Nigeria’s Securities and Alternate Fee (SEC) has introduced that every one Capital Market Operators (CMOs) are required to resume their registration between January 1 and 31, 2026.
In a launch on Sunday, December 21, 2025, the Fee disclosed that starting within the first quarter of 2026, it would begin digital receipt and processing of registration functions in addition to updates to operators’ registration data.
This transfer is aimed toward eliminating delays related to guide submissions.
In line with the discharge, SEC Director Normal, Dr. Emomotimi Agama, revealed these plans throughout an interview in Abuja, noting that the reforms mirror the Fee’s drive towards a extra clear, technology-driven regulatory setting.
“We’re taking deliberate steps to make regulatory processes quicker, extra clear, and technology-driven,” the discharge quoted Agama as saying.
The SEC is reminding capital market operators in regards to the annual renewal of registrations, with out which they can’t function within the capital market. And to make the processes simpler and seamless, the regulator has provide you with the Digital Transformation Portal.
In line with Dr. Agama, SEC has automated the end-to-end registration and licensing workflow via which market operators can now submit functions, add paperwork, and monitor approval standing on-line. Thus, considerably lowering processing time and the necessity for bodily interactions with the Fee.
The Fee has additionally deployed an automatic module for Business Paper issuance, enabling operators to file paperwork, monitor progress, and obtain approvals electronically. In line with Agama, early suggestions reveals improved turnaround time and lowered administrative bottlenecks.
Additional enhancements are underway to automate the submission of quarterly and annual returns utilizing structured templates and system-driven accuracy checks. A returns analytics dashboard can be in growth to assist risk-based supervision and immediate exception reporting.
To bolster these digital reforms, the SEC has begun upgrading its IT infrastructure, together with servers, storage programs, networks, and safety frameworks. Selective cloud migration is ongoing for platforms requiring scalability and exterior entry, whereas core programs will stay on-premise till safety and value evaluations are accomplished.
Agama additionally disclosed ongoing efforts to reinforce knowledge integrity and cybersecurity, together with vulnerability assessments and deliberate penetration testing as soon as the automation phases stabilise. He confused that accountable know-how adoption is central to sustaining investor belief—describing it as “the cornerstone of our markets.”
The SEC DG underscored the necessity for regulatory readability round rising applied sciences similar to synthetic intelligence, alongside capacity-building initiatives, particularly for smaller operators. He emphasised that whereas innovation is crucial, moral and compliant deployment is non-negotiable.
“As operators embrace automation, AI, and data-driven instruments, they have to guarantee moral, safe, and compliant deployment,” Agama mentioned.
He urged CMOs to uphold equity, transparency, accountability, and regulatory compliance to guard traders and strengthen the long-term credibility of the Nigerian capital market.
