Yemisi Izuora
The Senate has expressed its willingness to encourage legislation that will improve investments in the capital market by ensuring the regulator is able to perform its responsibilities efficiently.
This was disclosed by the Deputy Chairman Senate Committee on Capital Market, Mr. Foster Ogola in Abuja when members of the Capital Market Committee visited the Securities and Exchange Commission Head Office, Abuja as part of its Oversight function.
Ogola stated that the Senators were on oversight visit which is done periodically look at what the Commission is doing and see how the Senate can support the SEC in their work.
He said, “We are here to look at your performances within the year, challenges you encountered and explore ways the Senate can help to make you perform better as the Apex Regulator of the Nigerian capital market.
“As the apex regulator of the capital market, we expect inputs from you on ways to deepen the market and make it more vibrant and if there are ways we can assist with relevant legislations we are willing to do so to grow the capital market and ultimately our economy”.
Ogola reiterated the determination of the Senate to make laws that will encourage new listings as well as help to revamp the capital market and make it more vibrant.
In his comments, a member of the Committee, Sen. Mohammed Shaaba Lafiagi expressed the need for more interface between the senators and the SEC in a bid to look at specific issues and find ways of solving them.
Earlier in her remarks, Acting Director General of the SEC, Ms. Mary Uduk commended the Senators on the efforts they have made so far in ensuring adequate legislation for the capital market.
Uduk however appealed to the lawmakers to assist in ensuring that government owned companies list on the exchange to boost investors’ confidence as well as attract investments from foreigners.
She said, “We have very big government corporations that can be listed and that will give foreigners comfort to list too on the exchange. If this happens, it will be good for our market and also give confidence to investors.
She disclosed that the Commission has embarked on a number on initiatives to boost investors’ confidence as well as deepen the market.
According to her “we just ended our Capital Market Committee Meeting last week and one of the decision reached was to give an extension in the deadline for regularization to December 31, 2019. This is in a move to ensure more investors regularize their accounts thereby reducing the volume of unclaimed dividends in the Nigerian capital market.
Uduk told the Senators that the CMC considered the issue and decided it’s best to give investors more time to regularize their multiple accounts in order to derive the benefits from their investments.
She said “I am delighted to report that on the lingering issue of multiple subscriptions and forbearance for shareholders with multiple accounts, the CMC agreed that the forbearance window should be extended by another year from the December 31, 2018 deadline previously communicated. We expect investors to take advantage of this opportunity to claim their unclaimed dividends and bonuses”.