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\nIn a major boost to the operations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Nigerian capital market,\u00a0the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria\u00a0has\u00a0passed the Investments and Securities Bill 2024.
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\nThe Investments and Securities Bill, meant to repeal the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Act, was passed on the floor of the Senate Wednesday.
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\nDuring the\u00a0consideration of the report on the Bill from the committee on Capital Market, Senate Chief\u00a0Whip, Tahir\u00a0Monguno stated\u00a0that it\u00a0will\u00a0protect investors and eliminate fraudulent dealings in the capital market.
\nLeading the debate,\u00a0Chairman of the Senate Committee on Capital Market, Senator\u00a0Osita\u00a0Izunaso\u00a0said the bill sought to repeal the Investments and Securities Act, of 2007 and enact the Investments and Securities\u00a0Act, 2024 stating\u00a0that the ISB is capable of transforming the capital market, encourage the influx of foreign investors as well as boost investors\u2019 confidence, among others.
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\nIzunaso\u00a0said:\u00a0\u201cThe Bill seeks to repeal the existing Investments and Securities Act 2007, and to establish a new market infrastructure and wide-ranging system of regulation of investments and securities businesses in Nigeria especially in the areas of derivatives, systematic risk management, financial market infrastructure and Ponzi scheme and platforms.
\nHe said, \u201cIt was meant to establish the Securities and Exchange Commission as the apex regulatory authority for the Nigerian Capital Market.\u00a0It will be a regulation of the Market to ensure capital formation, the protection of investors, maintenance of fair, efficient and transparent market, and reduction of systemic risk.\u201d
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\nIzunaso\u00a0further said the main objective of the bill was to enact legislation that aligned with global dynamics as they relate to the regulation of capital market through the provision of an innovative regulatory framework.
\n\u201cIt will protect the integrity of the security market against all forms of market abuse and insider dealing.\u00a0It will prevent\u00a0unauthorised, illegal, unlawful, fraudulent and unfair trade practices, relating to securities and investments.\u201d
\nHe said that the overriding purpose of the proposed legislation was to strengthen the capacity of the Commission for the effective performance of its statutory mandate as well as reposition that\u00a0vital sector of the\u00a0economy for national economic transformation.<\/p>\n
While announcing the passage of the Bill,\u00a0President of the Senate,\u00a0Godswill\u00a0Akpabio\u00a0said\u00a0a lot of\u00a0people would be happy to infuse funds into the capital market when they know a lot of the risk has been\u00a0minimised.<\/p>\n
He thereafter declared the bill passed. <\/p>\n
Speaking recently,\u00a0Director General\u00a0of the SEC, Dr. Emomotimi Agama said the Bill is\u00a0pushing for harsher penalties on Ponzi scheme operators through the proposed Investments and Securities Bill (ISB) 2024, which mandates a minimum fine of N20 million or up to 10 years in prison, or both.
\nAgama explained that the bill explicitly prohibits Ponzi and pyramid schemes, fortifying protections for investors against illegal fund managers,\u00a0adding that it aims\u00a0to shield Nigerian investors from fraudulent schemes and enhance the capital market\u2019s global competitiveness.
\nA notable amendment\u00a0in the Bill\u00a0would allow the Investor Protection Fund (IPF), established by securities exchanges, to cover investor losses linked to\u00a0the deregistration\u00a0of brokerage firms, extending beyond the current coverage of bankruptcy or negligence cases.
\nAgama also noted the need for updates to the existing ISB 2007 to reduce ambiguities and align Nigeria\u2019s capital market regulations with international standards.
\n\u00a0\u201cThis bill\u2019s passage would be pivotal in setting Nigeria on the path to a world-class capital market,\u201d he stated, underscoring the role of a robust capital market in economic diversification.
\n The ISB 2024 also introduces regulatory frameworks for Commodity Exchanges and Warehouse Receipts, essential steps for developing Nigeria\u2019s commodities sector.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u00a0 In a major boost to the operations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Nigerian capital market,\u00a0the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria\u00a0has\u00a0passed the Investments and Securities Bill 2024. \u00a0 The Investments and Securities Bill, meant to repeal the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Act, was passed on the floor of the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6989,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6988","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-finance"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/peoplesforumonline.com.ng\/about\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6988","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/peoplesforumonline.com.ng\/about\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/peoplesforumonline.com.ng\/about\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peoplesforumonline.com.ng\/about\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peoplesforumonline.com.ng\/about\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6988"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/peoplesforumonline.com.ng\/about\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6988\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6990,"href":"https:\/\/peoplesforumonline.com.ng\/about\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6988\/revisions\/6990"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peoplesforumonline.com.ng\/about\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6989"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/peoplesforumonline.com.ng\/about\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6988"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peoplesforumonline.com.ng\/about\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6988"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peoplesforumonline.com.ng\/about\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6988"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}