Nigeria needs capital market to mobilise finance – Osinbajo

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo says the capital market is needed for the mobilisation of finance to help grow the nation’s economy.

He said this on Monday in Abuja, while delivering a keynote address at a two-day stakeholders’ forum on “Realising the Full Potential of the Nigerian Economy Through Proactive Capital Market Legislation’’.

He was represented by Dr Adeyemi Dipeolu, Special Adviser to the President on Economic Matters.

He said that for effective mobilisation of finances, there was need for enforcement of rules and regulations which were the bedrock of capital investment.

Capital will only flow to where the rules are clear.

It is also essential in the process of deepening the Nigerian Capital Market to review existing legislation, especially in the Investment and Securities Act of 1999.

This is in order to give full impetus to the potential of the capital market.’’

Osinbajo said the capital market played a very important role in economic development, particularly capital allocation and effective management of risk.

He said this was because it also helped in meeting the physical needs of government and it was an arena through which monetary policy could be made effective.

The vice-president explained that it gave fillip to business development, promote employment, promote investment and help to pay for infrastructure.

He, however, said that the capital market needed to be deepened in Nigeria and that the nation required a stable macro-economic environment to actualise this.

Also required are strong legal and regulatory frameworks to protect property rights and enforce contracts, good corporate governance and strong financial infrastructure.

All of these are necessary for market depth and liquidity.

At the same time the capital market requires strong fiscal and monetary policies to be aligned if they are going to generate growth and development.’’

The vice-president also said that the capital market had a key role to play in helping to finance domestic borrowing plans.

Osinbajo said the Federal Government understood the need for an appropriate economic environment for growth and thus encapsulated in its strategic implementation plan for the 2016 budget.

According to him, the federal government has six priority areas and 34 actions to help stimulate economic growth.

Osibajo said he was confident that with the committed and coherent delivery of the plan, the present administration would restore the economic growth of Nigeria in the course of this financial year.

In his remarks, Mr Aigboje Aig-Imuokhuede, President, National Council of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) said 41 million Nigerians saved money at home to the tune of half a trillion naira.

He said the amount could be mobilised and invested in the stock market for the growth of the market.

Aig-Imuokhuede said youth population of the country was growing by the day and there was need to find ways of engaging them positively.

He said that the NSE would continue to play its role in facilitating inclusive economic growth by empowering Nigerians through financial literacy for growth through corporate social responsibility.

The president said a supportive legislative framework for enhancing the capital market would create enabling environment for the growth of the stock exchange market.

According to him, investors in the economy are rational human beings and they invest based on facts, empirical data and financial principles.

He said the enabling environment, the legal framework and the policy framework should reflect certainty in terms of financial applications and principles.

Aig-Imuokhuede said that economic growth was the only panacea to the current problems facing the country.

He said economic growth would address issues of employment, inclusion, poverty and enable the country to run a budget built on infrastructure.

Aig-Imuokhuede said collaboration between the public and private sector was a key to the success of the nation’s economic and financial development.

The objective of the workshop was to provide a platform for key stakeholders to examine and identify areas requiring debate and legislative work.

This is to enhance early achievement of the recommendations of the Nigerian Capital Market Master Plan (NCMMP 2015-2025).