THE newly appointed Director General (DG) of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Emomotimi Agama, has a lot that would rest upon his shoulders, stakeholders told The ICIR.
Agama officially assumed office in an acting capacity on Tuesday, April 30, pending confirmation of his appointment by the Senate of the National Assembly.
President Bola Tinubu had, on April 19, appointed a new board for the commission.
Other board members are Mairiga Aliyu Katuka as chairman, Frana Chukwuogor as executive commissioner (legal and enforcement), Bola Ajomale as executive commissioner (operations), Samiya Hassan Usman as executive commissioner (corporate services), and two non-executive commissioners, Lekan Belo and Kasimu Garba Kurfi.
Agama remarked that the capital market is well-regulated and developed to contribute to the nation’s economy.
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“I have had the pleasure of being involved in people’s careers here for the last 20 years. We have crossed many rivers, but each of us has added some value to this institution.
“When we leave, we should be able to look back with joy at what we have done. I therefore solicit your support and cooperation to ensure that we all succeed.”
In a chat, the executive vice chairman of Highcap Securities Limited, David Adonri, said the acting SEC DG should prioritise the bank recapitalisation and capital raising.
“The Capital Market is focusing on banks’ recapitalisation exercise. This is the major task before SEC.
“Along the line, manufacturers that suffered collateral damage from the floating of the Naira are also coming to raise capital from the market. The support by the SEC is also crucial to their capital-raising exercise,” he said.
The national president of New Dimension Shareholders, Patrick Ajudua, said shareholders were excited about Tinnubu’s appointment of a capital market technocrat as DG, hoping that he would build on his predecessor’s various capital market reform initiatives.
“Among issues deserving his attention is the unclaimed dividend, which has defied logic and has kept rising to over N200 billion despite the recently established Unclaimed Trust Fund. He needs to revisit this and work with all stakeholders to ensure full implementation of the E-dividend mandate,” Ajudua said
He highlighted other issues, including investors’ education, the passage of the Investments and Securities Bill 2024, and the implementation of the Revised Capital Market Master Plan (RCMMP), which remains ongoing, identity management, the establishment of a regulatory framework for the digital asset space, and commodities trading ecosystem.
“For effective market regulation, the new board and Management at the SEC are expected to utilise various modern-day regulatory techniques/supervisory tools, monitoring/inspection, investigation, strict enforcement of market rules, and punishment of any infraction,” Ajudua said.
Also, the national chairman of the Progressive Shareholders Association of Nigeria (PSAN), Boniface Okezie, said there was a need to enact a law to stop voluntary delisting and attract more companies to list the exchange.
He raised the issue of investors’ payoffs from delisted companies, which the commission had withheld for some years, giving the example of the Dangote Flour Mills payoff.
“He should prioritise asking that the money (payoff to investors) be returned immediately to the registrar’s concern so that it can commence disbursing immediately to their owners. He should also make quarterly returns to see how it should be.
“The issue of unclaimed dividends must also be examined. It is not okay with the stakeholders. The money in question does not belong to the government, and they can not claim it,” Okezie added.