Business
Zero Allocation Threatens SEC’s Awareness Campaign
The Chairman, Securities and Exchange Commission’s Committee on Dematerialisation, Mr. Emeka Madubuike, has said the commission may shelve its nationwide dematerialisation awareness campaign scheduled to start on January 31, 2013.
Madubuike told newsmen in Lagos recently that the postponement was due to the zero allocation to SEC in the 2013 federal budget by the National Assembly.
Dematerialisation is the process of replacing paper share certificates with electronic records at the Central Securities Clearing System.
Madubuike said the campaign would not be feasible because SEC needed funds to carry out the elaborate awareness.
Madubuike, who is also the President, Association of Stockbroking Houses of Nigeria, said the zero allocation would affect other initiatives to revamp the capital market this year.
According to him, SEC cannot approve the committee’s report for the January 31, 2013 date because of the House of the Representatives’ stance that the commission’s Director-General, Ms. Arunma Oteh, must be removed.
Madubuike, however, called for quick resolution of the impasse by the Presidency in the interest of the capital market and the total economy.
The House of Representatives had withheld SEC’s allocation in the 2013 Appropriation Bill it passed on December 20, 2012.
This followed the lower legislative chamber’s decision not to have anything to do with SEC until Oteh was removed as the director-general.
The commission had proposed to spend about N93m to execute the dematerialisation policy.
Oteh had said at the 2nd Annual Capital Market Committee Retreat in Warri, Delta State in December, that some shareholders were resisting the dematerialisation policy due to lack of knowledge of its benefits.
She reiterated that asset transfer from one investor to the other would be much easier in a dematerialised market.
The director-general said road shows and enlightenment campaign were imperative to sensitise Nigerians to the benefits of the policy so as to avoid resistance.
“Payment of tuition fees for undergraduate/postgraduate studies shall be subject to a maximum limit of $25,000.00 per semester,” the Manual states.
The expansion of international card limits also reflects growing confidence among lenders that foreign exchange liquidity has improved enough to support retail dollar transactions.
Speaking recently at the BusinessDay 14th Annual CEO Forum in Lagos, CBN Olayemi Cardoso, governor of the CBN said buying and selling activities now increasingly determine outcomes in the foreign exchange market, unlike in the past when market participants relied heavily on routine Central Bank interventions.
According to Cardoso, Nigeria’s net foreign exchange reserves have risen from just over $3 billion at the start of the reform programme to more than $40 billion, while gross reserves have climbed to about $52 billion, providing stronger confidence for investors and enabling the Central Bank to reserve interventions for periods of market stress rather than day-to-day liquidity management.
The restoration and expansion of international naira card spending limits are increasingly being seen as one of the clearest signs that the benefits of the CBN’s foreign exchange reforms are beginning to reach households, students and businesses making legitimate cross-border payments.
The Secretary-General and Chief Executive Officer, WEC, Dr Angela Wilkinson, disclosed this in a statement, last Thursday.
“Nigeria’s participation comes at a pivotal time as the country seeks to expand energy access, strengthen energy security, accelerate gas development and mobilise the capital required for industrialisation and sustainable economic growth.
“WEC Nigeria will convene leaders from across the energy ecosystem, apply the WEC’s globally recognised Energy Trilemma framework to Nigeria’s unique context, and promote evidence-based dialogue, practical collaboration and informed policymaking.
“It will also ensure that Nigerian and broader African perspectives contribute meaningfully to global energy conversations,” she said.
Wilkinson expressed confidence that Nigeria would play a significant leadership role at the World Energy Congress scheduled for Riyadh in April 2027 and beyond.
The statement also quoted the Chairman of WEC Nigeria, Isa, as describing the country’s participation as an opportunity to deepen national and African leadership within the global energy community through practical solutions tailored to regional development priorities.
He said the platform would promote collaboration across sectors and attract sustainable investments into Nigeria’s energy sector.
The Chief Executive Officer of WEC Nigeria, Wunti, was quoted in the statement as saying that the council would connect leadership, evidence and investment to build a secure, affordable and sustainable energy system.
“This system will be capable of driving economic growth and shared prosperity.”
According to him, the platform will also connect Nigerian institutions and businesses with international knowledge, technology, partnerships and investment opportunities through the World Energy Council’s global network.
Recall that WEC, founded in 1923, is the world’s oldest independent and impartial community of energy leaders and practitioners, advancing informed, collaborative and practical action across the global energy system.