Mr. Oscar Onyema

The President of President of the Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS), Mr. Ariyo Olushekun, has called on the Federal Government to invest significant portion of the Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF) in the Nigerian capital market so as to safeguard the fund and grow the economy.

Olushekun made the call during a courtesy visit to the Chief Executive officer of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), Mr. Oscar Onyema, in Lagos. According to him, the call came from the experience of other countries that lost part of the SWF in some foreign countries.

“Libya lost about 80 per cent of its sovereign wealth fund, because a large chunk of it was invested outside the country. Government should invest the SWF in Nigeria, especially in the capital market. There is no point investing the country’s resources outside the economy. If we do that we are using our resources to help other economy.

“Specifically, the future generation aspect of the fund should be invested here, so that
the economy can benefit from it. This is particularly so, because if you invest the money outside the economy, there is no guarantee that the other markets will outperform your local markets, anyway, but it is also on record that Libya lost about 80 per cent of its sovereign wealth fund due to almost similar reasons”, he said.