The Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Nigeria, Dr. Emomotimi Agama, has charged stakeholders in the nation’s financial sector to imbibe a culture of proactive compliance to investment and financial system policy guidelines to safeguard Nigeria’s position in the global financial system
The investment expert, who gave the advice at the Nigerian Capital Market Institute Compliance Summit on Monday, described the forum as crucial to the future of the country’s financial markets as discussions will revolve around the the very heart of the market’s integrity, stability and future.
Agama noted that the recent removal of Nigeria from the FATF Grey List was a major national achievement and a strong global endorsement of the country’s determination to strengthen its Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) framework.
According to him, the delisting of Nigeria from the Grey List is not a mere administrative update but represents the global community’s affirmation of the country’s collective and unwavering commitment.
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Attributing the delisting of Nigeria to the joint efforts of public and private sector institutions, the SEC boss commended operators, regulators and compliance professionals for their roles in achieving the milestone, warning that the nation’s “exiting the grey list is not the finish line; it is the starting block for a new race. The world is watching.”
Agama maintained that international investors and global financial institutions would continue to monitor Nigeria to determine whether the reforms are sustainable and whether the country’s compliance culture is deeply entrenched.
He described the theme of the summit as underscoring the need to shift from compliance driven by external pressure to a more strategic, proactive and permanent culture of adherence to global standards.
The Director-General said: “Robust compliance is no longer a regulatory burden; it is our single most powerful competitive advantage. A compliant market is a transparent market, and a trustworthy market is the destination for capital.”
While pointing out that Nigeria’s strengthened compliance regime signals to the international community that the country is open for business, safe, secure and sophisticated, Agama called for continuous improvement across institutions, especially through the adoption of RegTech and SupTech solutions, regular training of compliance officers, and promotion of ethical conduct across the financial services ecosystem.
He assured stakeholders that the commission would continue to provide strong regulatory guidance, constructive supervision and the necessary engagement to keep Nigeria aligned with global standards.
The Director-General urged participants at the summit to share insights and develop practical solutions that will future-proof the Nigerian capital market and ensure that Nigeria is never again listed on the FATF Grey List but will continue to feature among the world’s most resilient and compliant emerging markets.
In her remarks at the forum, the commission’s Executive Commissioner Legal and Enforcement, Barr. Frana Chukwuogor, spoke on the Investment and Securities Act 2025, noting that one of the greatest challenges that compliance officers and even market operators face when there is a change in regulation is that they don’t have enough information on what has changed.
She explained: “How can you be compliant if you don’t know what has changed? So, our focus here today is to bring the attention, call attention to some of the new issues, some of the new areas that may pose risks to them and the market.
The Executive Commissioner said some of those issues border on challenges of Ponzi schemes and digital assets.
Chukukwuogor expatiated: “All of you remember that this October, just past October, we were removed from the gray list. So, yes, we want every participant, every capital market operator, especially the CEOs to compel the people who work with them, especially the compliance officers, to learn the new issues that the Investment and Securities Act 2025 requires of them.”
She hinted that the Commission intended to measure compliance by ensuring that operators file annual returns on timely basis, warning that failure to comply with the legal requirements could result in sanctions.
