The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has warned entities engaged in illegal fund management activities to desist forthwith or be ready to face the full wrath of the law.
Director General of SEC, Emomotimi Agama stated this weekend in Abuja as the Commission prepares to hold the World Investor Week 2024 from October 7-14 with the theme, ‘Technology and digital Finance, Crypto Assets and sustainable Finance.’
World Investor Week (WIW) is a global initiative of the International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) established to raise financial literacy among the general public.
Activities lined up for the week-long events include Bell Ringing Ceremonies, Panel Discussions, Investor Outreach as well as Investor Clinics at the SEC Head office and all its zonal offices.
The SEC DG said the Commission’s enforcement mechanisms will be fully deployed to fish out anyone that is perpetrating illegal activities within the investment climate in Nigeria.
According to him, “Section 13(a) of the Investments and Securities Act 2007, states that the SEC has the power to regulate investments and securities business in Nigeria. So within the law, we have the powers to do so.
“What we are doing is strengthening our enforcement mechanism in collaboration with the Nigerian Police Force and the Federal Ministry of Justice. This serves as a notice to anyone not playing by the books to desist or face the law.”
He assured that the SEC is prepared to protect investors and also educate them, which will translate into confidence in the market, while also superintending over public companies to ensure that good corporate governance is imbibed in their administration.
The SEC DG stated that the aim of the world investor week is to provide information to investors, to educate them on investing in the Nigerian capital market, and the opportunities available therein in order to democratize wealth.
He said, “During the week-long events, we will be reaching out to everyone that is interested, and needs to know some of the plans and strategies that the SEC has in place to attract more investors to the market.
“One of the major plans within the WIW is investor education. You cannot overrule the value and essence of education. A lot of people are not aware of investment opportunities or investment windows, not because they don’t want to invest, but because they just don’t know.
“So the idea of the World Investor Week is to bring to fore the opportunities that exist, rights of the investor and the dispute resolution mechanisms that are available in case they have those challenges, and also to let them understand the value of investments and preparing for the rainy day.”
Agama expressed the need for investors to be aware of priority investments, risky investments, the rewards of risky investments and the investments that are less risky.
“The point is, people have to know exactly what their appetite is. It’s not everyone that has a strong risk appetite. So you need to understand that if you do not have a strong risk appetite, there is an investment meant for you, but if you have a strong risk appetite, there is also an investment meant for you.
“Therefore, having that education and being able to reach out to an investment advisor when you are not sure is a critical part of educating you not to get burnt again. With the right education, even when you are burnt, you know you are burnt for a good reason,” Agama stated.
He said the SEC will leverage social media and other traditional media channels to reach out to the populace in a bid to further educate and enlighten them.
The DG restated plans by the commission to establish a capital market radio that will disseminate information on the capital market and investment opportunities available therein to Nigerians in the grassroots.
“Besides that, we are also incorporating capital market studies into the curriculum of tertiary institutions, so that these students can be taught and nurtured from the cradle on the value of the capital market in wealth creation and economic development,” he added.
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