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.