Nigeria’s SEC says 8 years financials submitted to only Govt ‘relevant agencies’

Approximately three days after it was revealed that Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has not published its annual reports and accounts for eight consecutive years, the Commission said it has submitted these financials to only the ‘relevant agencies’, saying they are statutorily empowered by the Federal Government to receive same.

The SEC however admitted in a press statement on Friday that dissemination of factual information is critical to complementing the efforts of the Federal Government for the growth and development of the capital market and Nigeria’s economy.

The President Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led government has since its inauguration on May 29 been upbeat in reforms that will attract foreign investments into Nigeria’s economy.

The SEC in its statement listed the ‘relevant agencies’ it submitted these results to include the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning; Office of the Auditor General of the Federation; Fiscal Responsibility Commission; Office of the Accountant General of the Federation, as well as the appropriate committees of the National Assembly.

“The apex regulator of the Nigerian capital market has a duty to publish its financial statements to foster transparency in the market,” said Eben Joels, Country Leader of RSM international correspondent firm Stransact.

BusinessDay had exclusively disclosed that the last time the Securities and Exchange Commission published its annual report and account was in 2014 when Suleyman. A. Ndanusa was the chairman of the Board, while Arunma Oteh was the Director General.

Read also: Nigeria’s SEC fails to publish own financial report for 8 straight years

Since then, its financial scorecards till date are not in public domain.

In May 2020, Lamido Yuguda was appointed the Director General, SEC. Three years after, the management has not publicly disclosed the apex capital market’s annual reports and accounts since 2015.

The statment signed by SEC managment on Friday said, “The attention of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the Commission), the apex regulator of the Nigerian capital market has been drawn to some reports in the electronic and print media, insinuating that the Commission had not audited its financial statements since 2014.
“Contrary to these false claims, the Commission as a law-abiding agency has duly audited its financial accounts year after year before and onward from 2014, and has submitted these to the relevant agencies statutorily empowered by the Federal Government to receive same, including the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning; Office of the Auditor General of the Federation; Fiscal Responsibility Commission; Office of the Accountant General of the Federation, as well as the appropriate committees of the National Assembly”.

The Commission, which said it a strong promoter of world-class corporate governance standards said its commitment to upholding such ideals and strongly advise “persons with requests for information to channel such to the Commission via email to [email protected], and to which the Commission would respond accordingly.”