Implementation of SEC master plan, my priority, says DG

… Pledges to partner with Daily Times

The Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC, Mr Mounir Gwarzo on Thursday disclosed that the Commission is working very hard to ensure that the participation of the retail investment in capital market is raised to five percent in the next ten years.

Gwarzo made the disclosure when he played host to the management team of the Daily Times Newspaper, DTN, led by its Chairman/Publisher, Mr Fidelis Anosike in his office in Abuja.

The DG of SEC pointed out that the participation of the retail investment in capital market in the country currently stands at two percent.

While harping on the need for the government to encourage more companies to be listed on the stock exchange, Gwarzo insisted that it was very pertinent to ensure the growth in the participation of the retail investment in the capital market in the interest of the nation.

He reiterated his determination to do the very best that he could to take SEC to the next level by painstakingly and thoroughly implementing the master plan of the Commission to the letter.

According to him, “the implementation of the master plan of SEC is very important to me. The stakes are very high for me. I have no excuse not to give my very best to see that the stock market works”.

The Commission, he however pointed out, would not hesitate to sanction or deal with any operator who does anything capable of tarnishing the reputation of the capital market, after being cautioned once or twice.

He made it clear that there is no way SEC could serve or do its work effectively well if the credibility of the capital market is in doubt.

Mounir stated that the performance of the nation’s capital market has been steadily improving, notwithstanding the pressure being exerted on the economy.

The DG equally declared that it was very imperative for anybody wishing to operate in the capital market to have enough financial muscle to do so rather than depending on investors’ funds for operation.

He emphasized the need for those in government to see the act of governance as purely a call to service.

The DG commended the role the media has been playing so far in the coverage of the capital market with a pledge to partner with the DTN in this regard.

Earlier, the Chairman/Publisher of Daily Times, Mr Fidelis Anosike had harped on the need for partnership between the two organizations with the concrete assurances that Daily Times is ready to give SEC the needed support and cooperation in its various areas of operations.

Anosike told the DG that Daily Times is for the generality of the people, making it very clear that the newspaper is free of any political colouration as it is not politically inclined.

In his words, “We are ready and willing to partner with you and support you in whatever you are doing. We are not playing to the gallery. We are for the people and that is why we are not politically inclined.

While commending the DG of SEC for what he has been doing since his assumption of office, the DTN Publisher reminded him that it is the achievement that he (the DG) records while in office that he would long be remembered for years after he has left office.