The Director General of the Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission, Emomotimi Agama, has stated that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu endorsed the cryptocurrency industry in Nigeria long before former U.S. President Donald Trump did in the United States. Agama made the claim during the African Financial Industry Summit in Casablanca, Morocco, where he also discussed various aspects of Africa’s economy, particularly capital market integration and reforms.
Agama, who was appointed by President Tinubu to head the SEC, emphasized that the president’s long-standing support for cryptocurrency was evident through his decision to appoint someone with an affinity for the industry to lead the commission. According to Agama, this move signaled the president’s endorsement of the cryptocurrency sector.
In an interview, Agama explained his presence at the summit, noting that the primary focus of the event was the integration of Africa’s capital markets and financial systems.
He described the goal of creating a unified system capable of delivering services to all Africans, regardless of their location on the continent, according to Nairametrics.
Addressing the issue of cryptocurrency in Nigeria, Agama praised President Tinubu for taking early steps to support the industry, even before President Trump began considering the potential of cryptocurrencies in the United States. Agama highlighted his appointment as a significant endorsement of the sector, adding that the SEC had taken steps to create a regulatory framework, including the introduction of the Regulatory Incubation and Accelerated Regulatory Incubation Program.
Agama also noted that the SEC is working to bring all existing crypto exchanges under regulatory oversight to better understand their operations and the risks involved. He expressed confidence that the SEC, in collaboration with relevant authorities, is helping to democratize cryptocurrency access for Nigeria’s youth and the wider African continent.
“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” Mr Agama said
He continued, “I guess you will first give credit to the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria GCFR President Bola Ahmed Tinubu 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 program”
