Stock Watch

Proliferation of illegal operators a major concern – SEC

By Abubakar Yunus Abuja

The Securities and Exchange Commission has stated that the persisted proliferation of operators running illegal investment schemes in the country continues to be a major critical concern to the capital market.

Director General of the SEC Mr. Lamido Yuguda who stated this in a New Year Message in Abuja, therefore assured of a renewed onslaught against promoters of such schemes.

Yuguda said that last year alone, the Commission sealed off the offices of four (4) such illegal operators that had defrauded innocent citizens of billions of naira and assured that the Commission will continue its enforcement actions to ensure that such illegal entities are not allowed to operate.

The SEC has been fighting a serious war against Ponzi schemes, we have been alerting people. We have said that investors should only deal with registered operators that have the registration of the Commission, we have their list on the SEC website and we have always said that if you go to an operator or when an operator approaches you, you must confirm that he is a licensed operator with the SEC.

“We have our numbers on how to reach our offices in the zones and we have done a lot of sensitizations in terms of seminars, webinars all in an effort to discourage people from going to Ponzi schemes. Unfortunately, a lot of people continue to patronize this Ponzi schemes, we have had cases that have been reported to us, our enforcement department and the police unit have been on many of these cases trying to resolve the cases that have been reported to us.

“The Commission has also continued to employ its compliance tool to ensure that only fit and proper capital market operators practice in the market. This has resulted to an improved level of compliance with filing of prudential returns rising to 96% in 2022 compared with 81% in 2021”.

The DG expressed confidence that as the results of the various initiatives the Commission is implementing begin to gradually manifest in 2023, the Commission and indeed the Capital Market will witness uncommon development in securities issuance businesses especially as it affects digital assets, commodities trading ecosystem, custodianship of assets, and Fintech among others.

“With the implementation of the Revised Capital Market Master Plan, the Market will also witness renewed confidence expected to attract fresh investments from domestic and foreign investors. “Although 2023 is an election year and market activities may typically slow down before and during the general elections, we are hopeful that the improved awareness and positive electioneering campaigns will lead to peaceful elections and a quick return to the pre-election levels of investment activities.

On some of the achievements of the Commission in the last year, Yuguda disclosed that on AntiMoney Laundering/Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML/ CFT), in order to comply with the requirements of both the GIABA Mutual Evaluation Report(MER) Follow-Up Process and the FATF International Cooperation Review Group (ICRG) requirements to avoid Nigeria being placed on the FATF public grey list at the Plenary after the deadline in October, 2022, the Commission approved the Rules and Regulations of the Virtual Asset Service providers b. Amendments of the sector specific regulations to repeal the 2013 SEC AML/CFT Regulations and enactment of the 2022 AML/CFT Regulations.

On Fintech, the DG stated that the Commission will pursue various initiatives, including sensitization programmes on Crowdfunding adding that to further strengthen and encourage developments in the Fintech space, the Commission resuscitated the Regulatory Incubation program during the year.

Giving an update on the Investments and Securities Bill (ISB) review, the SEC DG said the Commission presented the ISB to the National Assembly for its legislative consideration and a public hearing was successfully organised on September 20, 2022. The Bill has successfully gone through the 3rd reading at the House of Representatives in December, 2022, and will be presented to the Senate on resumption in January 2023 for its concurrence.

“We are hopeful that the Bill will be passed into law before the end of the 9th National Assembly. With less than six months to the end of the 9th National Assembly come June, 2023, we believe that the Investments and Securities Bill (ISB) will be passed in the coming months. The ISB, if passed into law, will align the enabling Act with the realities and trends in capital market regulation and practice in Nigeria and abroad” he stated.

Yuguda assured that the Commission will continue to provide extra support to the registered commodities trading platforms to complement government’s renewed diversification efforts in agriculture. Engagement with the Standards Organization of Nigeria (SON) will continue in order to expedite action on the review, approval and publication of commodities standards.

Nigerian Banks capture 4.8M BVN's in 2022 - NIBSS

By Abubakar Yunus Abuja

Banks in Nigeria recorded a total of 4.8 million new Bank Verification Numbers (BVNs) in 2022, this is according to data released by the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS).

According to the data seen by Peoples Daily, this brings the total number of registered BVNs in the country to 56.5 million. As of December 2021, the BVN database stood at 51.7 million.

In the data, the 2022 figure showed a slowdown in the BVN database growth compared with 2021 when the database increased by 6 million from 45.7 million in December 2020 to 51.7 million.

NIBSS explained further that active bank accounts in the country stood at 133.5 million as of December 2021.

However, data for 2022 has yet to be released; the figure is expected to be higher than that of the preceding year, which shows a wide gap between the registered BVN and the number of bank accounts.

Meanwhile, Peoples Daily learnt from industry analysts that since multiple accounts can be linked to a single BVN, the difference between the number of BVNs and bank accounts may not be much. According to NIBSS, the BVN gives bank account owners a unique identity that can be verified across the Nigerian banking industry, while it ensures that customers’ bank accounts are protected from unauthorised access. Emphasising the security benefits of the BVN, NIBSS stated.

Governor Babagana Umara Zulum of Borno State(right),with other officials at a water project site in Azare local government area of Bauchi State, yesterday.

FG does not have the resources to fight illegal mining, says minister

Lekan Adegbite, minister of mines and steel development, says the federal government does not have the resources to preempt all illegal minerals miners’ activities because the country is vast.

Adegbite, speaking on ARISE TV on Tuesday, said even though the country cannot forestall illegal mining operators, those caught will be dealt with according to the law.

He also said the federal government had begun to organise the so-called illegal miners into cooperatives to ensure thorough monitoring, adding that so many foreign nationals were being arrested and prosecuted for breaking the law.

“As for illegal mining, that’s a problem because Nigeria is a very vast country. I must admit to you that we do not have the resources to preempt all these illegal activities because Nigeria is vast, ” he said.

“But we react to it very well, because we have been monitoring the locals, through the states and all that, and the security guys are aiding us. We’ve arrested a lot of these nationals that you mentioned, and we have prosecuted them.

“We are working with agencies like customs, immigration. We’re working with them to tighten the noose. We are saying don’t let these illegal people come in in the first place. But wherever we are alerted to the activities, we are left with the responsibility and we have got the support of security services.

“I sincerely admit that we have some illegality all over the place because Nigeria is a vast place and I cannot come out and tell you that yes, we have the resources to preempt this because we can’t be everywhere at the same time. No, it’s not possible.”

Adegbite further disclosed that the ministry now has satellite monitoring system from which illegal activities are closely watched.

The minister said artisanal mining is a major activity in Nigeria and, therefore, not illegal; adding that the government had not made it unlawful because many of those involved use proceeds from it to feed their families.

Speaking on the Ajaokuta Steel, Adegbite said things would be done differently compared to the past, as the new deal would be based on equity stakes, with the process expected to be completed in March this year.

He added that the transaction advisor in the case is guiding the federal government on the proper thing to do.

“We have people who are going to come into Ajaokuta with their equity,” he added.

“We don’t want a free ride anymore. That’s one of the lessons learnt from the past. We’ve learnt a lot of lessons because we’ve had two sessions of concessions of Ajaokuta that failed.

“This time around, we are being guided by experts, and because of the value inherent in Ajaokuta, they appreciate it. But we’re saying this time there is no free lunch.”

The minister noted that President Muhammadu Buhari is the first in the history of Nigeria to have committed money to mining in the country, up to the tune of $100 million.

“We’ve talked about diversification over the years from one administration to the other, but actually putting money where the mouth is, President Buhari did that and because mining is a very risky venture, the government needs to de-risk the sector,” he added.

“We invested money in exploration and of course, acquiring data, which is what President Buhari did, especially in 2017. This data is what is attracting people to the sector now.

“And additionally, when we came in, I noticed that we were going the petroleum route again, where we exported the crude oil and they will bring in refined products, so we started the process of engaging stakeholders.

“It took us about two years, but today it’s an official policy of the government. It was approved by the council, where without beneficiation you cannot export raw ore from Nigeria anymore.”

On monies generated from mining activities in mining, Adegbite said there has been an improvement from what the sector contributed to the the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) in the last 10 years.

“Where we were doing less than N1 billion, today we are doing N10 billion. Tt’s a giant leap.” he said.