from Monday’s N8.45 per share.
Consequently, the market capitalisation went up by N10.95 billion to N2.125 trillion from N2.125 trillion and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) rose by 18.31 points to 3,570.37 points from 3,552.06 points.
Yesterday, the NASD bourse recorded a price loser, the Central Securities Clearing System Plc (CSCS), which gave up 17 Kobo to close at N33.70 per unit against the previous trading value of N33.87 per unit.
The volume of securities traded at the session went down by 97.6 per cent to 297,902 units from the previous day’s 12.6 million units, the value of securities decreased by 98.5 per cent to N10.5 million from N713.6 million, and the number of deals remained flat at 32 deals.
By value, Infrastructure Credit Guarantee Company (InfraCredit) Plc ended as the most actively traded stock on a year-to-date basis with 5.8 billion units exchanged for N16.4 billion. This was followed by Okitipupa Plc, which traded 178.9 million units valued at N9.5 billion, and MRS Oil Plc with 36.1 million units worth N4.9 billion.
In terms of volume, also on a year-to-date basis, InfraCredit Plc led the chart with a turnover of 5.8 billion units traded for N16.4 billion. Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc ranked second with 1.2 billion units sold for N420.7 million, while Impresit Bakolori Plc followed with the sale of 536.9 million units valued at N524.9 million.
By Dipo Olowookere
It was another bullish trading session for the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited as it closed higher by 0.59 per cent on Tuesday.
The market further rallied due to continued interest in large and mid-cap stocks on the exchange by investors rebalancing their portfolios for the year-end.
Yesterday, Aluminium Extrusion sustained its upward trajectory after it further appreciated by 9.96 per cent to N14.90, as Austin Laz gained 9.81 per cent to close at N2.91, Custodian Investment improved by 9.69 per cent to N38.50, and First Holdco soared by 9.35 per cent to N50.30.
Conversely, Royal Exchange declined by 7.22 per cent to N1.80, Champion Breweries shrank by 6.57 per cent to N15.65, NASCON lost 5.36 per cent to trade at N105.05, Sovereign Trust Insurance depreciated by 5.28 per cent to N3.77, and Japaul went down by 4.51 per cent to N2.33.
At the close of business, 29 shares ended on the gainers’ table and 27 shares finished on the losers’ log, representing a positive market breadth index and bullish investor sentiment.
This raised the All-Share Index (ASI) by 895.06 points to 153,354.13 points from 152,459.07 points and lifted the market capitalisation by N579 billion to N97.772 trillion from the previous day’s N97.193 trillion.
VFD Group finished the day as the busiest stock after it recorded a turnover of 192.0 million units worth N2.1 billion, GTCO exchanged 63.5 million units valued at N5.6 billion, Access Holdings traded 49.8 million units for N1.0 billion, First Holdco sold 45.8 million units valued at N2.3 billion, and Secure Electronic Technology transacted 38.3 million units worth N28.4 million.
In all, market participants bought and sold 677.4 million units valued at N20.8 billion in 27,589 deals compared with the 451.5 million units worth N13.0 billion traded in 33,327 deals on Monday, showing an improvement in the trading volume and value by 50.03 per cent and 60.00 per cent apiece, and a shortfall in the number of deals by 17.22 per cent.
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