Economy
We Are Serious About Investor Protection in Capital Market—SEC
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has said it does not joke with investor protection as it is one of the ingredients to attracting investors into the ecosystem.
According to the Executive Commissioner Operations of the SEC, Mr Dayo Obisan, people would be confident in investing in assets they are sure of getting returns.
Speaking at the annual conference/30th anniversary of the Finance Correspondents Association of Nigeria (FICAN) held in Lagos over the weekend, he reiterated the commitment of the SEC as a regulatory agency to creating an enabling environment for everyone to be able to access the capital market.
“We know that one of the problems we have in this country is trust deficiency, if someone puts money in a company and it goes down it affects the trust people have in the market.
“And that is why we are very serious about Investor protection, transparency and fairness in the capital market.
“There is a need for synergy in policy. Predictability of outcome is key; when someone knows that if he puts his money somewhere he is certain of the returns, it engenders confidence in the capital market,” Mr Obisan said at the event with the theme Financing Infrastructure & SMEs for inclusive growth in the post-COVID-19 economy.
While commenting on how the capital market can be used to bridge the infrastructure gap in the country as well as aid economic development, the SEC executive noted that there are a number of options that can be explored one of which is Sukuk that is directly linked to each project and deployed to extend credit to bridge the gap.
“There are a number of options that can be explored to bridge the infrastructure gap. One of them that has been used in the past is Sukuk. In the last three to four years, Sukuk has been used to raise funding for critical projects in various sectors of the economy.
“We also have collective investment schemes, these are individual monies maybe by some institutions, and over N100 billion has been done.
“We have about three surviving infrastructure-focused funds in Nigeria totalling almost N100bn and there are some that are registered programmes.
“One of them has a programme of N200 billion and they have only launched N76 billion. So, there is still a lot of room for growth,” he stated.
Speaking further, he said, “We have allowed for crowdfunding platforms, that means people that do not even know each other can come together and fund a business, these are the kind of things we have available, not only for the government but also for individuals.”
While admitting that there are quite a couple of instruments available in the capital market, the SEC Commissioner stated that the major thing to note is that infrastructure development is a long term thing.
“If in developed countries they are still having constant discussions not only in maintaining but in enhancing the level of infrastructure they have, it is essential for us in Nigeria to connect the right donation of money which is long term capital and which is what capital market provides,” he disclosed.
He enjoined a FICAN to join hands with the government to espouse these opportunities available in the capital market to especially to foreign investors.
“Let’s all see it as a problem that needs to be solved in our writing of these issues. We need to probe further to find out the effects of these interventions of government on Nigerians,” he added.
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.
