A Bill for an Act to repeal the Investments and Securities Act, (2007) and enact the Investments and Securities Bill has passed second reading in the House of Representatives.
The bill which seeks to establish Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as the apex regulatory authority for the Nigerian capital market was sponsored by Rep. Babangida Ibrahim(APC-Katsina) on Thursday.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the bill passed first reading on the floor of the green chambers on Sept. 15, 2021.
Ibrahim said that the bill sought to ensure clarity in the roles played by agencies in the market and lay to rest the overlapping roles between the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and SEC.
He said that the CBN should focus and regulate the financial market while the SEC should be the lead agency in regulating the capital market.
He said that ”the bill also seeks to make SEC the apex regulator of the market to ensure capital formation, the protection of the market and to ensure capital formation.
”When the bill is passed into law, it will empower SEC to protect of investors, maintain fair, efficient and transparent market, reduce systematic risk and for related matters.”
In his ruling, the Speaker of the House, Rep. Femi Gbajabiamila, referred the bill to relevant committees for further legislative action.
In an interview with newsmen after plenary, Ibrahim said that the current Act I’d 14 years old and needed review.
According to him, so many things were added while others were updated as the existing Act has 66 sections while the new bill 316 sections.
He said that prominent among the new introduction was the regulation of Ponzi schemes to protect investors.
The lawmaker said that the penalties in the existing Act were weak and needed to be reviewed to serve as deterrent.
He said the bill, when passed into law would establish Investors Fund to protect the investment of Nigerians. (NAN)
