The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) says the passage of the Investments and Securities Bill (ISB) will facilitate the growth of the economy.
The SEC Director-General, Lamido Yuguda, in a statement on Sunday in Abuja, said the passage of the bill will also facilitate effective functioning of the capital market to make it more competitive.
The Director-General said the bill will also boost Nigeria’s on-going economic diversification, and appealed for the buy-in of key stakeholders to make the passage of the bill a reality.
Yuguda said the bill expanded the categories of issuers, as a key step toward the introduction of new innovations and offerings such as crowd-funding.
“Importantly, the bill introduces an express prohibition of ponzi/pyramid schemes as well as other illegal investment schemes. The bill also prescribes a jail-term of not less than 10 years for promoters of such schemes.
“It expands the definition of a Collective Investment Scheme to include schemes offered privately to qualified investors. Minor reviews on various sections of the extant law have been carried to provide greater clarity,” he said.
Yuguda said a recommendation was made in the bill for the inclusion of the National Pension Commission (PenCom) on the SEC Board for increased collaboration between the agencies.
He said the collaboration would encourage greater investment of pension funds in capital market products and instruments.
Importantly, the bill introduces an express prohibition of ponzi/pyramid schemes as well as other illegal investment schemes. The bill also prescribes a jail-term of not less than 10 years for promoters of such schemes.
