AMERC commends SEC Nigeria

SECURITIES and Exchange Commission (SEC) Nigeria has been commended on its tirelessness, professionalism and dedication among others while it hosted the secretariat of Africa and Middle East Regional Committee (AMERC) of the International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO).

According to a statement by the commission, the outgoing Vice Chairman of AMERC, Nezha Hayat gave the commendation at the official handover of the Committee’s leadership from SEC Nigeria to Paul Muthaura of Capital Markets Authority (CMA) Kenya at the ongoing 43rd IOSCO Annual conference in Budapest, Hungary.

Hayat, who is also the CEO of Authority Marocaine Du Marche Des Capitaux (AMMC) Morocco, listed the monumental approval of Arabic as an additional official language of IOSCO as one of the achievements of the Committee under the leadership of SEC Nigeria.

She also commended AMERC under the leadership of SEC Nigeria for ensuring that member countries, markets, investors and indeed the intermediaries benefitted from the numerous policies of IOSCO.

According to her “I will like to take time to show our appreciation to SEC Nigeria who had anchored the ship for over a decade and it has been quite a smooth sail.

“Under Nigeria’s leadership, the AMERC has grown in size and stature.

Our relevance as a region in IOSCO has been felt and its visibility coupled with its impact has also been felt within the region. Nigeria’s commitment to the AMERC and IOSCO over the decade cannot be overemphasised.

“We all are witnesses to the monumental approval of Arabic as an additional official language of IOSCO, and this was with the tireless effort of SEC Nigeria as Chair of AMERC. I am therefore a witness to the tirelessness, dedication and professionalism that the AMERC Secretariat of the SEC Nigeria has shown over these years. It is therefore fitting to applaud all their efforts to AMERC over the years and say a big thank you”

According to Hayat, the Committee did its best particularly within these last two years to steer the AMERC into more relevance within IOSCO, especially with the increased engagement both among its members and indeed on the higher level.

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This was in addition to their increased participation and involvements in technical activities within IOSCO for the overall benefit of the region, expressing the sincere belief that AMERC will continuously deepen its participation in IOSCO technical work and share experiences, information, at a larger scale which will continue to deepen markets and to be more inclusive.

“I congratulate the incoming executive of the AMERC and hereby assures of our continued support towards the realization of the goals that we have set for ourselves in the region. I wish you all the success in your new positions.

Let me conclude by extending my appreciation to the entire IOSCO team at the General Secretariat for their guidance and support given to me these last two years ” she added.

In his remarks, IOSCO Secretary General, Paul Andrews said the IOSCO leadership is glad about the efforts of AMERC to bring the African and Middle East regions up to speed in their regulatory capabilities.

Andrews congratulated the new leadership adding that the future is bright as the group is well served by its leaders.

In his remarks, new AMERC Chair, Muthaura, encouraged AMERC member countries to continue with efforts at key policy-making and standard setting within the organisation.

He said ” A lot needs to be done in the area of Investor education and protection. We need to leverage on the good work being done by IOSCO so that we can contribute as well as benefit. The work of IOSCO is very broad and we want to work at key areas that will be of most benefit to us in our regions”.