Caption: Vice President Kashim Shettima, Special Adviser to the President on Ease of Doing business Dr.  Jumoke Oduwole, Minister of Finance Wale Edun, flanked by Director General Securities and Exchange Commission Dr. Emomotimi Agama and others during the release of the Regulatory Reform Action Plan result in Abuja, weekend .

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), at the weekend, emerged among top scorers in the Federal Government’s  Regulatory Reform Action Plan targeted at promoting ease of doing business in the country.

The commission was one of the highest among the 36 Ministries, Departments and Agencies of the Federal Government assessed by the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) with 100% score.

Other top performers are: the Nigerian Agricultural Quarantine Services (NAQs),the Nigeria Maritime Safety and Administration Agency (NIMASA), Nigeria Export Import Bank (NEXIM), Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA) and the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) all having a 100% score and successfully completing the requirements of the action plan.

The plan, championed by PEBEC is targeted at equipping regulatory agencies that facilitate business environments to aid their efficiency.

Speaking at the ocassion, Vice President Kashim Shettima said “the long-term success of PEBEC hinges on Nigeria’s ability to institutionalise reform capabilities, foster deep collaboration across government, and maintain a commitment to continuous improvements of businesses.”

The country, he admitted, is currently facing peculiar times, which require developing solutions to improve the Ease of Doing Business across all sectors.

In her remarks, the Special Adviser to the President on Ease of Doing business, Dr Jumoke Oduwole said the “reforms operationalise earlier codified provision in the Business Facilitation Act 2022, and directly impact productivity and competitiveness of Nigeria’s economy.”

Speaking after the release of the Plan’s results in Abuja on Friday, Director General of the SEC, Dr. Emomotimi Agama noted that of the 36 MDAs assessed, the report released by PEBEC puts the SEC as one of the highest with 100 per cent.”

He said, “We are excited at this achievement and it is a call to do more in ensuring that investors find it easier doing business in the Nigerian capital market.

“We are committed to accelerating the development of the capital market in a manner that would boost wealth creation, attract investments and create jobs for Nigerians.

According to Agama, his team was appointed by President Tinubu to change the narrative of the capital market and reposition it to the path that would boost economic growth.

Continuing, he promised that the new management of SEC is “bringing on board innovation, development. We are going to change the narrative of the Nigerian capital market. We are going to turn it around. That is the essence of our being appointed by Mr. President. With this team, we assure Nigerians that we’re going to do the best that the President has the desire to do.

“Our desire is to move this market forward and to help in achieving the President’s $1tn economy in the shortest possible time,” he stressed further.