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SEC Approves Airtel Africa’s Secondary Listing On NSE

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6 years ago

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The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has finally approved the planned secondary listing of Airtel Africa Plc on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).
A source close to the transaction confirmed that the commission granted the approval on Friday, July 5.
The source said with the approval by the apex capital market regulator, the listing of Airtel Africa on the nation’s bourse would now be on July 8.
It will be recalled that Airtel Africa’s listing has generated concerns in some quarters. While SEC awaited the company’s documentation, the NSE on July 4 said it would be listed on July 5.
But the NSE in a mail on July 5 announced postponement of  the listing to the surprise of the capital market community.
It said that the postponement was necessitated by the need to ensure that the company satisfied all the post NSE approval pre-requisites for listing on NSE.
However, the Facts Before the Listing event scheduled on the NSE still held on July 5 as earlier scheduled.
The Tide reports that NSE granted a waiver to Airtel Africa to list its shares on the exchange without meeting the minimum requirement of 300 shareholders as at the day the listing was approved by the national council of the NSE.
Speaking in an interactive session with journalists recently, the Head, Listing Regulation of the NSE, Mr Godstime Iwenekhai, said after the book building by the company, about 130 shareholders subscribed to issue, which is below the 300 shareholders requirement of the exchange.
Iwenekhai said the firm had a free float of 25 per cent across the London stock exchange and the NSE, above the exchange requirement of 10 per cent for cross boarder listing.
Free float refers to the portion of shares of a company that are in the hands of public investors as opposed to locked-in stock held by promoters, controlling-interest investors, or governments.
Iwenekhai explained that the rules of the NSE’s cross boarder listing was developed in such a way that it could grant exemption or waivers to attract cross boarder listing to the exchange and deepen the market.
“The exchange cross boarder listing requirements rule also grants the exchange the powers to give exemption or waivers in every part of the rule because the rule is developed in such a way to attract cross boarder listing to the exchange.
“We have the requirements that we feel we can deploy to attract such big and foreign companies to Nigeria, the rule as approved by the SEC gives the exchange the power to grant such requirement.
According to the him, the waiver was granted considering the fact that Airtel has also listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and must have complied with the stringent listing requirement in the foreign destinations.

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Kenyan Runners Dominate Berlin Marathons

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1 day ago

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September 22, 2025

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Kenya made it a clean sweep at the Berlin Marathon with Sabastian Sawe winning the men’s race and Rosemary Wanjiru triumphing in the women’s.

Sawe finished in two hours, two minutes and 16 seconds to make it three wins in his first three marathons.

The 30-year-old, who was victorious at this year’s London Marathon, set a sizzling pace as he left the field behind and ran much of the race surrounded only by his pacesetters.

Japan’s Akasaki Akira came second after a powerful latter half of the race, finishing almost four minutes behind Sawe, while Ethiopia’s Chimdessa Debele followed in third.

“I did my best and I am happy for this performance,” said Sawe.

“I am so happy for this year. I felt well but you cannot change the weather. Next year will be better.”

Sawe had Kelvin Kiptum’s 2023 world record of 2:00:35 in his sights when he reached halfway in 1:00:12, but faded towards the end.

In the women’s race, Wanjiru sped away from the lead pack after 25 kilometers before finishing in 2:21:05.

Ethiopia’s Dera Dida followed three seconds behind Wanjiru, with Azmera Gebru, also of Ethiopia, coming third in 2:21:29.

Wanjiru’s time was 12 minutes slower than compatriot Ruth Chepng’etich’s world record of 2:09:56, which she set in Chicago in 2024.

 

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NIS Ends Decentralised Passport Production After 62 Years

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September 22, 2025

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The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has officially ended passport production at multiple centres, transitioning to a single, centralised system for the first time in 62 years.
Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, made the disclosure during an inspection of the Nigeria’s new Centralised Passport Personalisation Centre at the NIS Headquarters in Abuja, last Thursday.
He stated that since the establishment of NIS in 1963, Nigeria had never operated a central passport production centre, until now, marking a major reform milestone.
“The project is 100 per cent ready. Nigeria can now be more productive and efficient in delivering passport services,” Tunji-Ojo said.
He explained that old machines could only produce 250 to 300 passports daily, but the new system had a capacity of 4,500 to 5,000 passports every day.
“With this, NIS can now meet daily demands within just four to five hours of operation,” he added, describing it as a game-changer for passport processing in Nigeria.
“We promised two-week delivery, and we’re now pushing for one week.
“Automation and optimisation are crucial for keeping this promise to Nigerians,” the minister said.
He noted that centralisation, in line with global standards, would improve uniformity and enhance the overall integrity of Nigerian travel documents worldwide.
Tunji-Ojo described the development as a step toward bringing services closer to Nigerians while driving a culture of efficiency and total passport system reform.
According to him, the centralised production system aligns with President Bola Tinubu’s reform agenda, boosting NIS capacity and changing the narrative for improved service delivery.
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FG To Roll Out Digital Public Infrastructure, Data Exchange, Next Year 

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September 22, 2025

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The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has announced plans to roll out Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) and the Nigerian Data Exchange (NGDX) platforms across key sectors of the economy, starting in early 2026.
Director of E-Government and Digital Economy at NITDA, Dr. Salisu Kaka, made the disclosure in Abuja during a stakeholder review session of the DPI and NGDX drafts at the Digital Public Infrastructure Live Event.
The forum, themed “Advancing Nigeria’s Digital Public Infrastructure through Standards, Data Exchange and e-Government Transformation,” brought together regulators, state governments, and private sector stakeholders to harmonise inputs for building inclusive, secure, and interoperable systems for governance and service delivery.
According to Kaka, Nigeria already has several foundational elements in place, including national identity systems and digital payment platforms.
What remains is the establishment of the data exchange framework, which he said would be finalised by the end of 2025.
“Before the end of this year and by next year we will be fully ready with the foundational element, and we start dropping the use cases across sectors,” Kaka explained.
He stressed that the federal government recognises the autonomy of states urging them to align with national standards.
“If the states can model and reflect what happens at the national level, then we can have a 360-degree view of the whole data exchange across the country and drive all-of-government processes,” he added.
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