SEC explains N1.2bn ‘golden hand shake’ payment
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Nigeria, has explained payment of N1.2 billion staff disengagement golden handshake by the suspended DG, Mounir Gwarzo.
A statement made available to Daily Times by SEC , said that the Golden Handshake exercise was a voluntary retirement scheme designed by the Commission for certain categories of staff to exit the Commission.
SEC explained that the Board in exercise of its power as contained in the ISA approved the 2015 budget of the Commission.
Furthermore, Section 19 & 20 of the ISA (Appendix III) empowers the Commission to establish and maintain a fund, the proceeds of which it may apply to meets its financial obligations.
The effect of the provisions of the ISA cited above is that the Commission is empower to cater for all of its financial obligations from its Funds. However, such amounts must be expended from a Budget, which must be approved by the Board of the Commission.
The funding of the Golden handshake was therefore carried out in line with this statutorily laid down procedure for disbursing the Funds of the Commission.
According to the commission, adjustments were made to certain vote heads within the 2015 budget to accommodate the cost implication of the Golden Handshake exercise.
‘”This was necessary in lieu of the fact that the votes in majority of the heads adjusted were either meant to be disbursed for the welfare of staff or fund certain allowances of staff. In view of the fact that payment of a percentage of remuneration/allowances of a staff was an incentive to access the scheme, it was therefore imperative for these adjustments to be made”
It further explained that as an incentive to access the scheme, staffs were offered certain percentage of their allowances/remuneration. The scheme was duly approved by the Board of the Commission at its meeting of March 12th, 2015 and funded from the Commission’s 2015 Budget
Section 4 (1) (d) of the Investment and Securities Act (ISA), 2007 (Appendix II) empowers the Board of the Commission to consider and approve the annual budget of the Commission to consider and approve the annual budget of the Commission as may be presented to it by the Management.
Furthermore, the action of the Commission’s Board in adjusting certain Heads in the 2015 budget is a power derived from the provisions of Section 12 (b) of the Interpretation Act (Appendix IV).
The section provides that where an Act (ISA 2007) confers a power to make a subsidiary instrument (The Budget), proclamation or notification, the power shall include power, exercisable in the like manner and subject to the like consent power, conditions (if any), to vary and revoke the instrument, proclamation or notification.
Stories by Bonny Amadi
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