Grumbles As Uduk Takes Over SEC
- Stakeholders express worries
BY EDMOND ODOK, ABUJA – The recent re-organisation and appointment of Ms Mary Uduk as the new Acting Director General, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) may have stirred up the hornet’s nest, with some stakeholders claiming that there is a high risk of compromising the Commission’s operational independence.
Insiders said tongues are wagging within the Commission following the re-posting of Dr Abdul Zubair to his former position at SEC’s External Relations Department after five months on the saddle. Zubair was acting Director-General since December 3, 2017, following the suspension of embattled Mounir Gwarzo by the Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun over alleged N104.8m severance package.
Suspended alongside Gwarzo on November 29, 2017, were Abdulsalam Naif Habu, Head of media division, and Anastastia Omozele Braimoh, head of legal department, with the Minister insisting the suspension will allow an unhindered investigation into allegations of financial impropriety levelled against them.
According to insiders, Mrs Adeosun’s re-organisation order, announced on Friday, April 13, 2018, may not have gone down well with some stakeholders, who are crying foul over the recent development.
Claiming that obvious biases played out in the appointments and assignment of personnel, a competent source said; “Though the Ministry and some stakeholders may not admit it, recent developments within the commission have inadvertently disrupted things, particularly in relations to regulatory effectiveness and efficiency of SEC as the statutory regulator of the nation’s capital market.”
The source, who noted market operators’ concerns about the seeming summersault by both SEC and Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) over Oando’s technical suspension and re-admission into the market, said current developments are not good for vibrancy in market operations
It further hinted that the investing public and stakeholders, both local and international, are concerned about developments within the sector, adding that SEC must not allow its actions to portray lack of commitment towards uninterrupted and orderly operation of the market and regulation.
“Investors are keen to have a SEC that continuously ensure the stability of the Nigerian capital market and sustain the all-time high level of investors’ confidence”, the source said
The Minister, had in a statement by her Special Adviser, Media and Communications, Oluyinka Akintunde, announced the changes, explaining that Uduk’s emergence was in line with provisions of the Investments and Securities Act (ISA), 2007 and the conditions of service applicable to the SEC’s Director-General.
A letter dated April 13, 2018 from the Minister stated that her appointment become necessary to ensure effective regulation of Nigeria’s capital market, adding; “Her appointment will, subject to satisfactory performance, subsist until further notice.”
The re-organisation, which saw the former acting Director-General, Zubair, back to his former seat, also had Reginald C. Karawusa emerging as Acting Executive Commissioner, Legal and Enforcement; Henry Roland Adekunle – Acting Executive Commissioner, Corporate Services; and Isiyaku Tilde – Acting Executive Commissioner, Operations.
She requested for a formal explanation from the SEC of the recent communications between the commission and the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), which adversely impacted market confidence.
Ms Uduk joined SEC in 1986 as an assistant financial analyst with her career progression as a regulator spanning many functions and departments, from Corporate Finance and Administration, to providing structural, policy and due diligence for capital market transaction.
The new SEC boss has also been responsible for managing several landmark capital market projects, including the registration of capital market operators, articulating rules for bonds and equities; mergers, acquisitions and takeovers, among others.
As pioneer Head of the Operations Division in the Lagos Zonal Office, Uduk also headed various departments, including Internal Control, Investment Management, Financial Standards and Corporate Governance and Securities.
