The presidency, on April 19, 2024, announced the appointment of Emomotimi Agama as the new Director General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), effectively replacing Lamido Yuguda who had served as SEC DG since May 2020.
Agama is a relatively less popular figure than Lamido Yuguda who shares the same last name with former Bauchi State Governor, Isa Yuguda.
However, Mr Agama currently possesses about 20 years working experience with SEC, having joined the organization in 2004.
Commonly known as “Dr Agama” within the corridors of the SEC, Agama obtained his bachelor’s degree in Accountancy from the Rivers State University of Science and Technology in 1991. He then followed up with two master’s degrees from the University of Benin, one in Banking and Finance obtained in 1997, and another in Economics obtained in 2000.
He got his doctorate degree in Economics from the Nile University of Nigeria in 2022.
Agama has obtained different post- graduate certifications, including a post-graduate certificate in capital markets from the George Washington University School of Business in 2018. He is currently a Fellow at Milken’s Institute Center for Financial Markets.
Prior to his appointment as DG of SEC, Emomotimi Agama had served as the Managing Director of the Nigerian Capital Market Institute, a subsidiary of the SEC, a position he assumed in 2018, first as a part-time role, then a full-time role.
His professional career started in the University of Benin where he worked as an accountant as well as a part-time lecturer between 1993 and 2002.
He then worked as the Personal Assistant to the Director General of the National Center for Women Development from 2002 to 2003. From there, he moved to the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation, serving as a Principal Accountant from 2003 to 2004.
Agama joined SEC in February 2004 as a Senior Financial Analyst as well as the Special Assistant to the Executive Commissioner (Operations), a position he held till 2012. In 2012, he assumed a new position as Deputy Head of Exchanges till 2018. In 2018, Agama was promoted to the Head of Registration, Exchanges, and Market Infrastructure, and he became the Head of the Nigerian Capital Market Institute.
In 2021, he took on the full-time role of leading the Nigerian Capital Market Institute (NCMI). Serving as the head of NCMI, Agama has spearheaded the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) initiative to educate stakeholders on the intricacies of the capital market.