. Finance minister says FG committed to its growth
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Abuja has reiterated commitment to buoying the capital market to raise its contribution and help sustain Nigeria as Africa’s leading economy.
Capital markets play a central role in economic growth through mobilising long term savings for investment as well as efficient pricing of financial instruments, Finance Minister Zainab Ahmed said.
Over the years, she recalled, the capital market has provided the platform for corporates and governments to source capital to expand operations and provide amenities for citizens.
Ahmed made the point at the Maiden Awards Night of the Securities and Exchange Commission in Lagos, where she said Nigeria is making a lot of effort to diversify the economy, raise revenues, and block leakages.
The government is also making effort to mobilise resources to aid investment in small and medium enterprises and provide infrastructure.
Ahmed commended the awardees for contributing to achieving more than 100 initiatives in the Capital Market Master Plan (CAMMP).
The main thrust of the CAMMP aligns with the government’s own Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) for the financial services sector, which drew heavily on the CAMMP when it was being prepared.
The ERGP aims to strengthen market institutions and mitigate risk by building a healthy and competitive financial system better positioned to support the private sector and sustain economic growth.
The objective of the ERGP, like the CAMMP, is to diversify stock market instruments, review capitalisation of financial institutions, encourage lending to the real sector, and facilitate the growth of the economy.
“All of these are necessary for us to be able to create jobs, wealth and increase the standard of living of our people and the capital market is central to all of these efforts,” Ahmed said.
“I want to urge all of you here today to continue to partner with the government in its bid to achieve policies that it is committed to in the ERGP.
“As the ERGP recognises the power of the capital market to drive its own forms, CAMMP is today proven to be an embodiment of this recognition.”
Ahmed applauded market operators for co-operating with the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) to formulate and implement the CAMMP with impact.
Acting SEC Director General, Mary Uduk, said the event was organised to appreciate the support the Commission has received from market operators and stakeholders.
Their co-operation, she added, has advanced collective aspiration to accelerate capital market growth and contribute to the national economy.
Implementation of the 10-Year Capital Market Master Plan commenced under the guidance of the Capital Market Master Plan Implementation Council chaired by Olutola Mobolurin.
“I am very pleased to state that we have made great strides in our implementation efforts,” Uduk said.
“We have taken up the initiatives outlined in the master plan document in a systematic manner while also painstakingly engaging with the government, its agencies and other critical stakeholders whose support and collaboration is required to achieve the objectives outlined in the master plan.”
The master plan, launched in 2014, seeks to position the capital market for accelerated development of the economy.