WorldStage– Three Nigeria’s banks, one insurer, and a property developer falsified their responses to the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria in their 2025 governance compliance reports.
First Hold Co, FCMB, NPF Micro Finance Bank, Sovereign Trust Insurance, and UAC Property Development Company (UPDC) recently filed their corporate governance reports, complying with the Nigerian Code of Corporate Governance (NCCG 2018) the council enforces.
Principle 28 of the code seeks disclosure. Through a closed-ended question and an open ended follow-up, it also probes fines and penalties companies incur from other regulators.
In its filings First Hold Co disclosed one fine; FCMB covered up the NGX letter it got for unauthorized publication; NPF Micro Finance Bank and Sovereign Trust denied getting sanctioned; and UPDC disclosed one sanction.
But the Worldstage News examination of the February X-Compliance report, a record of malpractices and sanctions the NGX published, revealed inconsistencies. These indicate lack of integrity and impunity that demand closer scrutiny of Nigeria businesses.
First Hold Co paid N5.4 million for filing its 2023 audited financial statement (AFS) May 2024; it also paid N2.7 million for filing its 2024 Quarter 1 unaudited statement (UFS) the following year. The NGX also fined the bank N1.7 million for filing its 2024 AFS four months later
NPF Microfinance Bank did insider dealing during its closed period, and got a caution letter in February.
Sovereign Trust Insurance filed its 2024 AVS six months late, and paid a N3.2 million fine; it also missed its 2025 Quarter 1 UFS by four months, and paid N1.2 million.
UPDC flunked the filing of its 2023 and 2024 AFSs, and paid N3.9 million and N1.7 million respectively. The regulator again hammered the company with N800,000, too, for filing its 2024 Quarter 1 UFS five months late.
