The Director General Securities Exchange Commission, Lamido Yuguda (SEC) has frowned at the re-emergence of Ponzi schemes in the country’s financial sector.
He stated this at the enlightenment workshop with the staff of the federal ministry of finance, budget and National Planning in Abuja.
According to Yuguda, the unlawful schemes had continued to enjoy massive patronage of the populace and remained a source of concern for regulators in the financial sector.
Regretting the resurgence of the scheme, he stated that the upsurge of the schemes had undermined the reputation of the financial markets and dampened investors’ confidence, among other things
He noted that the commission is poised to continue to apply measures and seek the cooperation of relevant stakeholders toward combating the activities of these Ponzi schemes.
“SEC firmly believes that the country’s capital market can attain its potential if market operators and participants contribute their respective quotas to the growth,” he said
“We are also committed to always ensuring and maintaining an environment that is enabled by the appropriate regulatory framework, timely and affordable access to the market.”
“The commission is also committed to zero tolerance for infractions, heightened investor confidence and awareness, innovative product development and good governance practices.
“There is the need to restore investor confidence and improve the participation of retail investors in the market.
“The demography of investors in the country’s capital market shows that our young population does not participate in the capital market, and only a few Nigerians invest in the capital market.
“This situation creates a huge challenge to the growth of our market and the commission is striving to change the narrative by instilling a fair, transparent and orderly market,’’ he said.
Representing, Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed the Director of Home Finance, Mr. Stephen Okon urged investors to take advantage of various initiatives in the market.
Ahmed said the workshop was in line with the commission’s Capital Market Master Plan (CMMP).
She therefore crave the indulgence of SEC to reflect and review the challenges faced by investors with a view of actualising the objectives of the plan.
