Economy
Reports of Financial Misconduct at SEC Worry Investors
By Dipo Olowookere
Some investors in the Nigerian capital market have expressed serious concern over recent reports of an alleged financial misconduct at the nation’s apex capital market regulator, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Those who spoke with Business Post said the allegation of illegal payment of N104.85 million severance package to the Director General of SEC, Mr Mounir Gwarzo, could send a wrong signal to investors.
Already, since after the day the news was first reported on Wednesday, October 25, 2017, the Nigerian stock market has closed in the negative territory.
According to petition against Mr Gwarzo, after he was appointed in 2015 by former President Goodluck Jonathan, he allegedly paid himself N108.9 million as entitlement for being an Executive Commissioner of the regulator for two and a half years.
It was said that despite the opposition against, he allegedly received the amount as benefits of his former position.
He was also alleged to have used his position to favour companies linked with him and some of his close associates by awarding contracts to the firms.
“On assumption of office as the DG of the Commission, Mr Gwarzo immediately requested that the sum of N104,851,154.94 (One Hundred and Four Million, Eight Hundred and Fifty-One Thousand, One Hundred and Fifty-Four Naira and Ninety-Four Kobo), be paid to him as severance package for the cessation of his appointment as Executive Commissioner of the Commission.
“The requested severance package in the sum of N104,851,154.94 (One Hundred and Four Million, Eight Hundred and Fifty-One Thousand, One Hundred and Fifty-Four Naira and Ninety-Four Kobo), was paid by the Commission into Mr Gwarzo’s bank account, held with Guarantee Trust Bank PLC, with account number 0023868895.
“Mr Gwarzo received the above stated payment of a severance package in total disregard of the opinion of Mr Frana Chukwuogo, the Acting Head of the Commission’s Legal Department, who clearly stated, in accordance with best practices, that a severance payment can only be paid to an employee of the Commission who has concluded his or her service and has completely disengaged from the Commission and not to an employee who has been promoted within the Commission and has not severed his employment with the Commission,” the petition read.
The petition further said, “Mr Gwarzo and two of his relatives are Directors of Outbound Investment Ltd. (the Company). Since Mr Gwarzo assumed office as DG of the Commission, the Company has been the sole supplier of diesel to the Commission.
“The Company has also supplied air conditioners to the Lagos Zonal office of the Commission, as well as supplied fridge to the Commission. See Appendix BI attached hereto.
“Payments made by the Commission to the Company for contracts executed can be verified from the Company’s bank account held with United Bank for Africa Plc, with account number 1016723428.
“In addition, the Company has executed more contracts for the Commission which are not listed in Appendix B1, however these contracts can be verified from the Commission’s accounting records.
“Mr Gwarzo is the DG of the Commission is a Director of Medusa Investments Limited (the Company). The only other Director of the Company is Khadija Mustapher, who is also the wife of the DG of the Commission. See Appendix B3 attached hereto.
“The Company has actively been used by Mr Gwarzo, as a shell to carry out illegal transactions as is verifiable from the frequent transactions carried out through the Company’s bank account held with Guaranty Trust Bank Plc, with Account Number 0023953920. Mr Gwarzo is a signatory to the said Company account. See Appendix B1 attached hereto.
“Mr Haris Haliru Gwarzo, the younger brother of the DG of the Commission, is the Sole proprietor of Northwind Environmental Services (the Company). The Company has been engaged by the Commission to clean the Commission’s Kano Zonal Office, since the inception of Mr. Gwarzo’s tenure as the DG of SEC. See Appendixes B1 and B4 attached hereto.
“Payments made by the Commission to the Company for contracts executed, can be verified from the Company’s bank account with Diamond Bank Plc, with Account Number 0095179297.”
According to some investors who spoke with Business Post on the issue, things like this are not good for the Nigerian capital market.
“The matter has started to have a negative effect on the stock market. You can see that a day after the news broke, the market reacted to it negatively.
“Things like this bring panic to investors, who will quickly want to dispose of their portfolios so as not to be caught unawares,” an investor in the Nigerian capital market, Mr Sunday Adesanya, told our correspondent.
Another investor, who begged not to be named, said, “The right thing for the DG to do now is to resign to allow full investigation into the matter. News of financial misconduct at the nation’s capital market regulator isn’t good for the market, which has had a fair performance this year. I just hope the House of Representatives get to the root of this matter.
Meanwhile, as at the time of publishing this report, SEC did not respond to an email Business Post sent on Friday for comments on fears raised by investors.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The United Arab Emirates has announced its decision to quit the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to focus on national interests.
This dealt a heavy blow to the oil-exporting group at a time when the US-Israel war on Iran had caused a historic energy shock and rattled the global economy.
The move, which will take effect on May 1, 2026, reflects “the UAE’s long-term strategic and economic vision and evolving energy profile”, a statement carried by state media said on Tuesday.
“During our time in the organisation, we made significant contributions and even greater sacrifices for the benefit of all,” it added. “However, the time has come to focus our efforts on what our national interest dictates.”
The loss of the UAE, a longstanding OPEC member, could create disarray and weaken the oil cartel, which has usually sought to show a united front despite internal disagreements over a range of issues from geopolitics to production quotas.
UAE Energy Minister Suhail Mohamed al-Mazrouei said the decision was taken after a careful look at the regional power’s energy strategies.
“This is a policy decision. It has been done after a careful look at current and future policies related to the level of production,” the minister said.
OPEC’s Gulf producers have already been struggling to ship exports through the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow chokepoint between Iran and Oman through which a fifth of the world’s crude oil and liquefied natural gas supplies normally pass, because of threats and attacks against vessels during the war.
The UAE had been a member of OPEC first through its emirate of Abu Dhabi in 1967 and later when it became its own country in 1971.
The oil cartel, based in Vienna, has seen some of its market power wane as the US has increased its production of crude oil in recent years.
Additionally, the UAE and Saudi Arabia have increasingly competed over economic issues and regional politics, particularly in the Red Sea area.
The two countries had joined a coalition to fight against Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis in 2015. However, that coalition broke down into recriminations in late December when Saudi Arabia bombed what it described as a weapons shipment bound for Yemeni separatists backed by the UAE.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc bested four price decliners on the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange on Monday, April 27. The alternative stock market opened the week bullish during the session with a 0.03 per cent uptick.
According to data, the security depository company added N2.61 to its share price to close at N76.26 per unit compared with the preceding session’s N78.87 per unit.
As a result, the market capitalisation of the platform increased by N820 million to N2.425 trillion from N2.424 trillion, and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) gained 1.38 points to finish at 4,053.97 points compared with the 4,052.58 points it ended last Friday.
The four price losers were led by NASD Plc, which slumped by N3.80 to sell at N34.70 per share versus N38.50 per share. FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc fell by N1.45 to N98.10 per unit from N99.55 per unit, Food Concepts Plc slid by 27 Kobo to N2.43 per share from N2.70 per share, and Geo-Fluids Plc dipped by 9 Kobo to N2.91 per unit from N3.00 per unit.
The value of securities transacted by market participants went down by 82.0 per cent to N7.4 million from N41.3 million units, the volume of securities declined by 28.5 per cent to 319,831 units from 447,403 units, and the number of deals dropped by 34.1 per cent to 29 deals from 44 deals.
Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc was the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by CSCS Plc with 59.6 million units sold for N4.0 billion, and Okitipupa Plc with 27.8 million units exchanged for N1.9 billion.
Also, GNI Plc was the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, followed by Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units traded for N415.7 million, and Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc with a turnover of 400 million units worth N1.2 billion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The first trading day of the week in the currency market was bearish for the Naira in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Monday, April 27.
Yesterday, it lost N5.80 or 0.43 per cent against the United States Dollar to trade at N1,364.24/$1, in contrast to the N1,358.44/$1 it was traded last Friday.
In the same vein, the Nigerian currency depreciated against the Pound Sterling in the official market by N13.70 to close at N1,847.72/£1 versus the preceding session’s N1,834.02/£1, and slumped against the Euro by N11.56 to sell at N1,602.29/€1 versus N1,590.73/€1.
Also, the Nigerian Naira tumbled against the greenback during the trading day by N5 to quote at N1,385/$1 compared with the previous rate of N1,380/$1, and at the GTBank FX desk, it traded flat at N1,370/$1.
The poor performance of the domestic currency could be attributed to liquidity shortage at the official currency market on Monday, which came amid surging demand for international payments. At $76.50 million, interbank liquidity printed higher across 79 deals, up from the $43.572 million reported on Friday.
Nigeria’s gross external reserves declined to $48.45 billion amid a month-long decline in inflows, amid uncertainties in the global commodity market. The depletion of foreign reserves could be partly attributed to the Central Bank of Nigeria’s intervention in the FX market.
The market remains perturbed by persistent concerns over liquidity constraints, policy transparency, and weakening confidence in Nigeria’s FX market, while boosters, including oil prices, continue to look rocky due to stalled discussions and unclear ceasefire negotiations between the US and Iran.
A look at the cryptocurrency market, Bitcoin (BTC) has been rejected near $79,000 three times in eight sessions, leaving the level as the de facto ceiling of its current trading range even as major cryptocurrencies trade lower over the past day. It lost 0.9 per cent to sell at $77,003.61.
Analysts say that upcoming US Federal Reserve policy decisions and top tech firms’ earnings this week could provide the catalyst to push bitcoin decisively above $80,000.
The market also continued to weigh Iran’s interim deal proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which failed to advance over the weekend. The White House said US officials were discussing the latest Iranian proposal but maintained “red lines” on any deal to end the eight-week war.
Solana (SOL) dropped 1.8 per cent to $84.25, Ripple (XRP) went down by 1.6 per cent to $1.39, Ethereum (ETH) depreciated by 1.3 per cent to $2,290.00, Binance Coin (BNB) declined by 0.5 per cent to $625.18, and Cardano (ADA) fell by 0.2 per cent to $0.2480.
However, Dogecoin (DOGE) rose by 2.0 per cent to $0.1002, and TRON (TRX) appreciated by 0.2 per cent to $0.3242, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 apiece.
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