Stakeholders, comprising the Technical Working Group set up by the Federal Government to develop a new road map for the revitalization of the Abuja Securities and Commodities Exchange, are exploring the possibility of a Public Private Partnership as part of strategies to make the Exchange a world-class institution.

The Managing Director, Abuja Securities and Commodities Exchange, Mr.Yusuf Abdulraman, disclosed this on the sidelines of the election of new executives of the Commodities Brokers Association of Nigeria(CBAN), in Abuja.

He noted that the Technical Working Group has as members, the Minister of Trade and Investment, Mr. Olusegun Aganga, and other key ministers and heads of Departments and Agencies of the Federal Government such as the Ministers of Finance, National Planning, Communications Technology, Agriculture and Rural Development.

Others are the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Directors-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Bureau for Public Enterprises. The TWG, he said was currently working out modalities to revitalise the ASCE in order to enhance the country’s agricultural value chain.

He said, “The revitalization process started in 2011 and the initiative came from the Minister of Trade and Investment, Mr. Olusegun Aganga, who saw it as a key, common man project because he felt that if he could revitalise the Abuja Securities and Commodities Exchange, the Nigerian farmer will make more income from his farm produce.  This will encourage more farmers to go to the farm and produce more agro commodities, which will ultimately enhance the Federal Government’s Agriculture Transformation Agenda.”

The managing director added, “In order to achieve this, he (the minister) brought in experts from the Ethiopia Commodities Exchange and also sought the support of the World Bank. They came in and looked at what we have and then made proposals for which the minister had set up a committee known as the Technical Working Group.”