Civil Servants Urge Buhari To Reconstitute SEC Board, Release Panel Report On Gwarzo

Comrade Alade Bashir Lawal

President Mohammad 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 practice.

Also, the President Buhari is urged to direct that the report of the panel of inquiry set up by former Minister of Finance  to probe allegations against former SEC Director General, Mounir Gwarzo be released for necessary action.

These were contained in a statement signed by Mr. Alade Bashir Lawal, Secretary General of the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN), made available  in Abuja, Sunday.

According to ASCSN, the SEC has been operating without a board since 2015 and this is creators very serious credibility gap and impacted negatively on the image and performance profile of the organisation.

“Players in the capital market both within and outside the shores of the country believe that with a board in place in the SEC, it will positively run off on the growth and development of that critical sector of the nation’s economy.

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 led to the series of infractions that were witnessed during the tenure of suspended Director General of SEC, Mounir 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 Director General

“As it were, your Excellency, frantic efforts are now being made to sweep under the carpet the case established against Mounir Gwarzo which is currently lying before the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related matters Commission, ICPC.

The group added that their 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 Director General which they said would negatively affect the image of the present administration of allowed to happen.