Oteh re-elected AMERC chair, promises better representation

Arunma Oteh, director general, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), has been unanimously returned un-opposed as chairperson of the African/Middle East Regional Committee (AMERC) at the 39th annual conference of the International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) currently taking place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Oteh was acclaimed as chairperson to head AMERC for the next two years at the end of the AMERC meeting held during the ongoing IOSCO meeting in Brazil based on the experience that she brings as well as quality leadership Nigeria has provided over the years.

By this election, Oteh is to serve on the executive committee, the highest decision making organ of the global body for the next two years. Also re-elected were Saudi Arabia and Egypt.

In her acceptance speech, Oteh who assumed office in January 2010 as head of the SEC, the capital market apex regulatory body in Nigeria, said her election as AMERC chair was a demonstration of the confidence on her, her team at SEC and Nigeria as a whole. She pledged to be a loud voice representing the region’s interest and her commitment to ensuring that the region would do its best to uphold the goals and ideals of the global body.

She said, “We believe that our work is very important to IOSCO and that it is very important to the market. One of the things we have achieved in the last two years has been greater inclusion and cohesion. This has not come from the work of the executive alone, but by the work of all of us.

“I am excited about the opportunity given us to lead the committee again for the next two years and we will continue to ensure that our committee is the best in IOSCO”.
Oteh disclosed that there is an increasing focus on the capital market away from banking finance as banks are still dealing with the challenges of the global financial crisis, adding that the challenge for the regulators is to raise an enabling environment that would not increase risk for the investors and operators.

“Capital markets are very critical to the economy of every nation. The capital market is really the answer as it does not only provide financing but creates the environment where the right products are available. We come together to support each other in enforcement, share information because we believe the world is global.”