The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has expressed its readiness to partner with the relevant Alternative Dispute Resolution professionals to ensure effective dispute resolution in the capital market.
The Director-General, SEC, Lamido Yuguda, made the assertion when the Abuja Chapter of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb) led by its Chairman, Sola Ephraim-Oluwanuga, held a meeting with him in Abuja Wednesday.
Yuguda said that effective dispute resolution was key in sustaining investment in the capital market.
Yuguda said that the need for a veritable dispute resolution mechanism had long been recognised in the capital market.
He said that traditional litigious and adversarial dispute resolution mechanism had fallen short of achieving its purpose.
According to him, investment in the sector will suffer if disputes among investors are not well resolved.
“The whole nature of the market is that people come together to make investments, but along the line, something happens and the same people actually fall out.
“And the problem with investment is that if the true parties to an investment fall out, investment falls.
“We understand that both parties usually cling to their positions but there is a superior situation which could benefit both parties.
“This is where an arbitrator is needed to actually bring them to that position. And that arbitrator, who is seen as independent, performs his professional duty by talking to the parties,” he said.
He said the visit by the members of the institute would not have come at a better time.
Earlier, the CIArb chairman said the institute was desirous of partnering with SEC to deepen the access to justice in the securities industry.
Ephraim-Oluwanuga said CIArb had trained competent international arbitrators with demonstrable experience in capital market issues.
He added that the institute would assist the commission in the capacity building of its personnel.
“CIArb can train subject matter experts on securities dispute resolution.
“Also, industry may also put CIArb in its agreement as an appointing authority to any dispute involving arbitration, whilst preferring its members to serve as party nominated arbitrators in the sector,” he said.
