The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has emphasised the importance of innovation and collaboration in advancing Nigeria’s commodities exchanges to drive economic growth, create jobs and reduce poverty.

Speaking at a stakeholder meeting in Abuja, SEC Director General, Emomotimi Agama reaffirmed the Commission’s commitment to building capacity, enhancing infrastructure, and fostering partnerships to sustain and develop the commodities market.

“Our role in sustaining commodities exchanges in Nigeria cannot be overlooked because at the heart of these exchanges’ functionality is the SEC, whose regulatory oversight plays a pivotal role in ensuring their sustainability and credibility,” Agama stated.

He highlighted the critical role of commodities exchanges in providing a structured and transparent platform for buying and selling. These exchanges, he said, help address post-harvest losses, improve market access, and stabilize prices, benefiting farmers, traders, and investors alike.

Agama further disclosed that the SEC’s vision is to create an enabling environment to protect investors and establish a strategy to elevate the commodities market. He noted that a key step toward this was the establishment of a commodities ecosystem technical committee a decade ago, derived from the Capital Market Master Plan.

“Nigeria is a commodity space; every state of this country has commodities in commercial quantities, so we are working to build that ecosystem in such a way that we are able to meet all of the blocks within the value chain to achieve economic development, prosperity, and a level playing field for every practitioner in this space,” he said.

As part of its efforts, the SEC plans to collaborate with the Federal Ministry of Trade and Investment to host the second International Commodities Conference later this year. Agama stressed that sustaining these benefits requires a steadfast commitment to ensuring the integrity and proper functioning of the exchanges.

With Nigeria’s economy heavily reliant on commodities, Agama urged stakeholders to seize available opportunities, pledging that the SEC would continue to champion innovative measures to bolster the commodities market.

SOURCE: THESUN