SEC DG stresses importance of investors’ education

From Abubakar Y Ojimaojo ABUJA

TheDirector General of the Securities and Exchange Commission Mr. Lamido Yuguda has enjoined the Management of the Lagos Free Zone to step up their investor enlightenment campaign as the company prepares to access the capital market.

Yuguda who stated this during a meeting between the SEC, the Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority and the Lagos Free Zone in Abuja Wednesday, said this will further enlighten potential investors on the operations of the Zone.

The SEC Boss stated that there is a lot of ignorance among investors in this regard, stating that when companies are planning to access the market there is need for aggressive investor education to enable them make informed decisions.

According to him, “when you come to the market to list, you need to massively educate people. The reason why companies list is to be able to have access to a wide range of investors, from small to big. The key thing between companies is cash flow and if you have a positive cash flow over a long period of time it makes your company attractive to investors. If you add this to the fact that you are operating in NEPZA regulated Free Zone, that adds another layer.

“Investors would need to have as much information as possible about the operations of your company, especially since it operates within a Free Zone. They want to know how the NEPZA Act affects your cash flows, and what is available to investors. These are important so investors can see the value the companies in the Free Zone have over the ones that are not operating there. They also want to know what the goal of listing is as you need to erase those doubts and scepticism before listing”.

Yuguda stated that given the quantum of development and investment domiciled within the Free Zone, it holds the key to Nigeria’s future and commended the Management for already contributing immensely to the economy by attracting international brands like Kellogg’s, Dano, BASF and Colgate to the Zone.

“Lagos Free Zone is enough to give domestic and international business communities the hope and courage to make valuable investments in Nigeria. You can imagine how much we spend travelling to buy goods abroad. With LFZ, I am convinced that we can transfer some of our demand to local production. I believe this is a bold step to bring back Nigeria’s industrial prowess”.

He then pledged the SEC’s backing to ensure that the Free Zone remains attractive to investors and all other stakeholders by providing prompt regulatory backing where necessary.

In his remarks, Chief Executive Officer Lagos Free Zone Mr. Dinesh Rathi said his organisation has assisted in creating employment for more than 7,000 people and investment has also gone up by considerably since they commenced operations.

Rathi expressed appreciation to

Old naira notes remain legal tender, says supreme court

From Abubakar Yunusa ABUJA

The supreme court has adjourned the hearing of the case brought against the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on the naira redesign policy.

With the adjournment, Nigerians are left wondering whether or not the old N200, N500, and N1000 notes remain legal tender.

The court session held on Wednesday provided clarity on the issue.

Abdulhakeem Mustapha, counsel to Kaduna, Kogi and Zamfara, asked the court to make an order directing the federal government not to implement a deadline on the old notes.

However, a seven-member panel of the apex court led by John Okoro, said there was no need to issue a fresh order as “the interim order is pending the hearing on the motion on notice”.

Reacting to the pronouncement, Adeola Adedipe, a lawyer, said the federal government is still bound by the supreme court ruling until the suit is heard and determined.

“It simply means that the interim order subsists pending the determination of that motion having not been set aside,” he told TheCable.

“And if it is perceived that any organ of government that ought to comply with it is in breach, then the plaintiffs know what to do. Which is to commence enforcement proceedings. But the court won’t tell them that.”

Ruling on an ex parte application brought by three states: Kaduna, Kogi, and Zamfara, the supreme court, on February 8, restrained the CBN from giving effect to the deadline on the use of old notes.

The court issued an interim injunction “restraining the federal government through the the market. It is very crucial in a lot of ways and the faster it is done the better for all. We want to get past the finishing line quickly”. the SEC Management for the support and progress on the draft regulation to enable the Zone access the capital market.

Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) or the commercial banks from suspending or determining or ending on 10 February, the time frame with which the now older version of the 200, 500 and 1,000 denominations of the naira may no longer be legal tender pending the hearing and determination of their motion on notice for interlocutory injunction”.

Abubakar Malami. attorneygeneral of the federation (AGF), the sole respondent in the suit, subsequently filed a preliminary objection challenging the court’s jurisdiction to entertain the matter.

However, Malami said the federal government would obey the order in line with the rule of law.

Despite the assurance to comply with the order, some commercial banks, filling stations, and traders have stopped accepting the old naira notes from customers.

In his comments, Managing Director of the Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority, Prof. Adesoji Adesugba stated that the aim of the Free Zone scheme was to bring companies that are faraway to operate within Nigeria where they can build their factories here, employ Nigerians and also export the products using the relevant laws beneficial to them.

“To make it efficient, they are like a country within a country not subject to normal Nigerian laws. Since the SEC is efficient, we can allow you in to regulate these companies. People need to understand that investment into this enclave before now was an FDI, no tax and the investors can take away 100% of their profit.

“They will be able to make reports to shareholders, the governance structure that is being utilized is as stipulated by the SEC. SEC stipulates the rules before listing is done”.

Adesugba said that as a Nigerian, he prefers that Nigerians also benefit from the profits of these companies operating within the country hence his support on the listing desire of the Lagos Free Zone.

He said, “We hope the entire regulatory framework on Free Zone listing is completed by April. We solicit your support as this will pave the way for other operators who are having their own free zones to follow suit.

“Listing is not only a financial step, but will also help deepen the market and attracts more investors. Listing creates a lot of positivity. Once the Free Zone is listed, part of the port gets listed too. In future, there is a possibility of the port also coming to

“I would not want people to come here, develop a port and take away profit 100% without Nigerians benefiting from it. We need to design the regulations in such a way that the funds that are coming from the capital market suits our purposes. It is like a foreign country, but it is still in Nigeria and Nigerians should be able to invest and het paid the dividends of their investments. The Free Zone is more efficient and does not allow those things that affect commerce ordinarily affect it” he said.

He therefore commended the SEC Management on their efforts in ensuring the listing process is expedited. We need to finalise this work together and ensure that we meet the timelines

NCC says inactive mobile lines in Nigeria declined by 13% in 2022

From Abubakar Y Ojimaojo, ABUJA

Thenumber of unused or abandoned lines across the networks of MTN Nigeria, Airtel, Globacom, and 9mobile declined by 13% in 2022, showing that more Nigerians used their lines in the year.

According to the latest subscriber data released by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), inactive lines on mobile networks stood at 94.4 million as of December 2022, down from 109 million recorded at the end of 2021.

The NCC data revealed that the four mobile network operators had a total of N316.6 million connected lines as of December 2022. However, active lines across the networks at the end of the month stood at 2222.2 million. This shows that the telecom operators were able to generate revenue from 70% of their customers in the period under review.

A mobile line is considered to be inactive if it is not used by the subscriber to make or receive calls and/or access data services for 90 days, at the minimum. Such lines are separated from active lines as they generate no revenue for telecom operators within the stated period.

Impacted by government policy: Many Nigerians have had to abandon their mobile lines in 2021 as a result of the government’s policy that mandated every user of SIMenabled devices to link their National Identification Number or be barred. While the deadline for the exercise was shifted several times from December 2020 until April 2022, millions of lines were affected as the government ordered the telcos to block unlinked lines.

In its 9-month financial results for the period ended December 2022, Airtel, for instance, reported that 13.6 million of its customers were barred due to non-submission of NIN information by the deadline of April 2022.

“As of December 2022, 6.2 million customers (46%) have subsequently submitted their NINs and 3.2 million customers (23%) have been fully verified and unbarred. Revenue growth for the first nine months of the year was impacted by the effect of barring outgoing voice calls in Nigeria for those customers who had not submitted their NINs. We estimate that this resulted in the loss of approximately $87 million of revenues in the nine months,” the company stated.