As Nigerian stock market booms, SEC board’s absence casts shadow over rally

While Nigeria’s stock market continues to soar globally, its regulator, the SEC, continues without oversight.

In January, NGX, Nigeria’s stock market, was the world’s best-performing stock market, but amidst this rally, a crucial watchdog is missing: the board of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Nigeria’s SEC oversees the exchange and protects investors but has operated without a board for nearly a year.

“President Tinubu has not made any appointments yet,” an investment analyst at the SEC who declined to be named told TechCabal. Typically, the president appoints board members, and the Senate confirms the appointees to insulate the board from political interference in its job to keep the SEC accountable.

The NGX and the SEC did not respond to TechCabal’s request for comments at the time of this report.

The term of the previous board expired in May 2023. Per the SEC website, the board comprises a chairman and four other members, including the Ministry of Finance and Central Bank representatives. The SEC’s Director-General, Lamido Yuguda, is the highest-ranking official on the board, per the SEC’s organogram.

Despite the optimism around the NGX in the last year, there have been concerns that need regulatory attention. The market’s frothiness has masked allegations of insider trading and a vital criticism: the NGX’s inability to attract new and exciting listings.

EDC Nigeria, a securities research firm, says the rise in stock prices is due to investors taking positions “in fundamentally driven stocks as we approach the earnings season.”