The Securities and Exchange Commission unit of the Association of Senior Civil Servants has described the immediate past administration of the commission led by the erstwhile director general Lamido Yuguda as a massive failure leaving a legacy of backwardness and lack of development.
“The administration of the erstwhile Director General of SEC, Lamido Yuguda failed in its mandate to effectively regulate and develop the capital market, which is an intricate part of the Nigerian economy,” chairman of the union Mamman Abba said yesterday at a media briefing in Abuja.
The union accused the Yuguda led management of being insensitive and unresponsive towards issues of staff welfare especially issues bordering on staff promotion, gratuity and increase of staff emolument, amongst many others. It said the lack of proactive leadership of the administration resulted in dropping staff morale to the lowest ebb under the immediate past management.
The union members said it became clear to all the SEC staff that a vibrant capital market and a highly motivated SEC workforce could only be achieved through a change of SEC management by President Bola Tinubu, a reason he said prompted the union to cry out to the President recently.
President Tinubu announced the appointment of Mr. Mairiga Katuka and Mr. Emomotimi Agama as chairman and DG for SEC respectively on Friday alongside other executive commissioners.
In a statement by the special adviser to the President (media & publicity), Ajuri Ngelale, the President said he “anticipates that all members of the Board of this critical commission will bring to bear their wealth of experience and competence in advancing the commission’s core mandate of developing and regulating a capital market that is dynamic, fair, transparent, and efficient, to bolster investor confidence and contribute immeasurably to the nation’s economic development.”
The union chairman on Monday, said “By clearing out the ineffective SEC Management led by Lamido Yuguda, His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has lived up to his sterling reputation as a listening President,” Abba said.
Meanwhile the union has pledged to collaborate seamlessly with the new board under the leadership of board chairman Mr Katuka and DG Dr Agama to deliver a vibrant capital market in line with the President’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
It appealed to the new management to look into issues of staff promotion, vacancies and gratuity payment and settle the existential issues as they concern staff directly.
It also asked the management to meet with the government on the issue of 50 percent deductions on operating surplus, which the staff union said have almost incapacitated the commission as the SEC has been having great difficulties carrying out its dual functions of regulating and developing the capital market.
“On the market, we urge the new management to constitute a market wide committee who will proffer solutions to the various issues currently bedevilling the market,” he stated.
