The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has been obligated by the National Assembly to deepen its financial resilience, with lawmakers urging the capital market regulator to exceed its 2026 revenue target by at least 20%. This push comes as the commission’s cost-cutting efforts and improved internally generated revenue are earning parliamentary commendation.
During the 2026 Revenue Monitoring Exercise in Abuja, the Deputy Chairman of the House Committee on Finance, Saeed Musa Abdullahi, highlighted the SEC’s gradual strengthening of its finances and fiscal sustainability despite Nigeria’s broader economic strains. He emphasized that the engagement with the commission is meant to drive better performance across government agencies, not to witch-hunt regulators, especially in a period of mounting fiscal challenges.
SEC Director General, Dr. Emomotimi Agama, underscored that the commission operates largely on income derived from capital market activities and does not receive budgetary allocations from the Federal Government. He noted that this model aligns with International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) principles, which insist that securities regulators must have sufficient resources and financial independence to function effectively. Even without direct government funding, the SEC continues to remit part of its earnings to the public purse.
Agama stressed that, in pursuing stronger finances, the SEC has been careful not to pass the burden onto capital market operators through higher regulatory fees, warning that aggressive charges could undermine market development. To support its operations responsibly, the commission obtained approval from the Minister of Finance for a waiver that allows it to retain 20% of its income after statutory deductions, giving it more room to invest in its institutional capacity.
As part of that capacity-building drive, the SEC has secured a grant from the African Development Bank to procure a modern market surveillance system. The new platform, expected to go live this year, will significantly enhance the commission’s ability to monitor trading activities and bring Nigeria’s market surveillance framework closer to global standards. Through these measures; revenue optimization, prudent cost management, and technology-driven oversight, the SEC is positioning itself as a more robust, autonomous regulator at the centre of Nigeria’s capital market and broader fiscal reform efforts.
