The non-interest capital market sector in Nigeria has been described as one that is unique and full of potentials to facilitate the objective of deepening the financial system and spurring the growth of the Nigerian economy. This was stated by the Director General Securities and Exchange Commission, Mr. Lamido Yuguda in an opening remark during a 4-day Executive Programme on Non Interest (Islamic) Capital Market (NICM) Products and Basic Accounting Treatment organised by Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB) based in Malaysia, and the Auditing and Accounting Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI) based in Bahrain. Yuguda said the recent sovereign issuances of Sukuk by the Nigerian Debt Management Office (DMO), which were all oversubscribed, stresses the need to enhance the SEC’s regulatory capacity adding that the Sovereign Sukuk issuances set the benchmark for other corporates to issue Sukuk for various developmental activities.

   He said the SEC’s quest for in-depth knowledge for Non-Interest Capital Market products, operations, and services is further underscored by the recent increase in market activities such as the entrance of more assets managers, investment advisers, Real Estate Investment Trusts, advisory experts e.tc. to provide new asset classes for Nigerian investors.     He said, “It is worthy of note that whilst the Non-Interest Capital Market sector in Nigeria is nascent and unique, it is a market full of potential to facilitate the objective of deepening the financial system and spurring the growth of our economy.  “Thus, as you are aware, the SEC in its efforts to deepen the Nigerian Capital Market, developed a 10-year (2015 – 2025) Masterplan with various strategic recommendations, one of which is to drive the Non-Interest Capital Market segment of the market to enable it contribute not less than 25% to the total market capitalization.  “Although, we can confidently report some remarkable achievements recorded in the segment, six years into the implementation of the Masterplan, the Non-interest Capital Market (NICM) segment is still facing challenges in terms of innovation, awareness, acceptance and coverage.

These challenges underscore the need to provide focused training, capacity building and vigorous stakeholder engagement and awareness programs”.    Yuguda expressed the confidence that the IFSB and OOAIFI have assembled subject matter experts for the training to ensure that the SEC not only gains the requisite knowledge on the Non-Interest Capital Market segment but also optimally leverages the global experiences of the facilitators to guide it in facilitating the development of the sector.       “Today therefore is a landmark day for all of us logged in to this training. As we kick start the programme, I urge all participants to participate fully and leverage this golden opportunity to learn from the experts and cross fertilize ideas, as capacity building is fundamental to enabling this sector” he added.       “Once again, I welcome you to this virtual training programme themed “4-day Executive Programme on Non-Interest (Islamic) Capital Market (NICM) Products and Basic Accounting Treatment” and I wish us fruitful and participatory deliberations.