The Director General of the Securities and Exchange Commission of Nigeria, Emomotimi Agama, has been elected Vice Chairman of the Africa/Middle East Regional Committee of the International Organisation of Securities Commissions.

According to a statement made available to our correspondent by the commission on Sunday, by virtue of the election, Agama will serve on the IOSCO Board, the highest decision-making body of the global securities regulatory organisation, until 2026.

IOSCO was established in 1983, serves as the global standard-setter for the securities industry and is recognised as the leading international policy forum for securities regulators. Its members regulate more than 95 per cent of the world’s securities markets across over 100 jurisdictions.

In his acceptance remarks, Agama thanked AMERC members for their confidence in his leadership and pledged to work towards strengthening capital markets in Africa and the Middle East.

“This is more than a personal honour, it is a mandate to transform our capital markets into engines of inclusive growth, innovation, and shared prosperity for Africa and the Middle East,” he said.

Agama outlined priorities for his tenure, including expanding listings through harmonised standards, reducing listing costs, boosting liquidity via regional market-making schemes, and advancing pension fund reforms to channel more domestic savings into investments.

He also stressed the need to de-risk infrastructure projects to attract global capital and to leverage Africa’s youthful population for retail investor growth, fintech innovation, and startup listings.

On digital assets, Agama described them as a $10tn opportunity by 2030, calling for clear regulations on stablecoins, frameworks for tokenised securities, and investor protection standards for crypto assets.

PUNCH Online reports that the Securities and Exchange Commission of Nigeria has announced its entry into the Growth and Emerging Markets Committee Network on sustainability, a move aimed at aligning the Nigerian capital market with global sustainability standards. (PUNCH)