The Director General of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Dr Emomotimi Agama, has emphasised that the deployment of blockchain technology will improve efficiency and aid the regulation of the capital market.
Agama stated this during a session with a delegation from Algorand Foundation at the commission’s headquarters in Abuja.
He said in Africa, where there are significant issues such as financial exclusion, lack of transparency, and inefficiencies in public and private sectors, blockchain presents an opportunity to build a future where the challenges can be addressed as blockchain is a digital ledger technology that securely records and verifies transactions across a network of computers.
The SEC DG said the commission is consistently aligning with international best practices by collaborating with global regulatory bodies such as the International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO), adding that this ensures that the commission’s regulatory framework remains robust, adaptive, and aligns with global standards, enabling cross-border collaboration and fostering investor confidence.
He said: “We want to activate blockchain for our efficiency; we want to be able to use it to regulate our market. My dream is to have all of the information we need to do our work in a block chain. We want to bring technology into our system for effectiveness where we can work seamlessly and everything that we do will be traceable.
“We want to leave a legacy that each one of us will be proud of when we leave this Commission. But in getting that to happen, we must all be educated enough to drive that course.”
In his remarks, Global Head of Business Development Algorand Foundation, Mr Eric Wragge, said the team is in Nigeria to democratise technology and assist interested organisations and businesses take advantage of the numerous benefits of implementing blockchain technology in their operations.