Bribery allegation: SEC probe will go on
By OMONIYI SALAUDEEN
Monday, March 19, 2012
Oteh
The embattled Director-General (DG) of the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC), Ms. Arunma Oteh, may be in for yet another tough probe session on Tuesday when the House of Representatives Committee on Capital Market reopens its public hearing on the activities of the regulatory authority of the Capital Market.
In spite of the controversies trailing the bribery allegations leveled against the chairman of the committee, Hon Herman Hembe, by the SEC boss during the last public hearing, the lawmakers have vowed to go ahead with the probe, promising to unravel more intriguing revelations.
Sources in the House told Sunday Sun that the committee had a mandate and a job to do and would not be distracted by Ms Otteh’s allegations.
According to the source, Otteh merely took the offensive against the committee members just to water down the outcome of the findings of the probe panel, adding that no intimidation would deter the committee from pursuing its assignment to a logical conclusion.
Sunday Sun authoritatively gathered that the SEC boss had prior to the last public hearing sent emissaries to the Hembe panel appealing for suspension of the probe report and that it was rebuffed.
“The committee is not in any way bothered by the frivolous bribery allegations the woman has levelled against its chairman. It will interest you to know that the same woman who is claiming to be holier than thou had earlier sent an emissary to the chairman pleading for suspension of the panel. But now that she has decided to play to the gallery by raising all manners of allegations to absolve herself of any wrong doing, just let’s wait and see the outcome of the committee work,” said the source.
The committee had on Wednesday questioned the capacity of SEC to manage the market in view of evidence that the agency itself conducted some of its internal operations in breach of public service regulations. The committee discovered that Oteh had allegedly spent N30m on hotel accommodation in eight months, following her appointment in January 2010. She also reportedly spent N850, 000 on food, while on another day, she spent N85,000.
The committee further found out that she engaged two members of staff of Access Bank to work as special advisers in SEC. The two members of staff were reportedly paid allowances equivalent to those of a Director in the Federal Civil Service. The two officers were also said to be drawing their salaries from Access Bank till date. Consequently, the committee held the view that having Access Bank staff working in SEC could compromise its ability to regulate the market effectively because the bank is a key player in the market.
But in an attempt to absolve herself of the allegations, Otteh had alleged that the committee demanded N39m from SEC to fund the hearing. She also accused the Chairman of requesting for N5m a day before the public hearing. The two requests, she claimed, were turned down to save the integrity of the SEC. “In asking the SEC to contribute N39m for this public hearing, don’t you think that you are undermining your capacity to carry out your duties?” she asked the chairman.
A lawmaker who pleaded anonymity told Sunday Sun that SEC is afraid of the report of the House and that is why it has been doing every possible to rubbish the effort of the committee. “She (SEC boss) claimed that Hembe took money from SEC to travel to Dominican Republic to attend a conference on emerging capital market but he neither undertook the journey nor return the money. What if we produce evidence that Hembe actually travelled to Dominican Republic? Nobody is asking questions about how a big bank was swallowed by a smaller one, he said. Let’s wait and see the outcome of the committee’s report.”
The Chairman, House Committee on Media, Hon Zakari Muhammed, lending support for the committee in an interview with Sunday Sun said, “These are serious allegations. But the House will toe the line of law. He who alleges a wrong doing must show the proof. The House is supportive of the probe of allegations but the capital market probe will go on. The Committee will be given all necessary support to continue with the probe. And on Tuesday, the House will make its position public. The House is determined to work and ask questions on how the capital market in Nigeria is run. This is a different House watching the back of the common man. Nothing can distract us.”
So far, the startling revelations made on Thursday may just be a tip of the iceberg. Tuesday promises to be yet another day.
