Business
Association Plans Sensitisation On Dematerilaisation
President, Association of Stockbroking Houses of Nigeria,
Mr Emeka Madubuike,
yesterday said that operators in the capital market would embark on nationwide
investor education on dematerialisation in January.
Madubuike told newsmen in Lagos that the
sensitisation programme would cover all the regions in the country.
That dematerialisation is the
elimination of physical certificates or documents on ownership of securities
through conversion to electronic ownership mode domiciled with the Central
Securities Clearing System.
Madubuike, also the Chairman of the
Committee on Dematerialisation of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC),
said that the project was aimed at ensuring that investors bought into the
electronic type of share certificates.
He said that the operators would also
educate investors on the rudiments of the market to increase their
participation in the market.
According to him, the capital market operators
will use the project to reach out to as many investors as possible to boost
their confidence in the market.
Madubuike said that the project, which
would be first launched in Lagos, would bring the 12- year old
dematerialisation policy to fruition.
He said that operators in the market
were working together to achieve this objective.
Madubuike said that the CSCS and
registrars were deeply involved in the exercise for data capturing of all
investors’ details.
Business
Agency Gives Insight Into Its Inspection, Monitoring Operations
Business
BVN Enrolments Rise 6% To 67.8m In 2025 — NIBSS
The Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) has said that Bank Verification Number (BVN) enrolments rose by 6.8 per cent year-on-year to 67.8 million as at December 2025, up from 63.5 million recorded in the corresponding period of 2024.
In a statement published on its website, NIBSS attributed the growth to stronger policy enforcement by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the expansion of diaspora enrolment initiatives.
NIBSS noted that the expansion reinforces the BVN system’s central role in Nigeria’s financial inclusion drive and digital identity framework.
Another major driver, the statement said, was the rollout of the Non-Resident Bank Verification Number (NRBVN) initiative, which allows Nigerians in the diaspora to obtain a BVN remotely without physical presence in the country.
A five-year analysis by NIBSS showed consistent growth in BVN enrolments, rising from 51.9 million in 2021 to 56.0 million in 2022, 60.1 million in 2023, 63.5 million in 2024 and 67.8 million by December 2025. The steady increase reflects stronger compliance with biometric identity requirements and improved coverage of the national banking identity system.
However, NIBSS noted that BVN enrolments still lag the total number of active bank accounts, which exceeded 320 million as of March 2025.
The gap, it explained, is largely due to multiple bank accounts linked to single BVNs, as well as customers yet to complete enrolment, despite the progress recorded.
