By Tony Obiechina, Abuja
In compliance with the Federal Government’s directives on the cessation of movement in Lagos, Ogun and the Federal Capital Territory, the Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC has activated its business continuity process.
Consequently, staff of the Commission are working remotely while all its electronic channels remain open to provide the necessary support to capital market stakeholders.
This was stated in a circular dated March 31, 2020 and released to the media by the Head of Corporate Communications Department of SEC, Mrs Efe Ebelo in Abuja on Wednesday.
According to the Circular, “in the light of the global pandemic of the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) and in furtherance to the Commission’s circular of March 24, 2020, the Commission wishes to provide additional guidance to the Capital Market as follows:
“All public companies are required to continue to make material disclosures to investors on the impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on their business operations.
“They should also continue to disclose the trend and outlook for the company, and updates on implementation of business continuity plans. Public companies are to publish these disclosures on their websites and on other relevant media.
“Public companies who plan to conduct AGMs are required to ensure that the conduct of the meetings comply with the provisions of the Companies and Allied Matters Act, the Investments and Securities Act, the SEC Rules and Regulations, relevant government and health circulars and guidelines issued in this regard.
Debt Issuers are also expected to continue to engage Trustees to ensure that relevant disclosures are provided. Trustees are required to provide updates to the Commission accordingly.
The Commission enjoins all CMOs to continue to monitor the real and potential risks COVID-19 may have on their business operations and the discharge of services to investors and clients, stating that for further guidance, the Commission may be contacted through the dedicated email addresses for filing CMOs returns.
The SEC enjoined all Issuers and Trustees who may require further guidance to contact the Commission through the following email addresses:quotedcoyreturns@sec.gov.ng,offerapplications@sec.gov.ng, and dhpostoffer@sec.gov.ng
The Circular stated that it will continue to engage and collaborate with all stakeholders to ensure that the capital market remains resilient.
“While we work to maintain market stability, we encourage everyone to continue to comply with all directives issued by the Federal Government and relevant agencies during this challenging period”, it added.
