The Federal government has disclosed plans to go after Ponzi schemes in Nigeria, punish offenders, and recover funds for victims.
Speaking at the National Capital Market Conference organized by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in Abuja, Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, said the government is working to curb the spread of Ponzi schemes in the country.
He noted that “we will act against Ponzi schemes, joint enforcement with law enforcement agencies, and fraud institution mechanism will help us stop these schemes early before they even start.
“We will prosecute those responsible and recover money for victims as much as possible” he stated.
The Minister, who also launched the National Savings Scheme at the conference, emphasized the need to draw the country’s youth into financial prosperity through viable investment platforms.
Oyedele explained that the National Savings Scheme would offer a safer alternative for young savers. “Many young Nigerians today are putting their money into betting platforms, unregulated crypto and pyramid schemes.
“We have only 6 million recent investors in a country of over 240 million, just about 2% of our population. We want our young people to be able to buy into regulated funds and Nigerian companies, even with small amount at low cost.”
The minister said the National Savings Scheme and the pre-saving framework are built for Nigerian youth, adding that the government is exploring global capital and the technology sector to attract more foreign investment.
“We will simplify onboarding, connect the global custodians, apply physically, automatically and speed up reconciliation. Nigerian fintech and economic companies, including digital intelligence firms, too often meets abroad.
“We want to change that. The Nigerian Startup Act and the new tax law authority provide incentives. We will add a special digital economy zone framework to give these companies a clear rule for capital to lease care at home.
“The plan coordinates regulators so that one client can serve several agencies to lower transaction costs and make investor journeys simpler, from opening an account to settlement.
“The investment and security tribunal will be strengthened to resolve investor dispute faster and will improve commercial dispute resolution for businesses.”
The Minister further explained that the government will expand the scope of the tribunal’s mandate to improve commercial dispute resolution, creating a more favorable environment for businesses in the country and attracting more investors.
Also speaking, the Director-General of the SEC, Dr. Emomotimi Agama, revealed that “our market is growing in value. It is not yet growing deep enough in people. Too few Nigerians own a share, a bond, or a unit of our collective investment scheme.
“Too much of our savings sits idle outside the formal system, quietly eroded by inflation, and too many of our enterprises, our infrastructure projects, and our state look abroad or to the banks alone for capital that ought to be raised from Nigerians”.
He cautioned that the strength of any capital market rests on the savings of the people. “Ours must rest in on the savings of all of us,” he stated.