SEC Urges Civil Servants to Invest in Capital Market

By Oluwakemi Kindness 

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has urged Nigerian civil servants to take advantage of opportunities in the capital market to build wealth, strengthen their financial security and contribute more actively to national economic growth.

During a strategic meeting with the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Dame Didi Walson-Jack, SEC Director-General Dr. Emomotimi Agama said public servants must begin to see the capital market as a practical platform for long-term savings and investment, not something distant from their daily lives.

According to a statement on Tuesday by the Commission, Agama stressed that civil servants should move beyond relying solely on monthly salaries and position themselves as investors and stakeholders in the economy.

This, he noted, would improve their financial stability during service and after retirement.

He explained that millions of workers are already indirectly connected to the market through the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS), as pension funds are invested in government bonds, equities, infrastructure funds and other instruments.

The performance of these investments, he said, directly impacts retirement benefits.

Agama added that deeper knowledge of how the market works would boost confidence in the pension system and encourage civil servants to explore additional regulated options such as mutual funds, bonds, and Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs).

To support this, the SEC is proposing a structured financial literacy programme tailored to the civil service.

The initiative would equip workers with practical skills in savings, investment planning, home ownership and education funding through workshops, seminars and digital learning.

He also highlighted the potential of the capital market to ease housing challenges, noting that REITs and mortgage-backed securities could provide more accessible routes to home ownership if supported by policy.

Agama called for stronger collaboration with the civil service, including a standing joint committee and the integration of capital market studies into training institutions like ASCON.

He also warned workers against investing in unregistered entities, noting that many victims of Ponzi schemes are civil servants.

In her response, the Head of Service, Didi Walson-Jack, welcomed the partnership, saying the civil service is ready for financial education that would benefit both serving and retiring officers.

She noted ongoing reforms aimed at improving welfare, including a plan to ensure that all retiring civil servants go home with gratuity and better access to housing finance.

“We want a situation where civil servants can retire with a home of their own,” she added.