The Executive Secretary/Chief Executive Officer of the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria (FRC), Dr. Rabiu Olowo, has delivered a clear message to directors of Nigerian corporate firms that climate and sustainability governance is now a core fiduciary responsibility.
Dr. Olowo delivered this message on Wednesday, November 26, 2025, in Lagos, in a welcome address during the Climate Governance Initiative (CGI) Nigeria Directors’ Engagement Series at Lagos Continental Hotel.
The theme of the series is “IFRS S1 and S2 – What Every Board Needs to Know.”
He said: “For boards, the message is clear: climate and sustainability governance is now a core fiduciary responsibility.
“Directors must ensure that sustainability disclosures are decision-useful, verifiable, comparable, and integrated with financial information. “This means strengthening internal processes, improving data quality, building capacity within management teams, and ensuring that risk management frameworks fully incorporate climate-related scenarios.”
He added: “It also means moving from symbolic commitments to measurable actions that reflect genuine board oversight and accountability.”
Dr. Olowo said that”today’s conversation is timely and strategic, as boards across the world navigate an increasingly complex corporate landscape—one where sustainability information is no longer peripheral but central to value creation and long-term resilience.
“I commend CGI Nigeria for bringing directors together to deepen understanding of IFRS S1 and IFRS S2, the two standards that are redefining global expectations around sustainability-related disclosures,” he said.
The Executive Secretary of FRC also said that “as many of you are aware, Nigeria—through the Financial Reporting Council—was the first country in Africa to declare early adoption of International Sustainability Standard Board (ISSB) standards at CoP 27 at Sharm Sheikh in Egypt in 2022.
“We did not just declare and went to sleep, we swung into action by walking the talk with the creation of the Adoption Readiness Working Group (ARWG), a technical think tank, comprising of major stakeholders in Nigeria in Financial Reporting and Corporate Governance landscape.
“The entities such as Central Bank of Nigeria, Securities and Exchange Commission, Nigeria Exchange Group, Professional Accountancy Organizations (PAOs), the Big 4 Assurance firms, some premium board listed companies in Nigeria and independent sustainability and ESG professionals were co-opted into the Group.”
He explained that the Adoption Readiness Working Group worked tirelessly for eight (8) through virtual, physical meetings and a retreat to come up with the document known today as the Roadmap Report for Adoption of IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards in Nigeria.
“The effort has yielded exemplary results and delivered milestones in Nigeria, currently being modelled in Africa:
“Most recently, FRC won UNCTAD – ISAR Award in Sustainability Leadership Reporting in an event held at Palais des Nations, Geneva, Switzerland, the only African country to be so honoured”.
“FRC was the first country in Africa to declare early adoption of ISSB Standards at COP 27 in Egypt;
“Produced the first set of early adopting entities in Nigeria, “the first movers”, the likes of: MTN, Seplat Energy, Fidelity and Access Banks; “A set of voluntary Adopters (fast followers) are currently at various stages of their documentation to adopt ISSD IFRS S1 and S2; “Conducted more than 32 webinars, training, workshops and engagements towards advocacy for sustainability reporting; “Trained more than 168 entities with over 1,806 participants across the sector specific industry-wide trainings;
“Featured Nigeria in the recently released ISSB Global Reporting as one of the 17 Jurisdictional Profiles on Sustainability; “Strong partnership and collaboration with Nigerian Integrated Reporting Committee, ACCA, ICAN, ANAN, and other International Agencies (MOUs); including CGI Nigeria.”
Dr. Olowo highlighted that the FRC remains committed to supporting all institutions – listed, unlisted, premium-board companies and other public interest entities – in this transition. “We are deepening regulatory guidance, expanding stakeholder engagements, and working with partners such as CGI Nigeria to enhance the capacity of directors and preparers. Our goal is simple: to ensure that Nigerian companies are not just compliant, but leading, credible, and globally competitive in sustainability reporting.
“In closing, I urge every board represented here to view IFRS S1 and S2 not as regulatory burdens, but as strategic tools—frameworks that will help your organizations anticipate risks, seize new opportunities, and build trust with stakeholders.
“The future of business is sustainable, transparent, climate-conscious, and governed by data-driven decision making. Your leadership and insight will determine how well your organizations adapt, innovate, and succeed,” Dr. Olowo added.
In her welcome remarks, the Executive Director of CGI Nigeria, Mrs. Olawunmi Asekun, said the meeting ess to demystify what IFRS S1 and S2 is all about., adding that Nigeria faces sector wide exposure to climate risks in energy, agriculture, manufacturing, finance, infrastructure, etc.
Asekun said: “We provide NEDs with strategic guidance to manage this evolving landscape.” She added that IFRS S1 and S2 are transforming how companies disclose sustainability and climate information. “We equip boards to lead credible transition plann, risk oversight and scenario analysis.”
In her presentation, Partner and Head, Enterprise Risk and ESG, KPMG, Mrs. Tomi Adepoju, said that sustainability reporting has evolved into a global standard for corporate accountability, moving from voluntary to mandatory disclosures.
Adepoju also said directors must care because “sustainability reporting has strategic importance and regulatory momentum and directors must be actively involved to drive it.”
She said today companies across industries are expected to provide transparent information on their environmental, social and governance performance. She identified drivers of sustainability as investor expectations, evolving global risks and opportunities, stakeholders pressure and regulatory evolution.
Also, the Chairman of Nigerian Integrated Reporting Committee, Dr. Innocent Okwuosa, said that there is the need to take sustainability advocacy to the directors and the boards of corporate organizations because they are the ones that could make it possible for the implementation to hold.
Okwuosa said: “So they must be aware of the resources with which this implementation can be done.” He added that nothing would happen without the buy-in of the board.
“That is why we said that for us to realize the FIRS S1 and S2 the board must come on board,” Okwuosa said.
He said the board should appreciate that sustainability has evolved from being an act of CSR to a corporate strategy that shows how it is adapting to its business environment.
“All the issues we are talking about affects the business model, affects the value chain and affects how a firm should do business,” he said.
Okwuosa also said that sustainability should not be viewed from a risk perspective, as it embodied opportunities in the evolving consumer behavior, which is tilting toward low-carbon products.
He warned that companies that are not sensitive to these changes will exist in the past and continue to produce products that consumers would not accept.
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