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Stock Exchange interim head completes term

By on April 29, 2011

The interim administrator of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), Emmanuel Ikazoboh, counts his successes as his tenure ends today, while he hopes to continue as an Exchange council member.

When Oscar Onyema, the new chief executive officer (CEO) of the NSE resumed office on April 4th, it was expected that Mr Ikazoboh would step down immediately. However, that was not so as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which appointed him as interim head, further gave a directive for him to use one month as transition period.

Mr Ikazoboh, who assumed office August 5th last year following the sack of Ndi Okereke-Onyiuke as the director general and chief executive officer of the NSE, said the law governing the Exchange still permits him to stay on the NSE’s council after the transition period.

Speaking at ‘a thank-you lunch’ with the media yesterday, he said the position of an interim administrator is comparable to that of the chief executive officer of the NSE which, therefore, qualifies him by law as a council member.

“Ex-chief executive officer of the NSE can continue as a member of the council for a number of years after he(or she) leaves office,” Mr Ikazoboh said.

Exchange Commission’s support

The SEC also backed his continuous stay at the Exchange, saying the task of the interim administration of the NSE is not yet completed.

“A lot more work will need to be done to put the Stock Exchange on a sounder footing so as to achieve the objectives for which the SEC intervened,” it said in a statement.

Consequently, the commission said all its nominated members, including Mr Ikazoboh, “shall be on the council pending the election of a new council,” adding that it “expect the restructuring exercise to be quickly concluded so that elections can be conducted to establish a new council.”

Mr Ikazoboh’s portoflio, according to the Exchange Commission, will now be deputy interim president of the NSE council.

Counting some of the successes recorded during his tenure, Mr Ikazoboh said, “When we came in, we had issues with investors’ confidence, especially retail investors. We made efforts to let them understand in our capacity the need for them to sustain the little trust they had in us and grow it, which they did.”

He said he also had issues with the finance department of the Stock Exchange when he assumed office.

However, he said he made sure that the finance department is currently “sound”, adding that structurally, his administration gave the NSE “a face lift” to a world-class standard.

‘Illegal attempt’

Market infractions was one of the situations he also dealt with during his tenure, as several erring market operators were sanctioned for various offences.

Mr Ikazoboh said his tenure witnessed a lot of court cases which he could not resolve during his administration. He said the NSE also acquired a new price sticker, which will be launched today.

He said he will work for the progress of any industry he finds himself in the future.

However, the Association of Stockbroking Houses of Nigeria (ASHON) has condemned plans to retain Mr Ikazoboh as a member of the NSE Council.

The association said SEC’s decision to retain the former administrator on the Exchange’s Council was a breach of stockbrokers’ right as shareholders and members of the Exchange.

“Our position is that the interim administration has ended with the new CEO. The attempt to perpetuate the continued stay of the interim administrator as deputy of the NSE president is not only illegal, but high handed,” ASHON said in a letter to SEC recently.

Source : 234next