Economy

SEC DG Insists ‘My Suspension by Adeosun Illegal’

Published

7 years ago

23/04/2018

By Dipo Olowookere

The suspended Director-General of Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Mr Mounir Gwarzo, has maintained that his removal from office in November 2017 by the Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun, did not follow due process.

Mr Gwarzo, while responding to a recent verdict of the House of Representatives Committee on Capital Market, which upheld his suspension, said the Minister erred in removing him from office without following the laid down rules.

The former capital market regulatory chief said if there was any arm of government that should be unhappy about the way and manner he was suspended, it should be the legislature “as the Minister of Finance acted against the provisions of ISA 2007 which is an Act of the National Assembly.”

In a statement personally signed by him, Mr Gwarzo said only President Muhammadu Buhari, who appointed him into office, has the power to remove him.

Below is his full letter.

Recent decisions by the Federal House of Representatives (The House) with respect to their public hearing and investigations on the cases against the Executive Secretary of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), some Directors of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and that against me with respect to my suspension as the Director General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) are puzzling.

The House had at its sitting on the 18th of April 2018 while adopting the report of its Committee on Capital Market and Institutions headed by Rep Tajudeen Ayo Yusuf said that I indeed has a case to answer and that the Minister of Finance Kemi Adeosun was right to have suspended me it therefore stated that “the suspension of the Director General of SEC, Mounir Gwarzo stands”.

I was suspended by the Minister of Finance Mrs. Kemi Adeosun on 29thNovember 2017. She based the suspension on petitions of corrupt practices and breaches of the public service rules levelled against me. However, at a public hearing before the House Committee on Capital Market and Institutions on January 30th, 2018, I noted that not only was due process not followed by the Minister prior to the suspension, she also lacked the authority to suspend me as this power lies solely on the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria based on her recommendation and upon the confirmation from the senate as clearly captured in S5 (1) ISA 2007 which states that “the Director-General and the three full time Commissioners shall be appointed by the President upon the recommendation of the Minister and confirmation by the Senate.”

As S11 (1) of the Interpretation Act clearly states as follows, “Where an enactment confers a power to appoint a person either to an office or to exercise any functions, whether for a specified period or not, the power includes –

(a) power to appoint a person by name or to appoint the holder from time to time of a particular office;

(b) power to remove or suspend him.

The Minister in her letter based my suspension pursuant to the provisions of the Nigerian Public Service Rules (PSR) namely PSR 03405 and PSR 03406 however as I informed the public hearing, these provisions do not exist in Nigeria’s Public Service Rules and as we all know you can’t build something on nothing. What exist are PSR 030405 and PSR 030406.PSR 030405 merely provides for the responsibility of an interdicted officer or officer under suspension to make notification of his intention to leave his station or the country. While PSR 030406 requires a prima facie case to be established against an officer before he could be suspended. In my case,a prima facie case is yet to be established against me although I was invited by the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) after my suspension.Also, the Minister only set up an Administrative Panel after my suspension inviting me to appear on 8 January 2018 over the same subject matter.

Furthermore, according to PSR 160103, the PSR would only apply to the SEC DG or any staff of SEC in the absence of any statute, manual, rules, procedures and practices regulating the Securities and Exchange Commission and its staff. It is important at this point to state that my letter of appointment as the DG specifically referred to the ISA 2007 – an Act of the National Assembly as the law governing my conditions of service. Thus all actions relating to my appointment must be in compliance with the ISA as anything outside same would amount to a nullity.

However, the same House on the recommendation of its Committee on Emergency and Disaster Preparedness would at a sitting on the 20th of April 2018 direct the recall of the suspended Directors of NEMA because according to the Deputy Chairman of the Committee Hon. Ali Isa, investigations had shown that due process was not followed in their suspension and this is even after the Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) informed The House that NEMA had based the suspension of the Directors following a recommendation by EFCC who had carried out investigations against the Directors following a petition they received in December 2017and had found them wanting.

A member of the Committee Hon. Gabriel Onyewife also noted that in the case of NEMA there was no evidence of fair hearing and no final judgement had been passed against them as investigation was still in progress, this position was supported by the Speaker of the House, Hon. Yakubu Dogara who said that it was wrong to suspend someone without an opportunity for fair hearing.

In the case of the Executive Secretary NHIS who was suspended by the Minister of Health (but was reinstated 6 months later by the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria) while investigations against him were still ongoing, and before the release of the report of the Public Hearing by the House of Representatives Committee on Health Services, the Chairman of the Committee Hon. Chike Okafor immediately moved a motion for his protection and immediate recall.

From the above it is obvious that the position of the House that my suspension as the DG, SEC was in order on the mere ground that I had a case to answer when it is clearly obvious that due process was not followed in my caseleaves a lot to be desired.

Recently, the Federal Government through the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, in the case of the purported suspension of the Director-General, National Women Development Centre, carried out by the centre’s Governing Board which the Federal Government termed as an illegal act and directed the DG to resume her duties immediately.

Part of the statement read as follows, “The Boards and Chief Executive Officers are all appointed by Mr. President, according to stated terms and conditions with clearly established rules and procedures for subjecting Chief Executive Officers to disciplinary measures including suspension from office. In this respect, this process has not been followed.

Government believes in due process, and will not tolerate any arbitrary action taken by any Board of any Federal Government Agency.”

Finally if there is any arm of Government that should be unhappy about the way and manner I was suspended it should be the Legislature as the Minister of Finance acted against the provisions of ISA 2007 which is an Act of the National Assembly.

Mounir Gwarzo

Abuja, Nigeria

Economy

Unlisted Securities Gain 0.04% as UBN Property, Three Others Appreciate

Published

23 minutes ago

15/01/2025

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange recorded a 0.04 per cent appreciation on Tuesday, January 14 after the share prices of six stocks on the platform recorded movements.

Business Post reports that the bourse ended with four price gainers and two price losers during the session trading session of the week.

FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc lost N2.50 yesterday to finish at N39.50 per share versus the previous day’s N42.00 per share and Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc dropped N1.15 to wrap up the day at N22.05 per unit compared to Monday’s N23.20 per unit.

On the flip side, 11 Plc gained N25.53 to close at N280.84 per share versus N255.31 per share, UBN Property Plc increased by 20 Kobo to N2.20 per unit from N2.00 per unit, Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc added 10 Kobo to close at N16.20 per share compared with the previous day’s N16.30 per share, and Geo-Fluids Plc gained 10 Kobo to settle at N4.66 per unit versus N4.56 per unit.

When trading activities ended for the day, the market capitalisation went up by N410 million to remain relatively unchanged at N1.061 trillion as the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) inflated by 1.19 points to 3,096.19 points from 3,095.00 points.

The volume of securities traded in the session was up by 28.4 per cent during the session to 3.97 million units from 3.1 million units, the value of shares jumped by 161.8 per cent to N8.3 million from N3.2 million, and the number of deals declined by 16.7 per cent to 25 deals from 30 deals.

FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc remained the most active stock by value (year-to-date) with 3.4 million units worth N134.9 million, Geo-Fluids Plc occupied the second spot with 8.9 million units valued at N43.0 million, and the third position claimed by Afriland Properties Plc with 690,825 units sold for N11.1 million.

IGI Plc ended the session as the most active stock by volume (year-to-date) with a turnover of 23.5 million units valued at N5.3 million, followed by Geo-Fluids Plc with 8.9 million units sold for N43.0 million, and FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc with 3.4 million units worth N134.9 million.

Economy

Nigeria’s NaFarm Foods Gets $1m Zayed Sustainability Prize

Published

57 minutes ago

15/01/2025

Aduragbemi Omiyale

By Aduragbemi Omiyale

A pioneering agricultural solutions provider based in Kaduna, Nigeria, NaFarm Foods, has been named as the winner of the food category of the 2025 Zayed Sustainability Prize for its Hybrid Solar Food Dryer.

The company clinched the accolade for its groundbreaking innovation in reducing post-harvest losses, improving food security, and promoting sustainable agricultural practices across Nigeria.

Hybrid Solar Food Dryer was designed by NaFarm Foods to address the critical issue of food spoilage by combining solar heat and electricity generated from solar panels for efficient, all-weather drying of food, even during rainy or cloudy days.

With a capacity of 500kg per unit and the ability to retain the nutritional quality of food while minimising energy costs, the technology has already benefited over 80 communities across six Nigerian states.

By reducing post-harvest losses for over 65,000 farmers, the dryers contribute significantly to food security and rural economic empowerment.

The Hybrid Solar Food Dryer is transforming food preservation by reducing spoilage rates, decreasing greenhouse gas emissions from decomposing food, and lowering reliance on fossil fuels.

With a whole-of-life cost of less than 1 cent per 100 litres, the dryers are accessible and economically viable for smallholder farmers and food processors.

By 2030, NaFarm Foods aims to empower two million farmers and reduce carbon emissions by 50,000 metric tonnes annually.

Business Post reports that NaFarms Foods has won $1 million from Zayed to scale its operations by manufacturing and distributing 100,000 dryers across Nigeria and West Africa.

“We are deeply honoured to be recognised as a winner of the Zayed Sustainability Prize. It signifies global recognition of our efforts to tackle food insecurity and promote equitable and sustainable agriculture in Nigeria and beyond.

“This opportunity inspires us to continue pushing boundaries, knowing that our work is not only transforming lives locally but also contributing to a more sustainable and equitable world. For us, this is more than an achievement; it’s a call to action to drive greater impact,” the chief executive of NaFarms Foods, Ms Fatima Jimoh, said.

The Director of the Zayed Sustainability Prize, Dr Lamya Fawwaz, said, “NaFarm Foods’ innovative approach to sustainable food preservation not only improves food security but also empowers rural communities, particularly women and youth, by creating income-generating opportunities. This aligns with the Prize’s mission to drive progress and improve livelihoods.”

NaFarm Foods plans to expand training programmes to empower an additional 25,000 women and youth, fostering entrepreneurship and sustainable economic growth.

Additionally, it intends to establish distribution hubs and implement advanced cluster mapping systems to ensure technology accessibility and improved marketability of produce.

Each year, the Zayed Sustainability Prize rewards organisations and high schools for their groundbreaking solutions, fostering innovation on global challenges. Over the past 17 years, through its 128 winners, the prize has positively impacted 407 million lives worldwide.

Economy

Naira Falls Further to N1,549.65/$1 at Official Market, Gains N5 at Black Market

Published

2 hours ago

15/01/2025

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira depreciated against the United States Dollar for the third straight session by 0.05 per cent or N1.36 in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Tuesday, January 14.

During the second trading day of the week, the exchange rate closed at N1,549.65/$1 in the official market, in contrast to Monday’s closing price of N1,548.89/$1.

The renewed pressure on the Naira occurred as analysts expected the introduction of the electronic matching FX market system, increasing foreign portfolio inflows, greater access to dollar-denominated debt, rising FX reserves, and a positive current account balance to support the domestic currency in 2025.

Investment banking firm, CardinalStone Securities Limited, said the Naira movement, which has contributed about 20.0 per cent – 30.0 per cent to inflation in the last few years, is likely to be relatively stable in 2025.

Also in the spot market, the local currency weakened against the Pound Sterling yesterday by N2.22 to trade at N1,879.64/£1 compared with the preceding day’s N1,877.42/£1 and against the Euro, the Nigerian currency lost N7.17 to quote at N1,586.05/€1 versus the N1,578.87/€1 it was traded a day earlier.

However, in the black market, the Naira appreciated against the greenback during the session by N5 to finish at N1,650/$1 compared with the previous day’s value of N1,655/$1.

In the cryptocurrency market, the bulls took charge of reports that US President-elect Donald Trump is preparing first-day executive orders that will benefit the crypto industry. The advance continued today, supported by softer-than-expected US Producer Price Index (PPI) readings for December.

Mr Trump’s expected crypto policies and broader economic plans have brought back positive sentiment among traders — bumping up crypto prices.

Ripple (XRP) added 12.1 per cent to its value to close at $2.84, Cardano jumped by 6.8 per cent to trade at $1.02, Dogecoin (DOGE) rose by 5.0 per cent to $0.3589, Litecoin (LTC) grew by 3.2 per cent to $101.80, Bitcoin (BTC) expanded by 2.2 per cent to $96,866.89, Binance Coin (BNB) appreciated by 1.5 per cent to $699.45, Solana (SOL) also gained 1.5 per cent to end at $188.57, and Ethereum (ETH) improved by 1.3 per cent to $3,219.28, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 each.