Corporate trustees seek legal reforms, stronger role in Nigeria’s infrastructure financing

详细摘要

Omolola Iyinolakan, President of the Association of Corporate Trustees, has spoken on plans to reposition trusteeship, the need to amend ...

Omolola Iyinolakan, President of the Association of Corporate Trustees, has spoken on plans to reposition trusteeship, the need to amend outdated legislation and how stronger investor protection can unlock long-term capital for Nigeria’s infrastructure development.

Iyinolakan said the Association would prioritise engagement with regulators, capacity development and the standardisation of industry operations to strengthen the effectiveness of corporate trustees and improve their perception among market participants.

She said corporate trustees play a fundamental role in protecting investors’ collective interests, particularly in the debt capital market, but their contribution has not received adequate recognition, with some transaction advisers viewing their involvement as an administrative burden.

“Corporate trustees are the gatekeepers of the Nigerian market. We hold and protect the collective interests of every investor in the market. However, as crucial as our role is, the perception of trustees is somewhat poor, and we are sometimes seen as an administrative burden,” she said.

She said her leadership would work towards changing this perception by demonstrating the value trustees bring to transactions through investor protection, regulatory compliance and effective monitoring of debt obligations.

Among the Association’s priorities is securing an amendment to the Trustee Investment Act, which Iyinolakan described as one of the oldest pieces of legislation in the country and increasingly inadequate for the demands of a changing financial market.

The Association also plans to develop a standardised operational manual for corporate trustees, deepen engagement with regulators to achieve better regulatory alignment and expand industry capacity through training programmes and dialogue on emerging market trends.

Iyinolakan said work had already commenced on some of these initiatives, adding that repositioning the industry would require sustained commitment from members and…

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