Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) have announced collaboration to minimise trade manipulations in the virtual sphere.
Emomotimi Agama, acting director-general, SEC, said that his the organisation was ready to collaborate with the EFCC to accomplish the national goal of ensuring that criminal activity is prevented from flourishing.
Agama stated this when he received a team from the EFCC led by Ola Olukoyede, executive chairman, in Abuja.
“We believe this form of cooperation is in the best interest of Nigerians. Only last week, we met the fintech community, and we made it clear to them that the SEC will not condone illegal trading on any platform, especially P2P. It’s a dangerous trend, and we cannot allow it to continue. This collaboration is very necessary for us to get out of this forex crisis.
According to Agama, the commission is preparing an economic regulatory centre to upload requests and have other sister agencies respond immediately, adding that the commission was implementing the Revised Capital Market Master Plan, intended to boost the economy and draw in FDIs.
“The opportunities in the capital market are enormous, and we are yet to tap the full potential for economic growth. The economy has a lot of issues, and the capital market is one of the avenues that can lead to economic emancipation. The President has said he wants to re-engage the youth, and that is why we are making efforts to ensure that our markets have the right products that can attract them,” he asserted.
According to the EFCC chairman, it is necessary to investigate the role virtual traders are playing in undermining the Nigerian economy.
He noted that the commission was prepared to use its authority to boost the economy and characterised the SEC as crucial to regulatory compliance.
“We are enforcers and not regulators, and that is why we need the SEC to ensure people play by the rules. We have done a lot to discourage people from forex malpractices,” he remarked.
Olukoyede emphasised that other agencies must cooperate with the EFCC in its fight against corruption, saying that it was a team effort.
