By Tunde Sholanke
The Securities and Exchange Commission, has assured Nigerians of a renewed onslaught against illegal operators in the country’s capital market.
It also said that the persisted proliferation of operators running illegal investment schemes in the country continues to be a major critical concern to the capital market.
Director General of the SEC Mr. Lamido Yuguda,disclosed these in a New Year Message in Abuja
According to him, last year alone, the commission shut the offices of four of such illegal operators that had defrauded innocent citizens of billions of naira and assured that the commission will continue its enforcement actions to ensure that such illegal entities are not allowed to operate.
The SEC,he said,has been fighting a serious war against Ponzi schemes in the country through constant enlightenment against the act.
He said:”We have said that investors should only deal with registered operators that have the registration of the Commission, we have their list on the SEC website and we have always said that if you go to an operator or when an operator approaches you, you must confirm that he is a licensed operator with the SEC.
“We have our numbers on how to reach our offices in the zones and we have done a lot of sensitization in terms of seminars, webinars all in an effort to discourage people from going to Ponzi schemes. Unfortunately, a lot of people continue to patronize this Ponzi schemes, we have had cases that have been reported to us, our enforcement department and the police unit have been on many of these cases trying to resolve the cases that have been reported to us.
“The commission has also continued to employ its compliance tool to ensure that only fit and proper capital market operators practice in the market. This has resulted to an improved level of compliance with filing of prudential returns rising to 96% in 2022 compared with 81% in 2021”.
Due to ongoing implementation of various initiatives, the commission and the capital Market will witness uncommon development in securities issuance businesses especially as it affects digital assets, commodities trading ecosystem, custodianship of assets, and Fintech among others.
He added:“With the implementation of the Revised Capital Market Master Plan, the Market will also witness renewed confidence expected to attract fresh investments from domestic and foreign investors.
“Although 2023 is an election year and market activities may typically slow down before and during the general elections, we are hopeful that the improved awareness and positive electioneering campaigns will lead to peaceful elections and a quick return to the pre-election levels of investment activities.
Speaking on the Investments and Securities Bill (ISB) review, the SEC boss said the Commission presented the ISB to the National Assembly for its legislative consideration and a public hearing was successfully organised on September 20, 2022.
“We are hopeful that the Bill will be passed into law before the end of the 9th National Assembly. With less than six months to the end of the 9th National Assembly come June, 2023, we believe that the Investments and Securities Bill (ISB) will be passed in the coming months. The ISB, if passed into law, will align the enabling Act with the realities and trends in capital market regulation and practice in Nigeria and abroad” he stated.
He promised that the commission will continue to provide extra support to the registered commodities trading platforms to complement government’s renewed diversification efforts in agriculture.
