The Director-General of Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Mr
Mannir Gwarzo, has urged state governments to take advantage of the
numerous benefits available in the capital market to enhance development
in the country.
Gwarzo made this appeal on Wednesday in Katsina at the SEC Day at the 18th Made in Nigeria Katsina Trade Fair.
He said such advantages could be accessed through equities, bonds or mortgage bond securities.
Represented by the SEC Zonal Head of
Kano office, Malam Adamu Sambo, Gwarzo said the Nigerian capital market
had the capacity to provide long term funds needed to solve the
infrastructure challenges.
He added it would also serve as a springboard that would fast-track development at the states level.
Gwarzo disclosed the commission was
attending the trade fair to manifest one of its broad functions which
was conducting enlightenment on its activities.
”We are here to enlighten the Katsina
State Government and its people on the need for them to take activities
in the market as a means for development.
”We have a new government in place and
we hope that they will access the capital market to raise funds to meet
their development needs.
”The president has already said that he
is keen on development of the country; we therefore, urge the state
governments to use the capital market as a channel to raise funds for
development,’’ he said.
He explained states had a lot of
potentials and “we believe that they can use the capital market as one
of the means of achieving their goals”.
The DG noted between 1999 and 2013, both
the federal and state governments had raised over N500 billion through
the market which was used for infrastructure development.
Gwarzo, however, expressed dismay over
the attitude of some state governments that claimed they did not want to
borrow funds for development to avoid leaving huge debt behind.
He explained such attitude was
counterproductive as it was better to borrow to meet infrastructural
needs than to be contented with just paying salaries.
Gwarzo said “indebtedness is not bad, what is bad is a situation where such funds are used for consumption only”.
He, therefore, urged the state
governments to embrace the capital market in their economic strategy, to
meet the needs and aspirations of their people.
On the issue of investor apathy, the DG,
while admitting business was about risks and returns, assured the
commission had strong regulatory framework to protect investors.
NAN
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