The Africa and Middle East Regional Committee (AMERC) of the International Organisation of Securities Commission (IOSCO), has commended the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)for its professionalism and dedication to duty.
The Acting Head of Media, SEC, Mrs Efe Ebelo said this in a statement in Abuja, Wednesday.
Ebelo said the out gone Vice Chairman of AMERC, Nezha Hayat, gave the commendation at the official handover of the Committee’s leadership from SEC Nigeria to Paul Muthaura of Capital Markets Authority (CMA), Kenya.
She said the handover was done at the ongoing IOSCO conference in Budapest, Hungary.
She said the vice chairman listed the monumental approval of Arabic as an additional official language of IOSCO as one of the achievements of the Committee under the leadership of SEC Nigeria.
“I will like to take time to show our appreciation to SEC Nigeria for anchoring the ship for over a decade and it has been quite a smooth sail.
“Under Nigeria’s leadership, AMERC has grown in size and stature, our relevance as a region in IOSCO has been felt and its visibility and impact has also been felt within the region.
“Nigeria’s commitment to AMERC and IOSCO over the decade cannot be overemphasised.
“It is, therefore, fitting to applaud all their contributions to AMERC over the years and say a big thank you,’’ she quoted Hayat as saying.
Hayat said the committee within the past two years steered AMERC into more relevance within IOSCO, with increased engagement with members and on higher level.
She said this was in addition to their increased participation and involvement in technical activities within IOSCO for the overall benefit of the region.
She said the committee expressed the belief that AMERC would continuously deepen its participation in IOSCO’s technical work and share experiences and information at a larger scale to deepen markets and be more inclusive.
The outgoing vice chairman congratulated the new AMERC executive and gave assurance of continued support of the past executive.
In his remarks, IOSCO Secretary- General, Paul Andrews commended AMERC on its regulatory capabilities.
Also, the new Chairman, Muthaura, in his remarks encouraged AMERC member countries to continue with efforts at key policy making and standard setting within the organisation.
“A lot needs to be done in the area of Investor education and protection.
“We need to leverage on the good work being done by IOSCO so that we can contribute as well as benefit.
“The work of IOSCO is very broad and we want to work at key areas that will be of most benefit to us in our regions.’’