The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), said it is focused on delivering a sustained near zero trade fail rate under the T+1 settlement cycle in the second half (H2) of the year.

The Director-General (D-G) of SEC, Dr.

Agama said the focus would be on full delivery-versus-payment discipline across custodians, brokers and the Central Securities Clearing System Plc (CSCS).

The D-G said the early evidence of the settlement cycle since June was encouraging, adding that the Commission intended to demonstrate at least a full quarter of clean settlement data.

He said that foreign investors must be able to complete their currency conversion and funding within the compressed cycle without being forced into pre-funding.

According to him, we are working closely with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), custodians and settlement banks to ensure same day Forex execution and confirmation for portfolio flows.

”The Certificate of Capital Importation (CCI) process must be fully electronic, timely and predictable, so that entry and exit were seamless.

”The Commission has formally engaged the CBN on CCI modernisation to align the regime with T+1 realities,” he said.

On a decision by FTSE Russell’s to observe the market through the T+1 transition, Agama said it was a standard index-governance practice whenever a market undertook a structural change of this magnitude.

He said the index provider was simply verifying that the shortened cycle worked as well in practice as it does on paper, particularly for foreign portfolio investors.

On the outlook for equities, fixed income securities, and alternative investments in H2, he said the market would be more selective but constructive.

”After a 47.4 per cent first half advance, some consolidation is natural and indeed healthy.

”The drivers remain intact:, recapitalised banks deploying fresh capital, a strong pipeline of new listings, improving foreign participation and half-year earnings that we expect to be broadly resilient.

”For fixed income, the environment remains rewarding, with disinflation continuing and yields still elevated, real returns are positive across much of the curve, and we expect vibrant sovereign, sub-national and corporate issuance including infrastructure and green instruments,” he said.

He listed some reforms in the market to include the Investments and Securities Act (ISA) 2025, which modernised the entire legal architecture, bringing digital assets within the regulatory perimeter, and strengthening enforcement powers.

Others are outlawing Ponzi schemes with severe sanctions, and giving investors a far stronger protective framework.

”Before year-end, investors should expect further implementation of our Capital Market Liquidity Roadmap; continued rollout of the recapitalisation of market operators to ensure intermediaries are as strong as the market they serve.

”Others are deepened sustainability and ESG disclosure standards; enhanced RegTech-driven supervision; and continued expansion of regulated digital asset admissions,” the D-G said.

On regulatory credibility, Agama said the task of the Commission was to be transparent and firm in enforcing disclosure standards, and sanctioning market abuse.

He said the Commission was committed to dismantling Ponzi schemes under the expanded powers of the ISA 2025, and ensuring that every naira an investor raised was protected by a functioning rulebook.

From Sylvia Udegbunam, Enugu

A non-governmental organization (NGO) known as Kimpact Development Initiative (KDI) has trained Journalists, CSO’s religious body, students, Community influencers, political parties’ members and other stakeholders in the Southeast on advancing voters participation and encourage peaceful election, in the forthcoming 2027 general elections in Nigeria.

The capacity building training with the theme “Voters Mobilisation and Peace Building Training” was held at Best Western hotel Independence layout Enugu.

The team lead of KDI, Bukola Idowu, in his lecture emphasized that voters’ participation in Nigeria is seriously declining and there is need for mobilisation and also encourage eligible voters in Nigeria to come out and participate in the forthcoming 2027 general election.

According to him “In Nigeria today, the most important thing is election, because it is in election that we choose the leader that will manage the resources and govern the people, and Nigerians have not understood the importance of government. No one can exist without the government. If you stay away from governance and do nothing about it, you will be ruled by your inferiors”, he said.

However, he pointed out that currently in Nigeria, governance or appointment is by your efforts or work in the political party, and not by competent. He noted that governance is an important endeavor stressing that, what puts people in governance is election.

“The ability to recruit a quality leadership is through election, therefore the person you elect in government in the next four years will determine how you live, your educational direction, economic direction, taxes, infrastructure and your health”.

“The next person that will rule Nigeria will be determined by election, therefore the aim of this training is to strengthen stakeholders of the electoral process, equip them with tools and platforms for accessing credible electoral information,   build practical strategies for promoting informed voter participation, community based voter mobilisation and peace building

He noted further that the training will equip participants with practical skills to identify conflict drivers, recognize early warning indicators, analyze electoral risks and apply community based approaches for preventing electoral violence before, during and after election.

Bukola in his lecture noted that he acknowledged that there are barriers, conflict drivers and indicators that influences people’s participation in Nigeria election, which includes electoral violence, disenfranchisement, distrust, rigging, intimidation and other election malpractice, but encouraged Nigerian citizens not to allow any factor to discourage them in carrying out their civic responsibility.

He urged the participants to use their different mediums and educate Nigerian citizens especially those in their communities on the need for them to go and register for PVC, ensure they collect their PVC’s, cast their vote on the election day and monitor the election, from the polling unit to collation center and finally to the judiciary level.

He noted that it will help Nigerians to elect a credible candidate of their choice for a democratic government in the forthcoming 2027 general election.

He further urged the participants to enlighten eligible voters to be careful while thumb printing on the ballot papers to avoid invalid or rejected votes that can affect the election of a credible candidate, stressing that “every vote cast is very important”.

The participants at the end of the training had a practical group exercise session where they developed practical state level action plans, identified priority audiences, key civic messages, mobilisation channels, peace building intervention, conflict hotspot, implementation timelines and responsibilities.

A participant and also a Journalist in the training, Emma Nweze in an interview said that the training is educational.  It mirrored well what is happening in the political landscape in Nigeria dogged by violence and voter apathy.  The bottom line of the training is that if every Nigeria should participate actively, we may have good governance.

The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) said uncertainty over petrol prices has forced many marketers to halt fresh purchases, leading to the temporary closure of some filling stations.

The Zonal Chairman of IPMAN, Western Zone, Chief Oyewole Akanni, disclosed this on Sunday, in an interview in Ibadan.

Akanni said that the situation was triggered by the suspension of loading of the Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) at the Dangote Refinery about four days ago.

This, he said, forced marketers to source products from private depots at significantly higher prices.

According to him, the cheapest ex-depot price at private depots in Lagos currently ranges between ₦1,200 and ₦1,220 per litre, excluding transportation costs.

He said that marketers who bought products on Friday paid between ₦1,210 and ₦1,220 per litre.

“The non-availability of fuel at some filling stations and the closure of others are due to fluctuations in the price of lifting fuel from depots.

“Since Dangote Refinery stopped selling PMS about four days ago, private depot owners have increased their prices.

“Many filling stations that have exhausted their stock are waiting to see whether prices will come down when Dangote Refinery resumes sales or increase further.

“Only a few marketers are buying products for now because of the uncertainty,” he said.

Akanni, however, maintained that there was no fuel scarcity, urging motorists and other consumers not to engage in panic buying.

“There is no fuel scarcity, members of the public should not panic.

“Although there is a possibility of an increase in pump price, if the current situation persists,” he said.

The zonal chairman explained that Dangote Refinery neither gave prior notice nor explained the reason for the suspension of sales of PMS to marketers.

Akanni said that four truckloads of petrol meant for his stations had remained at the refinery since the suspension of loading.

“I was supposed to have received four truckloads of PMS since four days ago, but that has not happened because the trucks are at the Dangote refinery, which has not been selling.

“The company is not even loading its own trucks. They are all parked there,” he said.

The IPMAN chairman said that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) was also affected because it also sourced products from the Dangote refinery.

According to him, private depots are now selling PMS for as much as ₦1,250 per litre, while marketers can obtain products from Nipco and Aiteo at about ₦1,200 per litre.

“The major issue now is the fluctuation in depot prices, which has created uncertainty in the market,” Akanni said.

He expressed hope that normal supply would resume once the situation at the Dangote Refinery was resolved.

Many filling stations in Ibadan metropolis are closed, leaving customers puzzled as to what was going on.