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Okereke Indicts CBN Over Capital Market Collapse …Oteh Absent At House Probe Panel
Following Monday’s allegations and accusations of financial imprudence made by the Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Ms Arunma Oteh levelled on former Director-General of the Nigeria Stock Exchange, Prof. Ndi Okereke Onyiuke, the former DG of NSE appeared before the panel yesterday to defend herself against some of the allegations.
She also provided a way forward for the present administrators of the SEC and NSE.
In her earlier statement, Okereke-Onyuike accused the CBN merger loans of being the main reasons why the capital market was in a state of comatose.
She said, “the merger loans given to most of the commercial banks have cost the present mess faced by the capital market”.
She further said that many of the fictitious private companies registered by the Corporate Affairs Commission saw the capital market as a money making avenue for themselves, and tried to exploit individuals and innocent investors in the market.
However, she highlighted some major points on how the market could get back to its glorious days of market booming.
“I wish to state that some of the ways which the market can get its confidence back in the mind of investors are as follows: appointment of the market makers which must include a public enlightenment because the stock market is the barometer of the economy of any country.
Secondly, merger of stock brokering firms, as this will make them stronger because most of them are too weak to stand alone, thirdly, the e-dividend and e-certificates should be encouraged so that they can be properly kept and protected.
She further said that the setting up of another government’s agency to monitor unclaimed dividends and certificates should be discouraged as this would bring about over-lapping of duties.
Prof.Okereke-Onyiuke also said that the SEC should have developmental functions and not just police offenders but enlighten them while the SEC should be adequately funded by the Federal Government. She concluded by adding that Value Added Tax placed on shareholders should be abolished.
Meanwhile, the Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Ms Arunma Oteh failed to appear before the panel yesterday, giving a written excuse in which she asked for the permission of the House probe panel to allow her to attend an economic summit being chaired by President Goodluck Jonathan.
But in a swift response, the chairman of the probe panel, Hon. Ibrahim El-Sudi, ordered her to appear before the panel unfailingly by 10am today or the law will be used against her.
Oteh had on Monday at the resumed probe, reeled out series of cases of recklessness in the running of the SEC under the watch of Okereke-Onyuike.
Meanwhile, former Director- General of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Prof. Ndidi Okereke-Onyuike, came under hammer on Monday at the resumed probe into the various malpractices that led to the collapse of the capital market.
D-G of the commission, Mrs. Arunmah Oteh, whose statements culminated in the dissolution of the initial probe panel in the House of Representatives, spilled it all as she left no one in doubt on the various criminal acts that got underway under the nose of the former DG.
In what amounted to a glaring abuse of positions, criminal diversion of funds and extravagant disbursement of funds, Oteh revealed that high-level transactions breached all rules known to the financial sector.
In many of the shady deals involving banks, Oteh accused her predecessor of allowing fraud under her watch.
Oteh said in one of the instances, “”Between August 2006 and December 2008, the Executive team of Finbank engaged six law firms to incorporate 95 companies and transferred more than 425 billion of depositors’ funds to nine of these companies, and purchased 2.8 billion units of its own shares against SEC rules.
“Between June 2007 and December 2008, Intercontinental Bank (now under Access Bank), its directors and principal officers engaged in unlawful share buyback schemes, buying about 3.4 billion units of shares using depositors’ funds. It violated Section 105, 106 and Section 110 of ISA 2007 as well as Section 160 of CAMA and Rule 109b of SEC Rules.
“Then, in 2007, Union Bank borrowed amounts totalling £430.4billion from two foreign investment banks. The funds were transferred to Union Trustees, which in turn transferred the funds to Falcon Securities. In four days in November 2007, Falcon purchased 620.4million units of shares worth $430.8 billion ahead of a public offer/rights issue.
“In 2007, Falcon Securities carried out 181,088 transactions with respect to Union Bank shares. This drove up the share price of Union Bank stocks from a low of $423.30 in January 2007 to £450.33 in November 2007, in other words, a price appreciation of over 110% within 11 months.
Lamenting further, Oteh said, “these were the kinds of financial imprudence that were perpetrated at the NSE.” ”
Narrating how the SEC spent huge funds on wasteful ventures, Oteh accused the Okereke-Onyuike-led SEC of purchasing 165 Rolex watches for N186million which were presented as gifts to awardees.
She disclosed that out of the 165, only 73 were given out while the remaining expensive gifts had remained unaccounted for till date.
At Monday’s sitting, it appeared that Oteh struggled to caution herself against statements that could cause further tension at the new probe panel having forced the House to appoint a new panel after her allegation of bribery against the former one led by Hon. Ihembe.
Vice President Kashim Shettima has arrived in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, for an official State visit at the invitation of the Prime Minister, Dr. Abiy Ahmed.
Upon arrival yesterday, Shettima was received at the airport by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia, Dr. Gedion Timothewos, and other members of the Ethiopian and Nigerian diplomatic corps.
Senior Special Assistant to the Vice President on Media and Communication, Stanley Nkwocha, revealed this in a statement he signed yesterday, titled: “VP Shettima arrives in Ethiopia for official state visit.”
During the visit, Vice President Shettima will participate in the official launch of Ethiopia’s Green Legacy Programme, a flagship environmental initiative.
The programme designed to combat deforestation, enhance biodiversity, and mitigate the adverse effects of climate change targets the planting of 20 billion tree seedlings over a four-year period.
In line with strengthening bilateral ties in agriculture and industrial development, the Vice President will also embark on a strategic tour of key industrial zones and integrated agricultural facilities across selected regions of Ethiopia.
News
RSG Tasks Farmers On N4bn Agric Loan ….As RAAMP Takes Sensitization Campaign To Four LGs In Rivers
The Rivers State Government has called on the people of the state especially farmers to access the ?4billion agricultural loans made available by the State and domiciled in the Bank of Industry.
This is as the State Project Implementation Unit (SPIU) of Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project (RAAMP), a World Bank project, took its sensitization campaign to Opobo/Nkoro, Andoni, Port Harcourt City and Obio/Akpor local government areas.
The campaign was aimed at enlightening community dwellers and other stakeholders in the various local government areas on the RAAMP project implementation and programme activities.
The Permanent Secretary, Rivers State Ministry of Agriculture, Mr Maurice Ogolo, said this at Opobo town, Ngo, Port Harcourt City and Rumuodumanya, headquarters of the four local government areas respectively, during the sensitization campaign.
Ogolo said apart from the ?4billion, the government has also made available fertilizers and other farm inputs to farmers in the various local government areas.
The Permanent Secretary who is the Chairman, State Steering Committee for the project, said RAAMP will construct roads that will connect farms to markets to enable farmers and fishermen sell their farms produce and fishes.
He also said rural roads would be constructed to farms and fishing settlements, and warned against any act that will lead to the cancellation of the projects in the four local government areas.
According to him, the World Bank and Federal Government which are the financiers of the programme will not condone such acts like kidnapping, marching ground and other acts inimical to the successful implementation of the projects in their respective areas.
At PHALGA, Ogolo asserted that the city will benefit in the areas of roads and bridge construction.
He noted that RAAMP was thriving in both the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja; Lagos and other states in the country, stressing that the project should also be given the seriousness it deserves in Rivers State.
Speaking at Opobo town, the headquarters of Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Area, the project coordinator, RAAMP, Mr.Joshua Kpakol, said the programme would reduce poverty in the state.
According to him, both fishermen and farmers will maximally benefit from the programme.
At Ngo which is the headquarters of Andoni Local Government Area, Kpakol said roads will be constructed to all remote fishing settlements.
He said Rivers State is lucky to be among the states implementing the project, and stressed the need for the people to embrace it.
Meanwhile, Kpakol said at PHALGA that RAAMP is a project that will transform the lives of farmers, traders and other stakeholders in the area.
He urged the stakeholders to spread the information to their various communities.
However, some of the stakeholders at Opobo town complained about the destruction of their farms by bulls allegedly owed by traditional rulers in the area, as well as incessant stealing of their canoes at waterfronts.
At Ngo, Archbishop Elkanah Hanson, founder of El-Shaddai Church, commended the World Bank and the Federal Government for bringing the projects to Andoni.
He stressed the need for the construction of roads to fishing settlements in the area.
Also, a former Commissioner for Agriculture in the state and Okan Ama of Ekede, HRH King Gad Harry, noted that storage facilities have become necessary for a successful agricultural programme.
Harry also stressed the need for the programme to be made sustainable.
In their separate speeches, the administrators of Andoni and Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Areas, pledged their readiness to support the programme.
At Port Harcourt City, the Administrator, Dr Arthur Kalagbor, represented by the Head of Local Government Administration, Port Harcourt City, Mr Clifford Paul, said the city would support the implementation of the programme in the area.
Also, the administrator of Obio/Akpor Local Government Area, Dr Clifford Ndu Walter, represented by Mr Michael Elenwo, pledged to support the programme in his local government area.
Among dignitaries at the Obio/Akpor stakeholders engagement is the chairman, Rivers State Traditional Rulers Council and paramount ruler of Apara Kingdom, HRM Eze Chike Wodo, amongst others.
John Bibor
President Bola Tinubu has ordered the commencement of personnel audit and skill gap analysis across all cadres of federal civil servants.
The president gave this directive in Abuja, yesterday, while speaking at the International Civil Service Conference, reaffirming his resolve to achieve efficiency and professional service delivery in the civil service.
“I have authorized the comprehensive personnel audit and skill gap analysis across the federal civil service to deepen capacity. I urge all responsible stakeholders to prioritize timely completion of this critical exercise, to begin implementing targeted reforms, to realize the full benefit of a more agile, competent and responsive civil service,” the president announced.
Tinubu further directed all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), to prioritise data integrity and sovereignty in national interest.
He called for the capture, protection and strategic publication of public sector data in line with the Nigeria Data Protection Act of 2023.
“We must let our data speak for us. We must publish verified data assets within Nigeria and share them internationally recognized as fruitful. This will allow global benchmarking organisation to track our progress in real time and help us strengthen our position on the world stage. This will preserve privacy and uphold data sovereignty,” Tinubu added.
President Tinubu hailed the federal civil service as the “engine” driving his Renewed Hope Agenda, and the vehicle for delivering sustainable national development.
He submitted that the roles of civil servants remain indispensable in modern governance, declaring that in the face of a fast-evolving digital and economic landscape, the civil service must remain agile, future-ready, and results-driven.
“This maiden conference is a bold step toward redefining governance in an era of rapid transformation. An innovative Civil Service ensures we meet today’s needs and overcome tomorrow’s challenges.
“It captures our collective ambition to reimagine and reposition the civil service. In today’s rapid, evolving world of technology, innovation remains critical in ensuring that the civil service is dynamic, digital” the President said.
Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Didi Walson-Jack in her welcome address told the President that his presence and strong words of commendation at the conference has renewed the morale and mandate of public servants across the country.
Walson-Jack described Tinubu as the backbone of driving transformation in the Nigerian civil service, and noted that the takeaways from past study tours undertaken to understudy the civil service in Singapore, the UK and US under her leadership, is already yielding multiplier effects.
Walson-Jack assured Tinubu that her office, in collaboration with reform-minded stakeholders, will not relent in accelerating the implementation of the Federal Civil Service Strategy and Implementation Plan, FCSSIP 25.
She affirmed that digitalisation, performance management, and continuous learning remain key pillars in strengthening accountability, transparency, and service delivery across MDAs.
Walson-Jack reaffirmed that the civil service is determined to exceed expectations by embedding a culture of innovation, ethical leadership, and citizen-centred governance in the heart of public administration.