The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has asked the Senate not to create avoidable friction between it and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) by arrogating absolute powers to the latter.
Speaking on Thursday during a public hearing on the Investment and Securities Bill, 2024, organised by the Senate Committee on Capital Market in Abuja, the CBN representative, Dr Tukur Galadima kicked against absolute powers being proposed for SEC over public companies.
He argued that arrogating such powers to the SEC would cause friction as some of the public companies involved some financial institutions already under the control of the CBN.
He also kicked against a proposal in the bill that seeks to allow for the use of cash to buy securities, saying, “You cannot use cash to buy securities. It is contrary to the provisions of the law against money laundering.”
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The CBN representative also advised the committee to expunge section 193, which seeks to allow for investment in multi-currency, saying “The issue of currency is strictly with the CBN.”
He, however, said the CBN was in support of new laws for regulation of the investment and securities and the capital market in general.
In his presentation, the Director-General of SEC, Dr Emomotimi Agama, said the move by the Senate committee to repeal the Investment and Securities Act 2007 and enact a new one, was very necessary.
“For Nigeria to get it right among the comity of nations as far as the capital market is concerned, the proposed law needs to be passed before the year runs out. The proposed bill when passed into law would turn around the Nigerian economy in the area of commodity market, cryptocurrency etc,” he said.
The Chairman of the Committee, Senator Osita Izunaso, said the SEC bill was very sensitive “being the ombudsman law covering the entire capital market.”
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