By Obas Esiedesa
The Director General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Mr. Lamido Yuguda has warned operators in the Capital Market that the Commission has zero tolerance for those who seek to manipulate the market.
Yuguda who spoke in Abuja at the weekend said the Commission was determined to earn the trust of Nigerian investors and make it easier for individual investors to invest in the market.
He pledged the determination of the current management of the Commission to make the capital market more accessible to Nigerians in a bid to attract more investors.
He noted that this would help attract more retail investors to the capital market and ensure steady growth.
According to him, “We need to make operations in the capital market as easy as possible, that way we can attract investments.
“We are aware that some investors have left their money due to the Herculean procedures involved in getting them, hence our desire to ensure that people are able to benefit from investments, with that, we can increase investor confidence. We will look at the processes involved and streamline them to ensure that investors are able to get their money without many difficulties.
“When that happens people can be motivated to come back to the market. Unless we are able to attract people back, we cannot get the capital market that we can be proud of. We should make our local individual investors the key to succeed in our quest to rebound the market. Local investors don’t have anywhere to go to, and as long as they trust us, they will remain.
He stated that the Commission has zero tolerance for sharp practices in the capital market and urged stakeholders to ensure that they operate according to laid down rules and regulations.
“We will not condone sharp practices in the market, we will ensure that everyone plays by the rules as that is one of the ways we can attract these investors. Investors need to be protected, once we can do that, we will be able to take our market to greater heights.
He further stated that investor protection would be at the centre of the initiatives of the new management warning that any operator that short-changes investors would not go Scott free.
“Retail investors are key to the development of the capital market in Nigeria and we want to assure investors that this market is for them and we are ready to do everything to ensure that we increase investor enlightenment through education, robust regulation and fair dealing.
“We have robust rules and regulations guiding conduct in the capital market. We therefore urge operators to obey these rules, but for those that want to defraud investors, there would be no respite because we are ready to fight market manipulation and sharp practices, anyone that flouts our rules will be made to face the consequences of their actions,” he stated.
