Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) strengthens Ties With Ghana

In an effort to encourage market integration and provide better opportunities for economic prosperity to Nigeria and Ghana, the Securities and Exchange Commissions of both countries have signed a renewed Memorandum of Understanding. Speaking during the signing ceremony in Accra at the weekend, Mr. Lamido Yogoda, Director General of the Securities and Exchange Commission of Nigeria, noted that both countries had enjoyed a long period of brotherhood and a progressive and mutually beneficial partnership with the same applied to both institutions resulting in Signing the first memorandum of understanding in 2003.

He said through the revised MoU, both countries had developed a strong and comprehensive document that includes and reflects all current trends, emphasizing that the objective of the Integrated West African Capital Markets Program is to create an environment conducive to cross-border securities transactions and the integration of all regions of the capital markets in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) region. Yogoda added that both SEC Ghana and SEC Nigeria, desiring to realise these ideals, have taken the lead by leading this project in the sub-region while one day hoping to expand their coverage beyond sub-regional boundaries to other parts of the continent of Africa.

In his remarks, the General Manager of SEC Ghana, Reverend Daniel Ogbarmi Tetteh said that the two securities committees are ready to work together and develop the potential of the capital market by studying the problems and exploring ways to solve them to make the capital markets work better. Tetteh said, “This is a good framework that will benefit both countries and the sub-region. If you want to go further, it is better to align with others and that is why we always have discussions on cooperation in the capital market. We had a memorandum of understanding in 2003 that focused on cooperation and benefiting of the potential of the capital markets in the sub-region. We are in a better position when we collaborate to realize the potential of our capital markets.”