Economy
SEC DG Insists ‘My Suspension by Adeosun Illegal’
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
By Adedapo Adesanya
Oil prices settled about 1 per cent lower on Thursday even as the Iran war escalated, with the Middle East oil producer asking Yemen’s Houthi movement to be prepared to close the Red Sea oil export route.
Brent crude futures fell by 72 cents or about 0.9 per cent to trade at $84.23 a barrel, while the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures depreciated by 65 cents or 0.8 per cent to close at $78.95 a barrel.
Iran has instructed Yemen’s Houthi movement to stand ready to close the Bab el-Mandeb strait, the vital gateway to the Red Sea, if the US follows through on threats to strike Iranian power infrastructure.
Market analysts warned that with the Strait of Hormuz already closed, the latest threat raises the serious risk of both of the Middle East’s primary oil export routes being disrupted at the same time.
About 7.4 million barrels of petroleum transited Bab el-Mandeb per day in June, about 7 per cent of global oil output, according to Kpler data, up from 4.2 million barrels per day last year.
This week, US President Donald Trump repeated oft-stated threats to strike Iranian power plants and bridges.
According to senior Iranian sources, the Islamic Republic’s leadership has discussed the idea with Iran’s Houthi allies, with the rebel forces now awaiting definitive orders to begin targeting maritime traffic.
In a sign of escalating tensions in the region, the Houthis fired missiles at Saudi Arabia after accusing the kingdom of bombing an airport under their control on Monday, breaking a four-year truce in the conflict between the kingdom and the group.
This comes as Saudi Arabia is currently evaluating a massive infrastructure expansion to permanently upgrade the capacity of its western pipeline and terminal networks.
Any additional disruptions could force international shipping firms to redirect vessels around Africa, inflating transit costs and worsening the global energy crisis.
On Wednesday, the US struck Iran’s coastal defences and missile sites after reimposing a naval blockade of its ports, while the two countries exchanged intensified fire on Thursday, which kept pressure on prices upward.
However, weighing on prices was Iran’s release of a US citizen, which could point toward a path to avert the resumption of all-out war.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has launched a new digital platform to track every foreign exchange transaction involving Bureaux De Change (BDC) operators, marking a major step in its efforts to improve transparency and strengthen oversight of the country’s retail forex market.
In an operational guidance issued on July 15 to authorised dealer banks and licensed BDCs, the apex bank introduced the FX BDC Purchase Tracker (FXBT), a centralised electronic portal designed to monitor foreign exchange purchases by BDCs from the point of request through approval, settlement and eventual sale.
The CBN said the portal will require BDCs to upload real-time or same-day data on all FX purchases made through the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market (NFEM), giving the regulator transaction-level visibility across the retail FX market.
According to the bank, the platform is designed to prevent abuse by making it easier to detect operators attempting to exceed the weekly purchase limit of $150,000, obtain allocations from multiple banks or divert foreign exchange outside approved channels.
The launch of the tracker builds on the CBN’s February policy that restored direct access for licensed BDCs to purchase foreign exchange from authorised dealer banks through the NFEM. While that policy improved access to official FX, the new platform provides the digital infrastructure to monitor how the funds are used.
Under the new framework, authorised dealer banks must conduct comprehensive Know-Your-Customer (KYC) and customer due diligence checks before selling foreign exchange to any BDC.
The new guideline also says banks must verify beneficial ownership information, retain incorporation documents and carry out enhanced due diligence for higher-risk operators. Any BDC that fails these checks will not be allowed to access official foreign exchange.
The guidance also requires banks to acknowledge BDC purchase requests submitted through the FXBT portal within two business hours and immediately notify operators whether their requests have been approved or rejected.
To discourage speculation, the CBN directed that any forex purchased through the NFEM but left unused must be sold back into the market within 24 hours after the expiration of the utilisation period. BDCs are also required to disclose any previously unused balances when submitting fresh requests.
In addition, all foreign exchange transactions between banks, BDCs and customers must be settled through registered accounts with licensed financial institutions. Third-party transactions are prohibited, and any transfer outside a BDC’s registered settlement account will be treated as a regulatory violation.
The apex bank also said all authorised dealer banks and licensed BDCs are expected to comply with the new regulatory guidance and operational procedures with immediate effect.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The chief executive of HBM Nigeria Plc (formerly Lafarge Africa), Mr Lolu Alade-Akinyemi, said the cement producer is expected to add 4.5 million tonnes to its production capacity by January 2027.
HBM Nigeria Plc is positioning itself for stronger long-term competitiveness, market leadership and job creation as it accelerates expansion projects.
The transition to HBM Nigeria marks a new phase of growth, driven by operational excellence, sustainability, innovation, and infrastructure development, while maintaining its long-standing commitment to Nigeria’s construction sector.
Mr Alade-Akinyemi, speaking recently in Lagos, said the ongoing expansion of the company’s Ashaka and Sagamu plants would significantly boost local production, create employment opportunities, and support businesses across its value chain.
“We recently announced the expansion of the Sagamu plant in Ogun State and the Ashaka plant in Gombe State. Hopefully, in January 2027, we will commission both plants, adding 4.5 million tonnes to our capacity. Traditionally, building a new plant takes about three years, but this is one of the benefits of belonging to the Huaxin Group,” he said.
According to him, the projects will generate employment, create opportunities for young people and women, strengthen local suppliers and contractors, and contribute further to Nigeria’s economic growth.
“There are many vacancies we are trying to fill in Sagamu and Ashaka. Beyond direct employment, we are creating opportunities for small businesses, developing suppliers and supporting local contractors. This is an exciting period because it will deliver significant benefits to Nigeria,” he said.
Mr Alade-Akinyemi noted that while the company’s corporate identity had changed following its acquisition by Huaxin Building Materials Group, its core values and commitment to customers, host communities, employees and shareholders remain unchanged.
He said HBM Nigeria traces its roots to 1959 as West African Portland Cement Company (WAPCO), with its first cement plant commencing operations in Ewekoro, Ogun State, in 1961.
Since then, he said, the company has grown into one of Nigeria’s leading building solutions providers with integrated plants in Ewekoro, Sagamu, Ashaka and Mfamosing.
He added that the company, which became publicly listed in 1979, has continued to expand through acquisitions and transformation while maintaining high product quality, innovation and responsible operations.
Highlighting the strengths of its parent company, Alade-Akinyemi described Huaxin Building Materials as a globally recognised building materials manufacturer founded in 1907 and headquartered in Wuhan, China, with operations across 16 regions in China and 14 countries worldwide.
He said Huaxin’s engineering expertise and focus on research and development would strengthen HBM Nigeria’s operations and help close engineering skills gaps in the country.
“As HBM Nigeria, we are strategically positioned for long-term competitiveness and stronger market leadership while reinforcing our commitment to supporting Nigeria’s infrastructure development and economic progress after more than six decades of industry leadership,” he said.
He also said sustainability would remain central to the company’s operations, noting that it had introduced lower-carbon products and continued to invest in environmentally friendly production processes.
