On Monday 9th September, the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to foster a mutually beneficial engagement and seamless operation of the mandates of both organisations.
This is also in compliance with Section 105 of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act (FCCPA) 2018, signed into law by President Muhammadu Buhari on January 30th, 2019, which requires FCCPC to negotiate MoUs with relevant regulators.
A key role of FCCPC is merger review, which was, prior to signing the FCCPA, a statutory role of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
On May 3rd, 2019, FCCPC and SEC established a joint merger review desk as an interim measure to ensure continuing processing of pending and emerging transactions.
In furtherance of this and a more structured collaborative working framework for a coordinated and efficient execution of their roles and responsibilities to ensure a complete, vibrant and robust implementation of their statutes, both agencies negotiated and only just concluded anMoU.
At the MoU signing ceremony, Babatunde Irukera, the Chief Executive Officer of FCCPC, remarked that the interim arrangement between FCCPC and SEC had been acclaimed in industry as exemplary of how to proffer solutions, promote confidence in the regulatory ecosystem and enable business.
Ms. Mary Uduk, the Acting Director General of SEC, said the MoU will lead to a stronger collaboration and better economy for the country.
The parties agreed to cooperate and collaborate in performing their individual duties, particularly information sharing, consumer complaints in the capital market, investigation, enforcement and compliance, including capacity building.
