The National Assembly has commended the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for strengthening its fiscal sustainability through prudent cost management and improved revenue generation, while challenging the Commission to exceed its 2026 revenue target.
The commendation came on Tuesday during the 2026 Revenue Monitoring Exercise held in Abuja, where the Deputy Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Finance, Hon. Saeed Musa Abdullahi, praised the Commission’s financial reforms and encouraged it to sustain the impressive performance.
Addressing the SEC management, Abdullahi said the National Assembly had closely monitored the Commission’s progress over the years and was pleased with its achievements.
“DG, you have done significantly well. We have followed the progress of the SEC over the years and urge you to keep the flag flying. We will continue to celebrate you when you do well. This exercise is not to witch-hunt any agency; it is aimed at ensuring better performance, especially at a time when the country is facing serious fiscal challenges,” he said.
The lawmaker also challenged the Commission to outperform its projected revenue for 2026 by at least 20 per cent, expressing confidence in its capacity to generate more income.
“You have told us your revenue projection for 2026, but we believe you can do more. We urge you to surpass your projection by at least 20 per cent, or even more,” Abdullahi added.
In his presentation, the Director-General of the SEC, Dr. Emomotimi Agama, reiterated that in line with the principles of the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO), securities regulators are expected to operate independently, with governments providing financial support where necessary.
Agama explained that the SEC receives no budgetary allocation from the Federal Government and relies entirely on internally generated revenue from Nigeria’s capital market to fund its operations while still remitting statutory payments to the government.
“Going by IOSCO principles, the SEC is expected to be financially independent. The government is supposed to provide support for the running of the Commission. However, due to the paucity of funds, all the money used to fund the Commission comes from the market. The SEC does not receive any funding from the government; rather, it pays money to the government,” he said.
He further disclosed that revenues paid into the Commission’s account with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) are subjected to automatic statutory deductions before the SEC can access the funds.
“When these funds hit our account with the CBN, deductions are made directly by the government. We do not have access to the funds before the deductions are effected,” Agama stated.
The SEC Director-General noted that, as a market regulator, the Commission was mindful of avoiding excessive financial burdens on operators through additional charges. To support its operations, he said the Commission secured approval from the Minister of Finance to retain 20 per cent of its revenue through a waiver on statutory deductions.
“We are regulators and are not expected to ask the market for money. With the kind permission of the Honourable Minister of Finance, we obtained a 20 per cent waiver on deductions to ensure our operations are not hindered,” he explained.
Agama also announced that the Commission had secured a grant from the African Development Bank to procure a state-of-the-art market surveillance system, which is expected to be deployed later this year.
According to him, the new technology will significantly enhance the SEC’s oversight capabilities, strengthen market integrity and align Nigeria’s capital market regulatory framework with international best practices.
