The Federal Government has expressed concern over the volatility of the Nigerian capital market and vowed to strengthen the market to ensure it contributes to the growth and development of the economy.
Speaking in Abuja, Tuesday evening, when members of the Capital Market Master Plan Implementation Council, CAMMIC, visited him, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo stated that the capital market plays a central role in the development of the economy through mobilisation of long term savings for investment.
He added that the present administration was interested in deepening the capital market which would in turn lead to a deepening of the financial market.
Osinbajo reiterated the commitment of the Federal Government towards building a vibrant capital market that would contribute to the growth and development of the country and can compare with similar markets anywhere in the world.
He said the government was concerned about the volatility of the capital market and was ready to work with CAMMIC to ensure that the market is stable.
Osinbajo said: “There is no way we can deepen our financial system without a vibrant capital market. We know we need foreign investors in our market, but most importantly we need to grow our domestic investors that are here to stay. I think we can do a lot to ensure that our capital market is better than what it is now”.
Also speaking, Mr. Olutola Mobolurin, Chairman of CAMMIC, expressed the need for Government to pay more attention to the capital market being the centre of the economy as regulation of the market is paramount because the industry relies on confidence of investors
Mobolurin also canvassed for the setting up of a National Savings Committee to drive the process of fund mobilization among Nigerians and work on a robust savings initiative that can drive the growth of the economy.
The CAMMIC chairman requested for a holistic financial system review to enable the system evolve together so that the entire system can drive the economic objectives of the present administration.
“We must find a way of growing the economy at a rate much higher than the population rate. One of the things we can do is to develop our own savings strategy and increase the savings level in the system so that we are not solely dependent on foreign investors” he said.
He listed some of the achievements of the council to include dematerialization, recapitalization, e-dividend mandate, financial literacy, National Savings Strategy, Streamlined Bond Issuance Progress, Access to alternative investments and Tax incentive programmes.
Other achievements, he said, are enhancing commodities trading ecosystem, enhancing market liquidity and facilitating the establishment of a credit enhancement facility.
For the year 2019, Mobolurin disclosed that CAMMIC will embark on a review of the Master Plan, conduct an impact assessment of programmes and initiatives like e-dividend, dematerialization, Direct Cash Settlement among others, expansion of commodities through registered exchanges as well as the introduction of derivatives and related instruments.
In her remarks, Ms. Mary Uduk, Acting Director General of the Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC, said the Commission and the market are working to make the capital market one of the drivers of economic growth and development.
