Ngozi Amuche
Securities and Exchange Commission has called for a collaborative effort of Capital Market Operators (CMOs) and other stakeholders in the market community to drive capital market growth in the country.
Director-General of the commission, Dr Lamido Yuguda, made this known at a Financial Inclusion Webinar organised by SEC in Abuja on Wednesday, with theme: “From Financial Inclusion to Capital Market Inclusion’’.
Yuguda, represented by Mr Temidayo Obisan, the Executive Commissioner, Operations of SEC, said the webinar would facilitate the cross-fertilisation of ideas among relevant stakeholders to foster access to capital market inclusion.
He said that the Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) indicated that there were about 13.4 million accounts in the system, out of which only about 564,000 accounts had traded in the last seven years.
Yuguda said, “Given the enormity of the task before us, it is necessary that we pursue a collaborative and coordinated approach toward providing the myriad of challenges impeding the rapid uptake of financial products and services, especially capital market products.
“SEC is actively involved in wide financial sector initiatives in the financial inclusion landscape in Nigeria.
“We will continue to engage and coordinate other regulators like CBN, PENCOM, NAICOM, NDIC, NCC, and others to foster access to financial products and services to all Nigerians.”
Chief Executive Officer, Chapel Hill Denha, Mr Bolaji Balogun, said about 2.5 per cent of citizens of the country were investing in the capital market.
Balogun, who is also the Chief Investment Officer of the Nigeria Infrastructure Debt Fund, said that sound financial literacy would help to build a better understanding of risks and improve participation.