By Peter OBIORA investadvocate

Nov 26 2010 05.01 GMT

Lagos (INVESTADVOCATE)-The Assessment Committee in the recruitment exercise for the offices of the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and three Executive Directors (EDs) of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) are to commence work Tuesday November 30 2010.

 

Ballama Manu, Interim President/ Council Chairman of the NSE made this affirmation exclusively to investadvocate at The Exchange’s 49^th Annual General meeting (AGM) held Tuesday November 23 2010 in Lagos Nigeria.

“It is a two stage exercise; we had a Screening Committee, which screened all the applications received in the first and second exercise” he said.

 

Manu affirmed that the Screening Committee had come out with recommendations to the Council Monday November 22 2010; which approved the recommendations with some few amendments.

 

“So, we are now forwarding that Report to the second committee which is the Assessment Committee. This committee is expected to commence their work on November 30 2010 and we believe within a week, they would complete the exercise after which Council would sit and deliberate on recommendations and then submit the final status of the exercise to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)” he said.

 

The Interim President/Council Chairman of The Exchange further affirmed that SEC is expected to meet Friday December 10 2010 to deliberate on the issue.

 

“SEC we understand is expected to meet on December 10 2010 and if we meet that deadline, the Commission may give us the go ahead on whoever we eventually select as DG or Executive Directors” Manu said.

 

According to him, the recruitment process maybe concluded by the second week of December 2010.

 

“All things been equal by the second week of December the recruitment process maybe concluded and then we will now ask those who eventually succeeded to give us time within which they will resume and takeover office” he affirmed.

 

He further said that the taking over of office by those selected was dependent on when they would be available to resume.

 

“This depends on how they will disengage from their current employment and indicate to us when they will formally resume. If you are occupying a seniour position in an organisation; usually you give a three months notice; but if they are in a position to disengage as quickly as possible nothing stops them from taking over office early January 2011 the Interim President/Council Chairman said.

 

This is coming on the heels of the removal of Professor (Mrs.) Ndi Okereke-Onyiuke from office as Director General (DG) of the NSE following succession disputes that befall the Nation’s Stock Exchange earlier this year and the appointment of Emmanuel Ikazoboh as Interim Administrator by SEC.

 

Following this, Ikazoboh was given marching orders by the Commission to recruit a substantive DG to takeover the affairs of the Exchange.

 

Accenture Nigeria was contracted to carry out the exercise and the firm had confirmed that 944 candidates applied for the four positions which include that of the CEO, and three EDs. The firm had also affirmed that 131 applied for the post of CEO and about 813 applied for the EDs positions.