Some capital market experts have lauded President Bola Tinubu for signing the Investments and Securities Act (ISA, 2025) into law.
Some of the experts who spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Sunday, expressed optimism that the Act would help promote and sanitise the country’s capital market.
They appealed to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to reduce taxes on Capital Market Operators (CMOs) to ensure effective viability in the market.
According to afinancial expert, Mr Okechukwu Unegbu, signing of the Act was timely as the country’s capital market was ‘suffering’.
He urged SEC to leverage the provisions of the Act to help CMOs to reduce multiple taxation charged them to sustain their businesses.
The financial expert also appealed to the SEC to allow CMOs to engage in businesses that would enable them to make more money.
”The signing of the Act is a good one and it started well. The Nigerian capital market is suffering too because you will ask, why are they not making too much money like the banks.
”The commission they collect is very low. Some of them cannot fund their activities any longer. A lot of the CMOs are closing shops because of the charges on them.
”They (regulators) should find a way to reduce charges on CMOS,” he said.
Another capital market expert, Ms Pearl Ogbunobi, commended Tinubu for signing the Act.
Ogbunobi expressed optimism that the Act would be a game changer in the country’s capital market.
She said the Act when implemented effectively would make the country’s capital market to compete with other climes.
”It is only an administration that has the interest of the people and the capital market that will sign the ISA (2025).
”We are happy,” she said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that SEC in a statement on March 29, said that Tinubu assented to the Investments and Securities Act (ISA) 2025, which repealed the Investments and Securities Act No. 29 of 2007.
Dr Emomotimi Agama, the Director-General of SEC, said the Act would strengthen the legal framework of the country’s capital market, enhance investor protection, and introduce critical reforms to promote market integrity, transparency, and sustainable growth.
”The enactment of the ISA 2025 reaffirms the authority of the SEC as the apex regulatory authority of the Nigerian Capital Market as well as to regulate the market to ensure capital formation, protection of investors, and maintenance of fair, efficient and transparent market and reduction of systemic risks.
”The Act also introduces transformative provisions to further align Nigeria’s market operations with international best practices.
”The Act enhances the regulatory powers of the SEC in a manner comparable with benchmark global securities regulators,” Agama said.
He added that notable provisions of the ISA 2025 include Classification of Exchanges and inclusion of provisions on Financial Market Infrastructures.
He further said that the Act classified Securities Exchanges into Composite and Non-composite Exchanges. (NAN)
