NEWSEx-DGs, acting DG battle for SEC’s top job

By Abdulwahab Isa Abuja

A subtle scramble for the occupation of Director-General (DG) position of Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is ongoing at the moment, this paper has learnt.

Major contenders for SEC’s topmost position are: the suspended DG, Monir Gwarzo; the redeployed Acting DG, Dr. Abdul Zubair, who is currently on secondment to the Ministry of Finance in the wake of Oando Oil Plc. share price technical lifting debacle; and incumbent Acting DG, Ms. Mary Uduk.

The three are angling to be confirmed as substantive DG of SEC.

Scheming by three most top officials of the capital market regulatory agency was heightened by a recent pronouncement by an Abuja High Court that acquitted Gwarzo of wrongdoing.

An FCT High Court had dismissed corruption charges against Gwarzo and Zakwanu Garuba, an official of the Commission, over alleged mismanagement of about N115 million public fund.

In November 2017, Kemi Adeosun, the former Minister of Finance, had suspended Gwarzo over allegations of financial improprieties, part of which formed the basis for the charges brought against him and Garuba.

But in a ruling, Justice Husseini Baba-Yusuf discharged and acquitted both Gwarzo and Garuba of the charges in all the five counts preferred against them by the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC).

Buoyed by the judgement, Gwarzo had written to Minister of Finance, Hajiya Zainab Ahmed, asking for reinstatement to his position and payment of all his entitlements between the period of his suspension till date, a senior official at Finance Ministry told New Telegraph.
“The suspended DG Gwarzo has written to the minister. He is requesting for his reinstatement, payment of all his entitlements. In the letter currently with one of the permanent Secretaries of the ministry, he attached a copy of the court ruling.

“But there is a hurdle for him to cross. The ministerial panel set up by the minister indicted him for gross abuse of due process in contract awards. The company he was a director featured severally in payments he made to firms that supplied diesel and other contracts executed at SEC,” the source said.

Gwarzo’s telephone line wasn’t going through when New Telegraph called.

But his close aide, who denied knowledge of latest developments, told our correspondent that the suspended DG was overseas.

New Telegraph sent him SMS on the subject, but he is yet to respond.

In a related development, New Telegraph was told that a former Acting DG of SEC, Dr. Zubair, who took over in acting capacity in the absence of Gwarzo and got transferred to the Ministry of Finance, has been cleared of wrongdoings and is warming for return to SEC.

Zubair, a former SEC Commissioner, took over in acting capacity on suspension of Gwarzo. But less than seven months as DG, shares manipulation scam rocked Oando Plc. in 2017. The oil firm shares had been placed on technical suspension on October 23, 2017 while a forensic audit was commissioned.
Curiously, the NSE announced resumption in its trading. NSE defended its action, saying the directive to lift the suspension and resume trading on the shares of the embattled oil and gas company came from SEC vide a letter dated April 9, 2017.

But Zubair, the then Acting DG claimed ignorance. He said the lifting was done without his authorization by some officers of SEC in connivance with NSE while he was on his way to Port Harcourt, Rivers State on official assignment.

The then Finance Minister, Adeosun, reassigned Zubair on transfer to Finance Ministry pending the outcome of investigation and approved the appointment of Ms. Uduk as the new acting director general of the commission, to replace Zubair.

A memo by Director, Homes Finance of the Ministry of Finance, Mrs. Olubunmi O. Siyanbola (retired) on behalf of Adeosun, in response to an earlier one by SEC with reference F.11127/S.1/950 dated 12th July, 2018 addressed to Acting SEC DG, absolved Zubair of complicity.

A copy of the Ministry of Finance memo exclusively sighted by New Telegraph states in part: “…the former Ag. DG, Dr. Zubair’s explanation and remorse is accepted and he is cleared of the allegations of wilfulness.”

In another letter by the ICPC, dated April 26, 2019 addressed to SEC DG, with reference details ICPC/ CH/F JA/ 469/2019, the anti-graft body declared that investigation into allegation of corruption brought against Zubair “has been concluded with no infraction of any of the provisions of the corrupt practices and other related offences Act 2000 established against the former Acting DG (Mr. Abdul Zubair). The matter is hereby closed and laid to rest.”

The third force is incumbent acting SEC DG, Uduk.

Uduk, a source said, is not leaving things to chance. A source told this medium that what the current DG has going for her, include confidence and stability she brought to bear on market since her assumption.

Uduk, the source said, is pressing her buttons for confirmation.

A source in the ministry, who asked not to be quoted, told New Telegraph that “the minister is studying the pronouncement by FCT High Court, no guilty verdict on Zubair and every other thing concerning the capital market.”

Efforts to get official position from the ministry proved abortive. The Special Assistant to Minister of Finance, Mr. Paul Abeshi, when contacted three weeks ago, requested a formal letter to be addressed to the minister for response.

His directive was promptly complied with and the letter was sent to the minister. No response was received as at the time of writing this report.

A phone call and SMS remainder were sent to the Minister of Finance’s verifiable telephone line over the weekend without any response.
Source: New Telegraph