Staff of Securities and Exchange Commission protesting against the reinstatement of Director-General Ms. Aruma Oteh by the Federal Government in Abuja... on Wednesday. Inset: Ms. Aruma Oteh.
| credits: Sam Adeko
ANGRY lawmakers, civil rights activists and stakeholders in the capital market sector on Wednesday condemned the recall of suspended Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Ms Arunma Oteh, by the Federal Government.
The Board of SEC had suspended Oteh on June 12 over, among other charges, alleged questionable handling of the funds realised from Project 50, an event the commission organised in 2011.
An Ad Hoc Committee on the Near-Collapse of the Capital Market had also indicted Oteh for similar offences. The House is scheduled to sit in consideration of the Ad Hoc committee’s report on Thursday (today).
The panel recommended the termination of Oteh’s appointment. It said the DG’s appointment breached existing laws as she did not possess the requisite 15-year experience in capital market operations.
The committee’s report noted that, “She (Oteh) has shown incompetence in the management of human and material resources at her disposal in SEC.
“Lack of transparency in the management of Project 50, regulatory failure in some of the recent mergers, acquisitions and approvals of transactions by SEC and general inability to carry along her staff, board and management in decision making in SEC, and questionable staff recruitment policy.”
The Federal Government however recalled her via a letter by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Anyim Pius Anyim, saying Oteh was never indicted for fraud.
Many members of the House were said to be angry at the government’s ploy to pre-empt the House by recalling the embattled DG without waiting for the Reps’ decision on her.
Workers of the SEC also protested at the commission’s head office on Wednesday thus paralysing activities at the stock market for several hours. The workers said Oteh should not be returned to the SEC in order to protect the integrity of the stock market.
A lawmaker in the lower chamber who spoke to one of our correspondents on Wednesday accused President Goodluck Jonathan of “shielding corruption” by recalling Oteh when investigation into the woman’s alleged offences had not been concluded.
“This is intentional and it shows that Mr. President is shielding corruption. They know that the report of the House on the woman is out and that it indicted Oteh and recommended her prosecution,” the lawmaker who asked for anonymity said.
Recall to pre-empt House
The lawmaker noted that recalling Oteh just as the House was about to debate the report of the panel was a deliberate move to pre-empt the House.
He said that Jonathan had also not given the report of the fuel subsidy probe the maximum attention it required.
He also cited the case of the reorganisation of the Board of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation as another instance where Jonathan demonstrated how he shielded corruption.
“The House said the board should be overhauled. In doing that, they (Presidency) made some changes but still brought back the same chairman and Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke.
“That is not the way it should be; overhauling means a new board and new structures”, he said
But spokesman for the lawmakers, Zakari Mohammed, said the House would go ahead to sit today and take a decision on Oteh.
“The report will be considered on Thursday. We have a one-item agenda; it is the report only,” Mohammed said.
Oteh never indicted for fraud –FG
But the Federal Government on Wednesday said the SEC DG was never indicted for fraud nor criminal breach.
In a letter of recall to Oteh, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Anyim Pius Anyim, writes, “Please refer to the decision of the Board of Securities and Exchange Commission to send you on compulsory leave in order to enable SEC’s external auditors – the Price Water Coopers Limited – to examine the records of the commission’s transactions covering SEC Project 50 which you supervised.
“I am to note that Government has studied the report submitted by the external auditors and you are neither indicted for fraud nor criminal breach in any form. However, some administrative lapses were reported, particularly, in cases where administrative procedures were not thoroughly observed.
“The purpose of this letter is to recall you from your leave and to caution that you must henceforth endeavour to diligently observe all extant rules and administrative procedures in the conduct of all transactions.
“Please accept the assurances of my best wishes.”
The recall letter came on the eve of the House session to consider the report of its Ad Hoc Committee on the Near-Collapse of the Nigerian Capital Market.
Protest in SEC
The Federal Government’s decision to bring back Oteh also provoked protest at the SEC headquarters in Abuja on Wednesday as staff of the commission said they did not want her back.
The staff shut the gates of the commission and carried placards denouncing Oteh’s recall. The protest, while it lasted, grounded business activities at the commission.
The protest by SEC staff began by 11am and lasted for about two hours.
Some of the protesters chanted anti-Oteh slogans, while others carried placards with various inscriptions such as “We no go gree”, “We say no to Oteh” and “Oteh must go.”
Gun-toting operatives from the Nigerian Police and the State Security Service were however on ground to forestall any breakdown of law and order.
Explaining their grievance, the workers, who spoke through their Secretary, Mr. John Briggs, said they would resist every attempt by the government to impose Oteh on them.
Briggs said, “We don’t want her (Oteh) back until due process is followed and that is what the workers are saying.
“The information we have is that she has been given a letter by the SGF, Pius Anyim, to resume today (Wednesday) and this is wrong because he is not the supervising minister of this commission.
“That letter ought to have been given to her by the Minister of Finance. So, why is he acting on behalf of Okonjo-Iweala? That is why we are not happy because due process is not followed.
Asked if they had received any official information from the Ministry of Finance on the issue, Briggs said, “The acting DG was invited this morning and was asked to discontinue this morning as DG by Pius Anyim.”
He said it was wrong for the government to ask the DG to return to work as the full report of the probe committee had not been submitted.
“Investigations have not been concluded and the report has not been submitted, what they have is only the interim report and we are saying that due process is not being followed,” the workers, spokesman argued.
He said the imposition of the embattled DG on the commission would affect investors’ confidence in the stock market.
It took the intervention of the Acting DG, Mr. Bolaji Bello, to calm the angry workers.
Bello invited the staff to a closed-door meeting which lasted for about one hour.
He promised to address journalists after the meeting but he never did as at the time of filling this report.
‘Recall unnecessary, she should resign’
In interviews with our correspondents on Wednesday, stakeholders in the capital market reacted negatively to Oteh’s recall, arguing that the action was against the rule of law. They said her reinstatement was not necessary in the face of unclear information, advising the DG to honourably resign.
The Chairman, Progressive Shareholders Association of Nigeria, Mr. Boniface Okezie, said that the Federal Government owed Nigerians an explanation on the issue.
Okezie said, “It is rather unfortunate that this is happening in a country that is supposed to be transparent in all its dealings. We need the Federal Government to tell us on what basis they are recalling her. The report from the House Committee came in yesterday (Tuesday), and she was indicted, and so why are we hearing a different story today (Wednesday)?
“Aren’t all the arms of the government supposed to be working together? Or is it that the FG does not have the interest of the growth of the capital market on their mind? This is a woman whose tenure almost brought the market to its knees, and now, we are hearing this, it is indeed saddening and we know that the FG is not doing us any favour.”
The National Co-ordinator, Independent Shareholders of Nigeria, Mr. Sunny Nwosu, noted that it was wrong for the Federal Government to reinstate Oteh just after the House committee report which indicted her came through.
“This action means that the FG is not sincere in what they are doing. The truth is that in this nation, we cannot continue to rely on sentiment; it is not taking us anywhere.
“In any case, if I were Oteh, I would throw in the towel and resign honourably from SEC, because she has been thoroughly embarrassed in all these.”
“I think that the report of the committee set up to look into the issue should be made public so that everyone can see it, because, even the initial report on the project 50 which also indicted Oteh has not yet been made public.”
President encouraging corruption
Civil rights organisations also on Wednesday criticised Jonathan for asking Oteh to go back to her seat at the SEC.
President of the Campaign for Democracy, Dr. Joe Okei-Odumakin, in an SMS to one of our correspondents, said that the recall showed that the administration condoned corruption.
She stated, “It is a sign of the fallen walls and the collapse of moral columns under a president who does not give a damn.
“The sign was clear when Jonathan allowed her (Oteh) to attend the meeting of the economic team despite being under suspension. There is no surprise again under Jonathan. It is now a republic of anything can happen.”
Also, the Anti-Corruption Vanguard said the recall amounted to “fertilising graft.”
The Executive Director of ACV, who is also a former member of the House of Representatives, Dino Melaye, told one of our correspondents in Abuja that the Federal Government had failed in the crusade against corruption.
He said, “The reinstatement has further confirmed my agitation that Nigeria is now a criminal enterprise. The questions are: was there a trial? Was investigation carried out? If yes, what is the result of the investigation?
“President Goodluck Jonathan has no intention of leaving a legacy and this has finally confirmed our fears that the government has no intention of fighting corruption but is rather fertilising corruption, massaging corruption, promoting corruption and cultivating corruption.”
Secretary General of the Trade Union Congress, Chief John Kolawole, challenged the Federal Government to give the reasons behind the decision to recall Oteh.
Kolawole said that it was necessary for the Federal Government to convince the citizenry on the recall of Oteh because of the need to have transparency in running the nation’s capital market.
The TUC scribe said that such a display of a high level of transparency would go a long way in convincing investors about the safety of their investments.
Punch News 
Posts
