By Dipo Olowookere
The House of Representatives on Thursday postponed till January 2018, the public hearing on the conflict between the Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun, and the suspended Director General of Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Mr Mounir Gwarzo.
On November 29, 2017, the Minister of Finance suspended the capital market regulatory chief over allegations on abuse of office.
Later, it was alleged that Mrs Adeosun punished the SEC boss for failing to stop the forensic audit of a company listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), Oando Plc, headed by Mr Adewale Tinubu, a relative of Mr Bola Tinubu, a chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and former Governor of Lagos State.
However, the Minister denied such, explaining that the suspension of the DG was purely to allow for an unhindered investigation of several allegations of financial impropriety levelled against Mr Gwarzo.
The issue got to the House of Representatives, which directed its Committee on the Capital Market, chaired by Mr Yusuf Tajudeen, to look into the matter.
However, at the public hearing yesterday, the Minister was not present.
She sent a letter to the committee, seeking permission to attend the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting, which was extended to Thursday from the previous day.
The letter was read at the hearing yesterday by Mr Tajudeen.
As a result of her absence at the meeting on Thursday, the committee shifted the hearing till next year, when the House is expected to have resumed from the end of the year break.
SEC under the leadership of Mr Gwarzo, had suspended Oando from trading on the NSE and ordered a probe into the oil firm’s books.
This was challenged by the company at the court. However, the court directed Oando to approach the appropriate quarter to solve the dispute, the Investments and Securities Tribunal (IST).
