Group Urges Buhari to Constitute SEC Board

By Dipo Olowookere

President Muhammadu Buhari has been advised to urgently constitute a board for the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

This appeal was made by the Executive Chairman of the Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership (CACOL), Mr Debo Adeniran.

Making this plea in the petition to President Buhari, the CACOL boss said the non-constitution of the board violates “the extant laws establishing SEC.”

He said the board will help to enhance operations of the capital market regulator and ensure no Director General of SEC abuses his office.

“That Your Excellency should take immediate steps to constitute a Board for the Securities and Exchange Commission as provided for in the extant laws establishing the Commission.

“The Investment and Securities Act (ISA) 2007 which gives the Commission its current powers also made a provision for the appointment of a nine (9) member Board to be headed by a Chairman.

“The idea of the Board is to, amongst other things, ensure that no Director-General of the Commission can become a law onto himself or herself and act without appropriate checks by the Board,” Mr Adeniran.

CACOL made this known in its petition against the DG of SEC, Mr Mounir Gwarzo, accused of paying a severance package of N104 million to himself after he was appointed for the position in 2015 by former President Goodluck Jonathan.

The group described this as a “total disregard to the standing rule in the civil service” and called on the President to order a thorough investigation into the matter, which Mr Buhari has obliged.

After assuming office in 2015, President Buhari approved the dissolution of the Governing Boards of Federal Parastatals, Agencies and Institutions and ordered that “until the boards are reconstituted, chief executive officers of the affected parastatals, agencies and institutions are to refer all matters requiring the attention of their boards to the President, through the Permanent Secretaries of their supervising ministries.”

At the moment, the SEC board consists of the DG and two executive commissioners, Mr Zakawanu Garuba,       Executive Commissioner, Corporate Services; and Mrs Sa’adatu Muhammad Bello, the Executive Commissioner, Legal & Enforcement.