The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has said that the resolution of identity management issues would help reposition the Nigerian capital market to greater heights.
The Director General of the SEC, Dr Emomotimi Agama, who stated this at a workshop on identity management for the capital market held in Lagos on Wednesday, said the identity management system currently being developed by the market will tackle the lingering identification issues.
Dr Agama emphasised that identity management issues, when solved, will provide a lasting solution to the issue of unclaimed dividends, reduce the barriers to entry to the market, and make the market more attractive to the youth segment, whose participation is currently very low.
The SEC DG stated that the workshop aims to bring together stakeholders and industry players to discuss and seek ways of addressing the lingering issue of identity management in the capital market.
These issues, he said, have plagued the market for a while, contributed to the increasing quantum of unclaimed dividends, which seem to have defied all efforts to tame over time, and negatively affected the attraction and competitiveness of the market.
He said, “In view of the promise to stem this undesirable trend going forward, the Commission is very passionate about this initiative because its success would portend great potential for our market.
“This journey began in the year 2018, following discussions at the 3rd Capital Market Committee (CMC) meeting of the year on the need to address legacy identity management issues in the market.
“The Securities and Exchange Commission, therefore, in January 2019, set up an in-house committee on the subject.
“The Committee was tasked with identifying issues surrounding identity management in the market, engaging with relevant stakeholders to document and propose solutions, and making recommendations to management.”
Agama said that in a report submitted by the in-house Committee to Management, it stressed the need to consolidate investors’ data and seek ways and means to find a lasting solution to this monster plaguing the market.
Following the recommendations of the Committee, the SEC DG said the “Commission, in 2021, dissolved the in-house Committee and set up a market-wide and bigger Committee to undertake a more intensive study of the depth of the Nigerian identity crisis, and more specifically, in the capital market, and articulate actionable and measurable solutions to the lingering issues: harmonise the various databases of investors in the capital market with a view to engendering data accuracy and addressing the absence of a central repository of investors’ data for the entire spectrum of the Nigerian capital market.”
According to him, “The Committee, graciously chaired by Mr. Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, has its membership drawn from leading market players and institutions across the Nigerian capital market ecosystem, including the chief executive officers of Nigerian Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) Plc and the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC).
“In the course of its work, the Committee engaged the services of Ernst and Young (EY) as consultants to assess the current state of the capital market identity management system, undertake a cross-jurisdictional peer review, and develop a future-state identity management framework for the Nigerian capital market.
“Here at the workshop today, EY will be providing insights into the research undertaken on our market vis-à-vis other jurisdictions and presenting solutions to our identity management challenges,” Agama further stated.
He stated that the postulations and recommendations of EY would be the subject of deliberation for all stakeholders at the workshop, which he hoped would assist in proposing a lasting solution.
In his remarks, the Chairman of the Committee, Mr. Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, said the work of the committee will assist capital market operators in elevating their performances and commended the SEC for its support of the committee.
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