Economy
Unclaimed Dividends: SEC Engages Registrars, Stockbrokers, Others
By Dipo Olowookere
The stubborn demon in the Nigerian capital market, unclaimed dividends, may soon become a thing of the past if the latest move by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) yields meaningful results.
The Director-General of the agency, Mr Lamido Yuguda, said to tackle the issue, key stakeholders in the market were engaged and it was discovered that one of the major reasons for the rising cases was identity management.
While addressing the House of Representatives Committee on Capital Markets and Institutions in Abuja, Tuesday, the DG said the commission has concluded plans to resolve issues of identity management to eliminate unclaimed dividends in the capital market as well as other issues.
At the presentation of the 2022 budget of the commission to the lawmakers, Mr Yuguda said an identity management committee has been established to harmonise various databases of investors and facilitate data accuracy in the market.
According to him, the committee comprises the SEC, the registrars, the stockbrokers, the issuing houses, the Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS), and the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited, in addition to the e-dividend management committee.
He said the committee’s assignment would address the challenges of identity management and help tackle some of the issues of unclaimed dividends, direct cash settlement and multiple subscriptions.
“We have engaged with the industry to see where the issues are. We have understood the problem better and we are working in collaboration with them to ensure that by the end of the first half of 2022 we will be able to report back to this committee some of the milestones achieved in solving some of these issues and we believe it will have a massive impact,” he stated.
The SEC boss disclosed that the commission was also working to combat challenges confronting the commission on Information Technology.
“We need to transform our IT infrastructure as we superintendent over a market that is vast and technology-driven. The Steering committee has started work and we are already looking at the proposals,” the SEC chief disclosed.
Mr Yuguda said the SEC has been collaborating with the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) to develop standards for commodities and the commission has already held two workshops in Lagos and Kano, expressing the hope that it will make the nation’s agricultural commodities acceptable to the world over as well as create wealth for the country.
The DG also disclosed that the agency recently approved the first electronic offer in the capital market for MTN.
According to him, “Before now, we had rules on electronic offers which we developed but they are only being used now with the MTN offer. These are some of the achievements the Commission has been able to record recently.”
On funding, the SEC boss stated that the commission does not rely on the federal government for funding as it is self-funding adding that the downturn in the capital market due to the ongoing pandemic has adversely affected the revenue of the agency.
He said “The budget of 2021 has been a huge departure from the past as we have worked on new sources of income and reduced our expenditures. With these efforts, we know that we will have a commission that everyone will be proud of.”
The DG commended the Chairman and the committee members for their unwavering support to the commission and the capital market.
In his remarks, the Chairman of the Committee, Mr Babangida Ibrahim, commended the organisation on its efforts so far and assured that the committee would continue to provide support where necessary to ensure that the nation has a vibrant capital market.
“It is our responsibility to oversight the SEC and that is why we invited them here today to brief us on the performance of their 2021 budget, including the success and challenges they have faced in the year under review. We will continue to engage with the commission to attain the progress we desire for our capital market,” he stated.
Economy
BNB Price Reflects Changing Dynamics in the Digital Asset Market
Economy
NASD Unlisted Security Index Crosses 4,000-point Benchmark Again
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange achieved a milestone on Friday, April 24, 2026, after five securities on the platform helped with a 1.85 per cent growth.
Data showed that the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) again crossed the 4,000-point benchmark yesterday.
The index chalked up 73.64 points during the trading day to close at 4,052.59 points compared with the preceding session’s 3,978.95 points, while the market capitalisation added N5.38 billion to finish at N2.424 trillion versus Thursday’s closing value of N2.380 trillion.
The price gainers were led by Okitipupa Plc, which grew by N25.00 to sell at N305.00 per share compared with the previous price of N280.00 per share. Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc gained N6.92 to close at N76.26 per unit versus N69.34 per unit, Afriland Properties Plc appreciated by N1.00 to N17.00 per share from N18.00 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc improved by 55 Kobo to N99.55 per unit from N99.00 per unit, and Food Concepts Plc increased by 5 Kobo to N2.70 per share from N2.65 per share.
However, there was a price loser, MRS Oil, which dipped by N21.75 to N195.75 per unit from N217.50 per unit.
During the final session of the week, the value of securities jumped 75.2 per cent to N41.3 million from N23.6 million units, and the number of deals expanded by 62.9 per cent to 44 deals from 27 deals, while the volume of securities declined marginally by 0.9 per cent to 447,403 units from 451,522 units.
At the close of trades, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc was the most traded stock by volume (year-to-date) with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, trailed by Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units valued at N415.7 million, and Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc with 400 million units traded for N1.2 billion.
GNI was also the most active stock by value (year-to-date) with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, followed by CSCS Plc with 59.6 million units transacted for N4.0 billion, and Okitipupa Plc with 27.8 million units exchanged for N1.9 billion.
Economy
Naira Slips to N1,358/$1 as FX Reserves, Policy Uncertainty Concerns
By Adedapo Adesanya
It was not a good day for the Nigerian Naira in the currency market on Friday, April 24, as its value depreciated against the major foreign currencies at the close of transactions.
In the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX), it lost N4.53 or 0.33 per cent against the United States Dollar yesterday to trade at N1,358.44/$1, in contrast to the N1,353.91/$1 it was exchanged on Thursday.
Equally, the domestic currency slipped against the Pound Sterling in the official market during the session by N8.14 to close at N1,834.02/£1, compared with the previous rate of N1,825.88/£1 and dropped N8.01 against the Euro to sell at N1,590.73/€1 versus N1,582.72/€1.
Also, the Naira depreciated against the US Dollar at the GTBank FX desk on Friday by N4 to quote at N1,370/$1 compared with the previous session’s N1,366/$1, and at the parallel market, it depleted by N5 to settle at N1,380/$1 versus the preceding day’s N1,375/$1.
Data published by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) indicated that NFEM interbank turnover surged to N43.562 million across 68 deals, up from N28.117 million the previous day.
Despite the CBN’s reassurance that the recent drop in external reserves is not worrisome, the market remains unsettled by persistent concerns over liquidity constraints, policy transparency, and weakening confidence in Nigeria’s FX market as gross reserves continue to decline to $48.4 billion.
The outlook for the Dollar appears supported by broader macro risks, including elevated oil prices tied to the tanker traffic disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz and a continued US-Iran standoff over ceasefire negotiations.
A look at the digital currency market showed that investors are sitting on the edge as the US Dollar rebounded amid geopolitical and inflation risks despite continued inflows into US spot bitcoin Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs).
Solana (SOL) rose by 1.2 per cent to sell $86.45, Cardano (ADA) appreciated by 1.1 per cent to $0.2517, Dogecoin (DOGE) grew by 0.9 per cent to $0.0989, Ripple (XRP) improved by 0.3 per cent to $1.43, Ethereum (ETH) soared by 0.2 per cent to $2,316.83, and Binance Coin (BNB) chalked up 0.1 per cent to sell for $637.44.
However, TRON (TRX) depreciated by 1.3 per cent to $0.3235, and Bitcoin (BTC) lost 0.2 per cent to close at $77,562.27, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00 each.
-
Feature/OPED6 years agoDavos was Different this year
-
Travel/Tourism10 years ago
Lagos Seals Western Lodge Hotel In Ikorodu
-
Showbiz3 years agoEstranged Lover Releases Videos of Empress Njamah Bathing
-
Banking8 years agoSort Codes of GTBank Branches in Nigeria
-
Economy3 years agoSubsidy Removal: CNG at N130 Per Litre Cheaper Than Petrol—IPMAN
-
Banking3 years agoSort Codes of UBA Branches in Nigeria
-
Banking3 years agoFirst Bank Announces Planned Downtime
-
Sports3 years agoHighest Paid Nigerian Footballer – How Much Do Nigerian Footballers Earn
