SEC D-G wants lawyers’ partnership to foster business development

The Acting Director-General, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Ms Mary Uduk, on Thursday called on lawyers to partner with SEC to foster business development in the country.

Uduk made the call in a keynote address at the annual seminar of the Nigerian Bar Association Section on Business Law (NBA-SBL) held in Lagos.

The theme of the seminar is “Recurring issues in Mergers and Acquisitions in Nigeria.”

“On behalf of the Securities and Exchange Commission, may I appeal to lawyers to view SEC as an indispensable partner and
stakeholder in the securities market, to enforce vital business legislations made for the good of the investing public

“We assure that we are willing to work together for the public good which includes your clients,” she said

She noted that there were challenges in the process of mergers of companies could be better enhanced by regular interface
with relevant stakeholders.

“Indeed, there is no better time or platform to engage all stakeholders in a discussion that is very dear to my heart and more
importantly, essential for a well functioning, vibrant and strong business ecosystem.

“To a room full of lawyers, it is true that the Securities and Exchange Commission is mandated by law to review, approve
and regulate mergers, acquisitions, take overs and all forms of business combinations of all companies in Nigeria, whether public
or private,” Udok said.

Uduk said the introduction of merger control provisions into the Investment and Securities Act 1999 was in itself a challenge for
the process of regulations.

According to the D-G, it was absurd to have merger control provisions enshrined in a securities law and to be administered by a
capital market regulator.

Uduk said while this was consistent with the functions of SEC as a securities regulator, it was inconsistent with the expectations
of stakeholders, who craved for some sort of merger control for purposes of competition.

She, however, expressed satisfaction that it had been corrected by the expansion of merger provisions in the ISA of 2007, adding that
in the last three years, SEC has approved approximately 120 merger related transactions in the country.

Uduk noted that challenges of mergers are best resolved through stakeholders engagements like the merger and acquisitions
roundtable and fora which in the past had been effective in modifying approaches to mergers.

In a goodwill message, the Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), Mr Oscar Onyema, lauded the initiative of
the NBA in creating a session which sought to address issues of mergers and acquisitions in the country.

Onyema noted that there were diverse issues surrounding mergers in Nigeria, saying the commission is enthusiastic in making the
business environment attractive in line with the provisions of the law.

He said: “There are so many issues that has arisen from mergers and acquisitions in Nigeria and I am happy to be part of this
initiative of the NBA-SBL.

“We have a shared goal of making the business environment an attractive one, and I must say that we have a long way to go in
accomplishing that; all hands must be on deck.”

In his contribution to the topic: “Current developments in mergers in Nigeria”, Mr Johnson Chukwu, highlighted some reasons for
the lack of mergers in Nigeria.

According to him, there are post-merger crisis which should be better managed to ensure the survival of the mergers.

Chukwy noted that people and companies go into mergers to defend their market shares based on sentiments which had made the
post-merger outfit unworkable.

He added that since mergers and acquisitions go through SEC, it was instructive that due processes be complied with to create a
proper scheme of arrangement which would enhance better business practices.

He suggested an Anti-Trust Law which would effectively serve as a check, guide and protection on the process of mergers and
acquisitions to forestall difficulties in the schemes.

Our correspondent reports that the Chairman of the NBA-SBL, Mr Olamide Akpata, senior lawyers in business law practice as well as representatives of some corporate organisations attended the event.