SEC expresses readiness to collaborate with NSE

From Ngozi Onyeakusi, Lagos

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has expressed its readiness to collaborate with other stakeholders in the market as a means to taking the market to greater heights.

Acting Director-General of SEC Nigeria, Mounir Gwarzo said this when he received members of the Council of the Nigeria Stock Exchange (NSE) in his office in Abuja.

Gwarzo said the current management of the Commission is willing and open to discussions on issues that will move the market forward in the interest of Nigerians and Economic Development.

According to him “We realize that the Exchange is very important in our quest to move the market to a new level and SEC is keen on exploring areas of collaboration with stakeholders.

“Some of us have been in this market for some time and we have seen a lot that transpired over the period. We are keen on having close collaboration with people”

He also stated that in the light of this collaboration SEC Nigeria is set to launch a new Complaints Management System, which will allow issues to be resolved from the bottom.

“The management is working to empower SROs and trade organizations to enable them handle some complaints and deal with them with dispatch adding that the strategy of the management is not to create committees but to focus on prescriptions and ensuring that they are executed within reasonable time frames.

“We have finished the rules on complaints management framework and very soon, it will be exposed. One of the highlights is to allow complaints to be managed at the lower level”, he said.

On the issue of recapitalisation, Gwarzo expressed delight that the Commission has had a good collaboration with all stakeholders stating that the Commission will return to the exercise in the next five months.

Speaking earlier, Chairman of Council of the NSE, Aigboje Aig, Imokhuede said markets in other jurisdictions have benefitted significantly from collaborations between the regulators and the regulated adding, that he was optimistic that the market in Nigeria would also benefit from the partnership.

He said, “We feel that the market here will benefit from this type of partnership and we will be keen on that. We would like to see this visit as the beginning of strong collaboration between NSE and SEC. This does not in any way cross the line between the regulators and the regulated and we will respect our regulator in every way”.

Also in his comments, Chief Executive Officer of the NSE, Oscar Onyema said the visit is an opportunity to rekindle relations and make it stronger and that is why the management of the NSE decided to visit the Commission adding that they believe that in so doing they are able to build the capital market that Nigerians desire.