Multi-Million Fraud and Employment Scam Allegations Rock SEC

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The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) appears to have been caught in a web of illegalities as multiple sources within the commission accuse the management of secret recruitment, wasting hundreds of naira on overseas trips and planning to lavish huge sums of money on board members in a selfish frenzy.

The SEC Unit of the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria, in a letter dated May 22, 2023, accused the leadership of the commission of undertaking a secret recruitment exercise and appointed a dubious committee to oversee the exercise. .

The commission fraudulently obtained approval from the Federal Character Commission (FCC) to secretly conduct the recruitment exercise without following due process, an allegation that was denied by SEC Foreign Relations Department Chief Bagudu Mohammed .

There is no truth in what the union says. No one has been recruited. No one, the spokesperson said in reaction to the allegations.

Despite the decimation of staff gratuities, the management is ready to pay hundreds of millions in severance pay upon leaving the commission after less than four years of service, this correspondent has learned.

The union is aware that management bribed the Federal Character Commission (FCC) with money and job slots to obtain an illegal waiver from the requirement to advertise the recruiting exercise, the union in a letter sent to former finance, budget and national planning minister Zainab Ahmed.

The minister did not respond to the letter before leaving office in May.

According to the provisions of section 4(b) of the commission’s employee handbook, employment is intended to be open/competitive and limited to positions where vacancies have not been filled by existing employees or where special skills not immediately available in the commission are required. .

The SEC, under the current administration, has been embroiled in a series of scandals.

In May this year, the Senate asked the DG and his commissioners to repay the N594 million they illegally took as vehicle allowances from the Consolidated Revenue Fund.

Last month, BusinessDay reported that the SEC had failed to publish its annual reports and accounts for eight consecutive years, an allegation that was denied by the commission.

The union in the letter signed by its president, Mamman Ali Abba, vice president, Musa Dakup, secretary, David Oyalami and ex-officio Nelson Oleghe said: The union will vigorously resist and reject any organizing exercise that contravenes this position.

The union also accused the commission’s chief executive, Mr. Lamido Yuguda, of embarking on blind trips, leaving a workload unattended. He said the DG was spending huge sums of money on unnecessary trips outside Nigeria with no regard for the welfare of the staff.

One such trip is to Malaysia where he and other board members spent over 100 million naira to attend a workshop. The CEO also reportedly raised 7 million naira by just buying a plane ticket to attend a global CEO meeting in Thailand recently.

The director general has made about ten trips abroad and several local trips this year at the expense of the commission and to the detriment of his duties and responsibilities, said a source in the commission’s research service.

Confirming the allegation to our correspondent, the union president said many files had accumulated in the general manager’s office and were left unattended. The commission is on autopilot. Market operators are beginning to notice the lack of leadership from the Commission and the capital market.

The SEC spokesperson denied any wrongdoing by Mr. Lamido to attend the meetings, citing his importance at international meetings. If the commission is not present, the commission will be rated low overall due to its absence and not the strength of our capital market. Capital markets decisions are made by CEOs globally. Capital market regulators are all present at these meetings.

Mohammed said the CEO did not go on the trip without the approval of the Ministry of Finance. If the trips weren’t genuine, the Ministry of Finance wouldn’t give it its approval. So, where you have approval, can someone just say you’re traveling recklessly? The DG has travel approvals, he said.

A source at the SEC said former finance, budget and national planning minister Zainab Ahmed encouraged the waste of public funds by granting CEO approvals for even the most frivolous expenditures.

In addition, management’s nonchalant disposition to staff welfare issues has created a trust deficit between union and management. The union said it was no longer able to trust any assurances given by management led by Lamido.

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