Don't Miss

Operators push for Gwarzo’s confirmation as DG of SEC

By BusinessNews Staff on April 23, 2015

Strong indications emerged on Tuesday that the CAPITAL MARKET community has made a recommendation to President Goodluck Jonathan to appoint the acting Director General (DG) of the Securities and Exchange COMMISSION (SEC), Mr. Mounir Gwarzo, as the substantive DG of the COMMISSION.
Presidency sources told THISDAY that the recommendation was based on the promise President Jonathan made when he met with capital market operators during his visit to the Nigerian STOCK EXCHANGE (NSE) on March 12, 2015.
Following the expiration of the five-year tenure of Ms. Aruma Oteh as SEC DG last January, Gwarzo was appointed the acting DG of the commission.
However, President Jonathan told market stakeholders during the visit that given the crucial role of SEC in the financial system, he did not want the commission to be without a substantive DG for too long, assuring the capital market operators that the appointment would be announced before the end of April.
“I do not want someone to act for too long. I don’t have anyone in mind, if you know anyone then suggest them to me,” he had told the capital market stakeholders.
THISDAY checks revealed that based on the foregoing, operators in the market came together and made a recommendation to the presidency that Gwarzo be made the substantive DG of the apex regulator of the nation’s capital market.
Apart from Gwarzo, who was recommended as their favourite candidate, it was gathered that the immediate past President of the Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS), Alhaji Ariyo Olushekun, and the Chairman of the Association of Stockbroking Houses of Nigeria (ASHON), Mr. Emeka Madubuike, were recommended as second and third choices respectively.
Capital market sources, who confirmed this development, said the names were recommended to the presidency after thorough deliberations.
“I can confirm to you that based on the promise of President Jonathan to appoint a substantive DG for SEC and his request to us to make recommendations, we have sent our recommendations to him. And we are very confident that he will treat our recommendations positively. The recommendations were made after thorough deliberations on the current state of the market, what the commission has passed through in recent times and the best way to position the commission to be able to perform its functions better,” a senior broker, told THISDAY.
It was further gathered that aside his experience, one major factor that led to Gwarzo’s recommendation is the unprecedented goodwill and support he has enjoyed from stakeholders since he became the acting boss of SEC.
The leadership of trade groups in and outside the capital market and other stakeholders had visited the management of the commission to pledge their cooperation and seek ways of partnership in order to move the market, in particular and financial sector, in general, forward.
The NSE, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS), CIS, ASHON, Fund Managers Association of Nigeria, Association of Asset Custodians, Capital MARKET REPORTING Accountants, Association of Capital Market Registrars, Association of Corporate Trustees, National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), Deputy Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (financial stability), the Nigerian Financial Intelligent Unit, Pearl Awards Board and shareholders’ associations, among others had all paid solidarity visits to Gwarzo during the acting period.
Although Gwarzo has acted as the chief executive of SEC for three months, he has wormed his way into the hearts of most stakeholders through the proactive ways he has led the management of the commission in making some significant achievements.
The commission has introduced rules that had been pending for a very long time. The new complaints of management framework is one of such. Also, the release of rules on the demutualisation of securities exchanges is another major landmark achievement SEC has recorded under him.
The NSE had considered the issue of demutualisation for the past 10 years but the process was stalled due to the required restructuring and lack of rules on the process for demutualisation.
However, SEC, under the leadership of the acting DG believes that demutualisation of the exchange will be immensely beneficial to the Nigerian economy. Hence, the commission last month exposed a draft of the rules for market stakeholders to make their inputs before the final rules were released last week.
However, the least expected and commendable move made by SEC was the appointment of an interim management for BGL Plc.
BGL Plc, which is one of the foremost INVESTMENT banking companies, has Mr. Albert Okumagba, who is the President of CIS, as its group chief executive officer. However, the company has been battling with liquidity challenges, a development that made SEC to step in.
This move has been hailed by stakeholders as very proactive and good for the market.
It is believed that Gwarzo has all it takes to successfully steer the affairs of the COMMISSION and move the MARKET to the next level.
Born 51 years ago, he graduated 27 years ago with a Bachelors Degree in Economics from Bayero University Kano and later went to the University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom where he did his post-graduate studies in Development FINANCE. He trained as a stockbroker and qualified as an Associate member, CIS and became a fellow of the Institute. He is a faculty member of the Nigerian CAPITAL MARKET Institute.
He has the unique exposure of working as an operator and regulator in both the primary and secondary segments of the Nigerian capital market, which puts him in a vantage position of knowing both sides of the market.
He rose from an entry level of a graduate to become a general manager and now has a minimum 21 years working experience in the Nigerian capital market.
Gwarzo was appointed on January 2, 2013 into the Board of SEC as Executive Commissioner, Operations by President Jonathan. He became the acting DG SEC last January and was also elected as the Chairman, African and Middle East Regional Committee (AMERC) of the International Organisations of Securities COMMISSION (IOSCO) in February.
His working career spans a period of 26 years in various organisations namely: Ministry of Trade, Kano State, the NSE, Century Merchant Bank, Empire Securities Limited, SEC, Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria and MTL Global INVESTMENT Limited.
In the course of his career, he delivered not less than 25 papers at different seminars and workshops and served in over 18 committees as chairman or member and received commendations from several people including former Minister of Works and Housing, Hajiya Halima Alao, and the Coordinator, SAID Business School, Professor Johri Lahlit.