Nigeria asks companies to show their ISSB homework
Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has directed every public company and significant public interest capital market operator to submit, by 15 October 2026, its plan for adopting the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) standards, IFRS S1 and IFRS S2, together with the challenges it expects to face.
The circular sets out what each plan must cover as a minimum: governance and board oversight of sustainability reporting, a gap assessment against IFRS S1 and S2, an implementation roadmap, data collection and reporting systems, internal control and assurance, capacity building, the expected year of first reporting, and the main obstacles. The capital market operators in scope include exchanges, central securities depositories, clearing houses and trade repositories.
The timetable comes from the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria (FRCN) roadmap, amended in 2026 after a public consultation. Public interest entities, including all public companies, must report under IFRS S1 and S2 for accounting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2028, with small and medium-sized entities following from 2030. Nigeria was the first African country to declare its intention to adopt the ISSB standards early, at COP27 in 2022.
Asking for plans more than a year before the first mandatory reporting periods gives the SEC an early update on readiness and gives boards a reason to start preparing now.
Read the circular here.
