Fashola Wants Nigerian Stock Exchange Renamed After Lagos

Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State has demanded an urgent review of the 1977 decree which changed the Lagos Stock Exchange to Nigerian Stock Exchange, saying it “negates the global standards.”

The governor made this known while speaking to journalists at the end of the technical session of the 10th Lagos Executive/Legislative parley, where he noted that across the world, stock exchanges are named after their host cities.

The Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) suggested that it is the time to take a second look at legislations that were passed during the military era when there was no legislative arm of government and the executive appropriated to itself the power to make laws for Nigeria.

He explained that it was during the military era that the Lagos Stock Exchange as it started out, became the Nigeria Stock Exchange in a unification move, underscoring the need for the nation to go back to what is best global practice.

The governor said, “I think the time has come for us to begin to look at the legislation that was passed during the military administration that is decrees and acts. I think that was when the Lagos Stock Exchange became the Nigerian Stock Exchange, in unification for the country.”

“Perhaps there is the need for us to go back to what is best global practice because we have the Johannesburg, Paris, New York and we don’t have the American Stock Exchange or German Stock Exchange while there is a Frankfurt Stock Exchange and so on.”

“There is nothing like the British Stock Exchange, but the London Stock Exchange” he adds, noting that a similar trend should be followed in Nigeria consistent with best global practices.

“Those are issues that some of the legislators will take on board to their various legislative bodies” he said for all the legislators representing Lagos state at both state and national assembly.

Faults bill on Nigeria International Financial Centre.

Mr. Fashola also faulted a proposed bill at the National Assembly for the creation of the Nigeria International Financial Centre, NIFC, arguing that the lawmakers might be ‘over-legislating’ because the measure is against the 1999 constitution.

The bill seeking the establishment of the NIFC, which is expected to gulp N5.69 billion, according to the financial compendium attached to the bill, scaled the second reading on the floor of the Senate last May.