Tinubu Embraced Cryptocurrency Before Trump, Says SEC DG  

Director General of the Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Emomotimi Agama has stated that Nigerian President, Bola Tinubu endorsed the cryptocurrency industry long before United States President-elect, Donald Trump, did.

Agama also revealed at the sideline of the African Financial Industry Summit in Casablanca Morocco, that by his appointment as the SEC head, the president endorsed the cryptocurrency sector, given his long-standing affinity with the industry.

When asked about his motive for attending the event, his outlook for 2025, and his thoughts on cryptocurrency in Nigeria, Agama said, “What brought me here to Casablanca is the same thing that brought everybody here. The integration of the African capital market and African financial systems to becoming one straight line being able to deliver service to every African from whatever part that African comes from.”

Commenting on the Cryptocurrency sector in Nigeria, Agama said the current administration has done what needed to be done, adding that credit should be accorded President Tinubu for embracing cryptocurrency long before Donald Trump did in the United States.

“I guess you will first give credit to the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, even for the appointment he has made in the Nigerian SEC.

“I have been an enthusiast of Cryptocurrency and the president deemed it fit to make me the DG of the SEC, and that is phenomenal. So even before President Trump started thinking about that, our own dear president has already thought about it.

“What we have done is that we have been able to do what we needed to do; that is why we created what is known as the Regulatory Incubation and the accelerated regulatory incubation programme,” he said

Agama highlighted that the agency is working towards bringing all the existing crypto exchanges into a box to be able to understand what they are doing and decipher the risk associated with them.

According to Agama, the agency in collaboration with relevant authorities is democratising the cryptocurrency process in Nigeria for its youth and the rest of Africa.