Senate committee seeks ₦10bn funding boost for capital market literacy
The Senate Committee on Capital Markets on Tuesday asked the Minister of Finance, and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr Wale Edun, to approve N10bn special funding to finance literacy development in the capital market.
Chairman of the Committee, Senator Osita Izunaso, made the appeal when Edun and the Director-General of the the Securities and Exchange Commission, Dr Emomotimi Agama,, appeared before the committee for an interactive session.
Izunaso noted with concerns that only 5,000 investors were in the capital market, adding that a special fund for the sector would help in boosting it.
He said, “We are asking for an intervention for capital allocation, special funding to finance literacy development in the capital market because that is where the problem is.
“So, if you do that, we will be happy and the capital market will blossom. You will get our letter in that regard today after this meeting.
“That is the hallmark of what Senator Victor Umeh said. Most of them (investors) lost their money through this capital market system. People lost money; people have not regained confidence and we are pushing them,” Izunaso said.
A member of the committee, Senator Victor Umeh (LP Anambra), had earlier said that the capital market was an essential indicator of the health of any economy and how the capital market operates across the world.
He said, “From past experience in the capital market, a lot is expected to be done to restore public confidence on the Nigerian Stock Exchange.
“Being able to restore public confidence is key to the operations in that sector. Why we said this is because what we saw was a shock and traumatic experience where investors in the market lost all their funds”.
The Chairman Senate Committee on Finance, Senator Sani Musa, said that the request for N10 billion for literacy and enlightenment needed to be granted.
“We need to see how we can take money out from the budget for the campaign,” he said.
Reacting, the Minister of Finance, Wale Edun, explained that in as much as President Bola Tinubu has set up a target of a $1trn economy, what matters is the vibrancy of the economy.
“This is in terms of having economic stability at the macro level in terms of the revenues, budget deficits, and inflation rates.
“Such that the coming together of these major variables can create a stable environment, which will improve investment, including investment in the capital market through the stock exchange.
“All these are under the purview of SEC. We now have a much more stable macroeconomic economy for investments as a result of the President’s decisive and timely intervention.”
