The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has pledged to work with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to reduce the manipulation of the naira.
SEC Acting Director General, Dr Emomotimi Agama, stated this when he received a team from the EFCC led by the Executive Chairman, Ola Olukoyede, in Abuja.
Agama said the SEC is ready to co-operate with the EFCC to achieve the national objective of making sure that FX illegality is not allowed to continue.
“It is a great pleasure to receive you here today. This is a testament to the relationship we have and the value you place on the SEC and the best interest of Nigeria. We believe this is the beginning of greater things to come. My desire is for us to strengthen the existing memorandum of understanding (MoU) and ensure it is more effective in dealing with current issues,” he said.
The SEC boss disclosed that the Commission is planning an economic regulatory hub where it can upload requests and other regulators/sister agencies would be able to respond immediately, thereby reducing incidences of delay.
“We plan to create an economic regulatory hub where we can upload requests and other regulators can respond immediately. Time to market is very important in the work we do and we need to have information and responses promptly.
“We will do all we need to do to ensure our markets are free from manipulations. We will enforce where necessary to send a strong message that it is no longer business as usual. We are examining our virtual regulations to cover all areas and we are open to reviews to have a better document and a well-regulated market. We are striving to close all the gaps and this co-operation will enable us to block every gap in a bid to regulate the virtual space and give comfort to Nigerians,” he said.
Agama said that the Revised Capital Market Master Plan, which the Commission is currently implementing, is geared towards stimulating the economy and attracting FDIs.
“The opportunities in the capital market are enormous and we are yet to tap the full potential for economic growth. The economy has a lot of issues and the capital market is one of the avenues that can lead to economic emancipation. The President has said he wants to re-engage the youths and that is why we are making efforts to ensure that our markets have the right products that can attract them,” he noted.
Olukoyede said Forex malpractices and related crises are injurious to any economy, adding that the role virtual traders are playing in destroying the Nigerian economy through their activities needs to be checked.
