Gone are the days when financial transactions and deals are carried out only by financial experts, while lawyers and solicitors are relegated to the background, says the director general of the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) Dr. Emomotimi Agama.
Agama, who charged lawyers to take their place in the capital market operations, made the remark as a keynote speaker during the yearly business summit of the Capital Market Solicitors Association (CMSA) held in Lagos last Thursday.
Speaking under the theme, ‘’Revolutionising the Nigerian Capital Market Through Innovative Financial Instruments for Sustainable Development’’, Agama called for unity amongst industry practitioners as sustainable development cannot be achieved within the fast-developing financial sector if stakeholders cannot work together.
He further stated that the Federal Government is doing a lot on its side to change, improve and promote the nation’s business environment and that evolving new trends aimed at revolutionising the capital market are always accepted, adding that global best practices in the capital market would always be upheld.
The Managing Director of One17 Capital, Mallam Attahiru Maccido, said that Solicitors are important in all forms of business contracts including non-interest financial transactions.
He maintained that all the products of non-interest banking and financial transactions are legal documents in as much as they uphold religious tenets.
Also, a senior manager with PricewaterhouseCoopers Nigeria, Mrs. Elizabeth Ekpo, called for a legal balance in policy and the drive for profit so as not to run into troubled waters.
She further called for a level playing field where investors interested in various fields of the economy, solicitors, stockbrokers, and other players in the financial sector can meet to cross-pollinate ideas.
Earlier in his welcome speech, CMSA Chairman, Vincent Iweze, stated that given the new development within the sector, there was a need for players in the financial sector to work together, identify and come up with solutions and innovations that will move the capital market to the next level.
The event featured goodwill messages from the Chairman, Senate Committee on Capital Market, Senator Osita Izunaso; Chairman Board of Trustees of CMSA, Chief Anthony Idigbe (SAN) as well as many other distinguished personalities.
