The history of the Nigerian
securities and exchange commission dates
back to 1962 following
the establishment of the capital
issues committee (an adhoc committee
devoid of any legal status) whose primary
function was to see to the orderly development of the capital market by regulating share prices and determining the timing of issues, the committee functioned essentially as an
advisory body under the umbrella of the central bank
of Nigeria (CBN) , after the
civil war, however given the recognition
of the important role the committee had
played in the successful implementation of the
1972 Nigerian enterprises
promotion Act, the capital issue
Act was promulgated by the federal
government in 1973, (CIC) vested with the power to determine:
a.
The price
at which shares or debentures of
a company are to be sold to the public either through offer for sale or indirect issues
b.
The timing and amount of sale
c.
In the case of a quoted
company, the prices, amount and time of
any subsequent or supplementary offer of shares or debentures are to be sold.
However, only
public companies (quoted or unquoted) fell within the sphere of the CIC. In
other words, private companies were not
obliged to seek the approval of the CIC
before raising funds through the security market.
In 1976, following
the realization of the need for an apex capital market regulatory body, the financial system
review committee recommended the establishment
of the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The commission was later established
by the securities and exchange
commission Act on 27th September,
1979 (effective retrospectively
from April, 1978) with an
autonomous and legal status.
In addition
to the various arms of capital market mentioned above, it is common knowledge that the country’s
development needs at the federal, state, and local government levels for outstrip her revenue generation
capabilities. However, the finance
and insurance sector is one that
has experienced about the
highest growth in the Nigerian economy especially since
after the introduction of the structural adjustment
programme (SAP) in 1986 . .Hence, this has had positive and far
reaching implications on the activities of the capital market in Nigeria.