Yuguda Charges Private Sector On Infrastructure Funding

The director general of the Securities and Exchange Commission(SEC), Mr. Lamido Yuguda has tasked the private sector to rise up to the challenge of sourcing long term financing from the capital market that would fund the provision of infrastructure in the West African Sub region.

Yuguda stated this at a pre-event press briefing on the forthcoming West Africa Capital Market Conference scheduled to hold in Lagos October 25-26 with the theme: ‘Infrastructural deficit and sustainable financing in an integrated West Africa Capital Market.’

According to Yuguda, “Infrastructure deficit refers to a situation where there is insufficient infrastructure relative to the needs of the population. Availability of infrastructure, such as power, telecommunications, roads, rail, schools, hospitals, shopping malls, hotels etc. is crucial to raising the living standards of the people.”

He disclosed that; in many countries, the responsibility for the provision of infrastructure has been steadily moving away from government to the private sector owing to increasing demand and reduced ability of the government to fund infrastructure alone, adding that, the need to tackle the infrastructure deficit in the sub-region as well as embrace principles of sustainable finance to promote economic development are some of the issues to be discussed as the conference.

The conference is being jointly organised by the  West Africa Securities Regulators Association (WASRA) comprising  the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Nigeria, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Ghana, and Autorite de Marche’s Financiers or AMF-UMOA, in collaboration with Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the West Africa Capital Market Integration Council (WACMIC), and the West African Monetary Institute (WAMI) are jointly organizing the 3rd biennial West Africa Capital Market Conference (WACMaC) 2023.

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The SEC boss said: “This deficit also poses a significant challenge to the region’s sustainable development. To address this gap, there is a growing need to adopt innovative financing mechanisms, and sustainable financing options to mobilize the desired funds to meet the region’s critical infrastructure needs, foster economic growth, and achieve sustainable development goals.

“The Conference will bring together a distinguished array of experts, regulators, policymakers, and industry leaders who will share their insights, experiences, and strategies to proffer solutions to the region’s massive infrastructure deficit. The WACMaC 2023 provides a unique platform to engage in meaningful discussions, share insights, and forge partnerships that will help shape the future of our capital markets.”

The DG added that this year’s conference is particularly significant, as over 300 stakeholders will converge in Lagos from October 25-26, 2023 to hold discussions around the general theme with a view to contributing significantly to infrastructural development in Nigeria.