By InvestAdvocate

Lagos (INVESTADVOCATE)- Nigeria’s Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) said Wednesday its has commenced interviewing applicants seeking to become Market Operators.

This is contained in a Statement Wednesday by Yakubu Olaleye, Head, Media of SEC and made available to www.investadvocateng.com in Lagos Nigeria.

SEC said it’s expected that at the end of the three (3) days exercise the backlog of applications from 125 Companies for 280 sponsored individuals, which have mounted over the past 18 months or more would have been cleared

“The new management of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has kicked off a round of registration meetings in its Lagos Zonal Office, with a view to addressing the accumulation of applications from Market Operators who had sought to register for various functions in the Market in the past eighteen months” the Statement said.

According to SEC, at the marathon session which began on Wednesday, 44 Companies and 91 sponsored individuals were interviewed.

The Commission said the individuals are seeking registration for 10 different functions such as Broker/Dealers, Issuing Houses, Registrars, Corporate Investment Advisers and Estate Surveyors/Valuers.

“The registration exercise is equally geared towards ensuring that all Operators function in the Market with the minimum number of required individuals, who are fit and proper as required by law and who have the relevant knowledge and experience with a view to restoring investor confidence” SEC said.

Nigeria’s SEC further affirmed that the meetings are holding in Lagos for the first time in order to make it less costly for Operators to attend, since majority of them are based in Lagos.

This is coming on the heels of the appointment of Bolaji Bello, Director of Finance and Administration of Nigeria’s SEC by the Federal Government (FG) as the Acting Director General.

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Minister of Finance, had said there will be no tenure elongation for Udoma Udoma, Daisy Ekineh and other Board Members of the Commission; while Bello would assume office on Monday, June 18, 2012 as the Ag DG.