Investor education key to development — SEC

Continuous investor education has been described as an important component of financial literacy that can further develop the capital market.

Director General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Dr Emomotimi Agama, stated this during a meeting with the management of the Investments and Securities Tribunal (IST) in Abuja on Thursday.

According to Dr Agama, “We need to continue constant education in the capital market. The market is knowledge-based, and we are committed to ensuring that information is made available to the investing public.

“The Commission will continue to partner with relevant stakeholders to create more opportunities for learning. We will do more training and sensitization because it is important we continue to learn.”

The SEC DG stated that the IST is an important organ in the discharge of capital market disputes, adding that as more cases are resolved, the investing public will begin to appreciate the role of the IST in the capital market.

Agama disclosed that decisions on cases bring about confidence, which is needed for the nation to have a fledgling capital market.

He assured that the SEC is committed to partnering with the IST on the dispensation of justice and growth of the capital market.

In his remarks, the Chairman of IST, Mr Amos Azi, said the IST was borne out of a need to address two significant pillars of market growth, development, and stability, which are investor confidence and protection through a specialised dispute resolution system.

He said, “Suffice to say, this one initiative has set the pace for similar regulatory climates all over the world. There is no gain in saying that the Tribunal is the bedrock of dispute resolution in the Nigerian capital market.

“Established pursuant to S.274 of the ISA 2007, the Tribunal has given judgements on over 480 cases with a monetary value of over N868 billion.”

Azi stated that in the course of exercising its powers, the Tribunal has not only restored investor confidence in the market but has also contributed immensely to the development of capital market jurisprudence through its decisions and promoted knowledge dissemination and market enlightenment through its law reports.

“It is noteworthy to state here that the creation of the Tribunal gave a boost to the international recognition of the Nigerian capital market.

“You will recall that the existence of the Tribunal was part of the factors considered by the International Organisation of Securities Commission (IOSCO) in admitting Nigeria’s SEC as an “Appendix A” signatory to its multilateral memorandum of understanding (MMOU) in 2006,” he added.

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