Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, has urged Capital market investors to take advantage of initiative introduced in the capital market plan to deepen knowledge in market fundamental. The Minister of Finance and National Planning, stated this at the enlightenment workshop/investors clinic session with the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning and its agencies in Abuja.

Minister of Finance advices capital market investors.

Represented by Director Home Finance, Mr. Stephen Okon, she said the enlightenment program is in line with the commissions’ Capital Market Master Plan and urged the Securities and Exchange Commission to reflect and review the challenges faced by investors with a view of actualizing the objectives of the plan in the remaining few years.

She said: “It is worthy to know that the SEC marked out a 10-year plan for development of the Nigerian capital market. The objective is to device strategies for the development of the Nigerian capital market in key areas such as investor protection and integration, professionalism and product innovation and for the expansion of the capital market’s role in Nigeria’s economy.

“The SEC deemed it fit to host members of staff of the ministry of finance, budget and national planning and agencies under the ministry in a capital market training procession and workshop with investors.

Director General of the SEC, Mr. Lamido Yuguda said the event which is organized by SEC in collaboration with the Financial Literacy Technical Committee (FLTC) is an annual event coordinated by IOSCO, which it mandates securities regulators globally to commemorate in their respective jurisdictions for the promotion of investor education and protection.

Yuguda said as a member of IOSCO, the SEC is joining the rest of the world to celebrate this important week with planned activities focused on enlightening retail investors on their rights, duties and responsibilities, and educate them on contemporary issues in the Nigerian capital market.

According to Yuguda, the Nigerian financial sector is experiencing a resurgence of Ponzi schemes and illegal fund managers, who lure their subscribers by making promises of huge and unjustifiable returns on investment adding that these unlawful schemes have and continued to enjoy the massive patronage of the Nigerian populace and remain a source of concern for regulators in the financial sector.