The Senate Committee on Capital Market has said that the newly signed Investment and Securities Bill 2025 will play a key role in achieving President Bola Tinubu’s vision of a $1 trillion economy.
Speaking in Abuja on Wednesday, Senator Osita Izunaso, Chairman of the Senate Committee and sponsor of the original bill, assured that the Act would allow sub-nationals to access long-term loans from the capital market for developmental projects.
Tinubu had pledged during his 2023 presidential campaign to grow Nigeria’s economy to a $1 trillion GDP by 2030. Izunaso emphasized that the law not only strengthens the financial system but also eliminates fraudulent Ponzi schemes in the country.
He said, “Today, Mr. President is talking about a $1 trillion economy. By signing this Act into law, it means that Nigeria is set for that $1 trillion economy.
“So today, the capital market has been reset for that purpose. I would also like to make it clear that the days of Ponzi insider trading and market manipulations are over in Nigeria.
“With the new law, states and local governments can approach the capital market for long-term funding. Instead of relying on federation accounts and commercial borrowing, states and the 774 LGAs can now go to the capital market for long-term funding for the projects.
“For now, only the Lagos Island Local Government Area has approached the capital market to secure loans to fund their projects.”
Continuing, the Imo lawmaker expressed optimism that the Act, which was assented to last week by Tinubu, would grow the country’s digital assets, including cryptocurrency, astronomically.
According to him, Nigeria remains one of the second or third biggest countries globally in terms of cryptocurrency, adding that a lot of money has passed through the economy without regulation.
He said, “With what we have done today, for the first time in the history of Nigeria, digital assets as well as cryptocurrency have now been recognized as a form of security in Nigeria. This means that people can now trade with digital assets and cryptocurrency, which will be properly regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission.
“What it means is that the virtual asset services providers, as well as the digital asset operators, are today under the purview of the SEC. Today, we are making it more transparent for you to operate in the capital market.”So this new law is promoting investors’ confidence, repositioning Nigeria because hitherto, the ISA of 2007, was not in compliance with the International Organisation for Securities Commissions. So you can trade anywhere now in Nigeria internationally, taking it from the records that are known, not the records that are not known, as we were doing it before.”
ALSO READ TOP STORIES FROM VERILY NEWS
