Business
Financial Literacy: SEC To Partner Grassroots Groups
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has expressed its readiness to collaborate with various grassroots groups in its financial literacy campaign.
This, the commission said was in a bid to ensure that Nigerians in the rural areas are effectively sensitised on the benefits of investing in the capital market.
Acting Director-General of SEC, Ms Mary Uduk stated this during a meeting with executive members of National Youths Initiative for Peace and Governance (NYIPG) at the commission’s head office in Abuja.
According to a statement by the commission, Uduk, who was represented by Ag. Executive Commissioner, Corporate Services, SEC, Mr Henry Rowlands commended the organisation on the various good governance and entrepreneurship sensitisation campaigns they have carried out and expressed the desire of the commission to tap into their already existing structures to also sensitise the grassroots on financial literacy.
“We are delighted at the various sensitisation you have carried out to enlighten the people in your region on the need to engage in meaningful vocations.
When someone is fully engaged, he will work for the peace of the country as he would not want any activity that would destroy his business.
“The SEC as part of its market development mandate would like to partner with you to educate the people on the best ways to invest this money they are making from their businesses.”
“ As a regulator, we need peace to function properly and we are willing to support any initiative that will promote peace in our country.
The Ag. DG said the Commission has been in the vanguard of inculcating financial literacy for quite a long time because SEC had realised that it was very important for Nigerians to imbibe the culture and habit of being financially literate and be familiar with the operations of the capital market.
Uduk disclosed that already, the Commission was involved in various campaigns that took its staff to schools, rural areas among others all in a bid to ensure that Nigerians are aware of the benefits of investing in the capital market.
“We have school children come to our office on excursion visits where we educate them on various themes like saving the culture, investment opportunities in the market among others and are also infusing Capital Market Studies (CMS) into schools’ curriculum.
We have already signed aMemorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC).
Credit to Nigeria’s private sector rose to N83.26 trillion in June 2026 from N81.04 trillion in May, signifying a positive balance of N2.22 trillion month-on-month.
Year-on-year, the figure represents a nine per cent increase compared with the N76.13 trillion recorded in June 2025. The latest figures come as the CBN continues to balance efforts to control inflation with the need to support economic growth and expand credit to businesses.
The CBN data shows that credit to Nigeria’s private sector increased by approximately 2.74 per cent month-on-month between May and June 2026. Also, the CBN data noted that credit to the government fell slightly to N40.03 trillion from N40.38 trillion. Other assets, net, dropped to N10.76 trillion from N12.63 trillion.
The credit surge signifies sustained growth in lending to businesses and other private-sector borrowers during the month. The rise in private sector credit was recorded alongside an increase in net domestic credit, despite declines in credit to government and other assets.
Further analysis of the report says that compared with June 2025, private sector credit rose by about N7.13 trillion yea-on-year but net domestic credit increased by approximately N1.87 trillion during the month.
The CBN’s relatively tight monetary policy stance notwithstanding, more banks still loaded funds to the private sector within the period. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) held its 306th meeting on July 20 and 21.
The Committee reviewed recent developments in the global and domestic economies, assessed emerging risks to the outlook and considered their implications for monetary policy and retained all rates.
The Committee decided to retain the Monetary Policy Rate at 26.5 per cent; the Standing Facilities Corridor around the MPR at +50/-450 basis points and retain the Cash Reserve Requirement (CRR) for Deposit Money Banks at 45.00 per cent, Merchant Banks at 16.00 per cent, and non-TSA public sector deposits at 75.00 per cent.
The MPC decision means that credit extension in the private sector will likely continue to rise because of rising confidence in the sector and calls by stakeholders for banks to invest in the private scetor instead of government securities.
