Civil servants body demand reconstitution of SEC board
…Urges FG to release panel report on Gwarzo
Joseph Inokotong, Abuja
President Mohammadu Buhari has been urged to reconstitute the board of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) so as to allow the commission run its affairs in line with global best practices.
Also, the president has been urged to direct that the report of the panel of inquiry set up by former minister of finance to probe allegations against the former SEC Director General, Munir Gwarzo be released for necessary action.
These demands were contained in a statement signed by the Secretary General of the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN), Mr. Alade Bashir Lawal and made available in Abuja on Sunday.
According to the ASCSN, the SEC has been operating without a board since 2015 and this has created very serious credibility gaps and impacted negatively on the image and performance profile of the organization.
“Players in the capital market both within and outside the shores of the country believe that with a board in place, the SEC will positively run off on the growth and development of that critical sector of the nation’s economy,” the association stated.
According to ASCSN, it was the absence of a board at the SEC to oversee the management of the commission on a regular basis that has led to the series of infractions witnessed during the tenure of the suspended Gwarzo.
“It is necessary to state that all those infractions would not have arisen if a board had been in place to supervise the operations of the commission and also, act as a check to the activities of the suspended director-general.
“As it were, frantic efforts are now being made to sweep under the carpet the case established against Gwarzo which is currently lying before the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC),” it said.
The group added that the appeal for intervention in the matter has become very necessary and extremely urgent given reports that subterranean moves are being made to throw spanners in the works as regards the case against the suspended Gwarzo which they said would negatively affect the image of the present administration as intolerant to corruption.
