SEC retains interim members on NSE Council

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has directed the Council of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) to admit some professionals, as public interest members, to strengthen the Council and support its new management team.

A statement from the SEC’s Head of Media, Mr Lanre Oloyi, said the directive is intended to speed up the work of NSE and in the public interest, and pursuant to section 35 (1) of the Investments and Securities Act (ISA) 200.

The statement noted: “All SEC nominated members, including Messrs Ballama Manu and Emmanuel Ikhazoboh, shall be on the Council pending the election of a new council. They are to work with the existing Council members with a view to achieving the following:

•restructuring the Exchange to ensure good corporate governance practices;

•concluding the ongoing initiatives/plans regarding the trading platform and other infrastructure of the Exchange aimed at making it a world class Exchange;

•guiding the new Management team over the next few months to settle; and

•preparing the Exchange for its demutualisation including the restructuring of the legal framework.”

The directive is coming on the heels of the resumption of the new Chief Executive, Mr Oscar Onyema, who is expected to assume duties today.

The task of the interim administration, SEC maintained, “is not yet completed. A lot more work will need to be done to put the Stock Exchange on a sounder footing to achieve the objectives for which the Securities and Exchange Commission intervened”.

Sec said it expects “the restructuring to be quickly concluded so that elections can be conducted to establish a new Council” and is “hopeful that by that time, all the cases in court would have been disposed of to allow the Interim President to conduct elections without any legal impediment”.

The Commission has also directed that a one month transition period commencing from today, ” April 4, 2011 be allowed to enable proper handover by the Interim Administrator to the new Chief Executive Officer”.

However, “after the transition period, Mr Ikhazoboh the interim Administrator, will continue on the Council as deputy to the Interim President,” the statement added.

Source : The Nation