Following the presentation by Boniface Okezie, National Chairman Progressive Shareholders Association of Nigeria (PSAN) at the Public Hearing on the Nigerian Capital Market to the House of Representative Members in Abuja Nigeria, and a subsequent Opinion by Ibikunle Ajao published by The Will, Peter OBIORA, Online Editor at InvestAdvocate in this interview with Okezie sought to clarify issues: excerpts.

Reaction on Reports that you are a Blackmailer

To reply the so called Ibikunle Ajao, I know this is the handiwork of SEC, I know that Ibikunle Ajao does not work in SEC. SEC is carrying out this campaign of calumny against my person, they are hiding under the guise of Ibikunle Ajao to do this, because they are afraid; maybe I am going to take a legal action against them for libel. I am not going to allow this to go on, I have already contacted my Lawyer to get ready; because SEC will be sued for defaming my character.

First and foremost, I am a Shareholder and Activist. I lead the Progressive Shareholders Association of Nigeria (PSAN) registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) and in compliance with SEC’s directives that Shareholder Associations should register with CAC; which we did before the tenure of Arunma Oteh and was recognised by SEC.

I have been advocating before this time for those who are being cheated in the Capital Market, this informed the setting up of Shareholders activism to fight for Shareholders who are been shortchanged and does not know how to seek redress. I am a Shareholder that does not have small units of holdings; however, the meaning of shareholder is anybody that has even one unit of shares of a Company.

I don’t need to have millions of units to air my view on the affairs of any Company were I invested. I have invested in the Nigerian Capital Market; and if you today call my Stockbroker to give you details of were I have invested or my investment details, this will prove my claims of not being a small investor in the Nigerian Capital Market. Therefore, Ibikunle Ajao or his likes cannot equal my level of investment in the Capital Market. I am an investor and do not go cap in hand begging companies to allot shares to me for free; no Company has allotted shares to me which I didn’t make payment. I challenge any Company to come out and say that I have been allotted shares which I didn’t pay for in order to get my favour or to advocate for such Companies.

This has never been done, when the Banks were begging customers to take Margin Loans to invest in the Nigerian Capital Market, I never did that despite my relationship with some of their Directors. However, those people who did that are suffering it now, so whatever I have made today, I worked and sweated for it. I worked with Federal Savings Bank those days and retired successfully; before venturing into the Capital Market. Whatever I made those days while working with the Bank, I invested in the Capital Market. The Capital Market is for everyone, be you a professional, artisan or Market woman. Make your money, come and invest in the Capital Market.

Nobody forced me into the Capital Market and nobody can shut me out of it, because I am saying my views as regards the Capital Market where I invested; and strangers have come to rubbish us of our investments; most of them appointed by SEC today are strangers who are not stakeholders. The Investment and Securities Act (ISA) says that anybody that will be made SEC DG must have cognate experience of 15 years; when we speak out, we speak the truth, the DG SEC must have cognate experience of 15 years as a Capital Market Operators to be appointed to that position. It is totally unacceptable for people to malign my personality; my Lawyer will take them up on this, but I think they are sinking and will sink alone; this is just to cover their faces in shame; employing such a tactics of sending out such write ups to Media Houses to malign my name; they will not succeed.

FACTS CHECK:

“The Investments and Securities Act, 2007 Act No. 29 established the Securities and Exchange Commission as the Apex Regulatory Authority for the Nigerian Capital Market as well as regulation of the Market to ensure the protection of investors, maintain fair, efficient and transparent Market and reduction of systemic risk; and for related matters.

The National Assembly of the Federal Republic of Nigeria enacted this on the 25th day of June, 2007.

Source: (http://www.sec.gov.ng)

On your Capital Market Activism

They should come out clearly to say that Professor (Mrs.) Ndi Okereke-Onyiuke is funding or sponsoring me to carryout my Shareholder Activism. Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria called me during the Banking crisis in the name of his reform; I confronted him that he never followed due process in all he has done in the name of reform. I told him it could be a right step taken wrongly. I confronted Sanusi and he is more powerful than Oteh. If I am able to muster the courage to confront him; even up until now, I am still confronting him that he must operate within the ambit of the Law and follow due process in his reforms to be able to restore people’s confidence in the industry. If am able to challenge Sanusi, who is Arunma Oteh that I will not challenge.

We are under democracy and should uphold the rule of Law at all we do, officials of SEC were at the hearing the day I made my presentation, why didn’t they react to it. All of them were there and should have called me to a point of order if what I am saying was not the truth. We are not talking of academic qualification, Oteh may have all of these; but it is immaterial. What we are saying is that Oteh does not possess the experience to run the Capital Market.

She should tell the whole world where she has worked in Nigeria in the Capital Market. If she claimed to have worked in Centre Point with two years of experience, did she work as a Dealing Member, a Stockbroker at Centre Point? Let her prove that she worked in Centre-Point Investment Limited as a Dealing Member. If she worked in the Information Technology (IT) Department, does that make her a Stockbroker? If she worked in African Develop Bank (ADB), is the ADB a Capital Market job in Nigeria? If she has her qualification as a Stockbroker, it is a different thing entirely.

So, what we are saying clearly is Government set the rules, must not flout the rules; when they are making appointments, must follow the set rules as the case should have been in the Nigeria’s SEC DG appointment; that’s when we will have a vibrant Market. Oteh has been harping on world class, how can she drive a world class Capital Market in Nigeria with all these things going on? We have not seen any world class Market for almost two years she is in charge of the Nigerian Capital Market, why has the world class not manifested? The Market is going down and if people like us say the truth, it is not bad.

FACTS CHECK:

Part I: of the Establishment and Management of the Securities and Exchange Commission states that:

“A person shall not be qualified for appointment to the Board of the Commission unless he is a fit and proper person and-

(a) In the case of the Chairman or Director-General of the Commission, he is a holder of a university degree or its equivalent with not less than 15 years cognate experience in capital market operations”.

Click here to download ISA 2007

Other parts of the world where the problem started are on their part to recovery, it didn’t start here, and no doubt we are not immune. Those appointed to save the Nigerian Capital market have no solution to our problem since their appointments. They have now said it’s the global Market that is affecting our Market. They didn’t accept initially the global meltdown was part of the problem in our Market; this is because they were chasing wide goose in the name of reforms and blaming those at the helms of affairs then.

Now they have been given the opportunity to bring back our Market to its pristine glory, they are not able to do that. They are saying the problem in our Market was as a result of the global meltdown, like I said earlier, did they accept initially it was a global meltdown? Rather they were saying it was those who were at the helms of affairs before them were the problem in our Market.

Now they have been appointed to reform the Nigerian Capital Market, why are we not seeing positive results? The Market has not found its level in the Committee of Nations of Capital Markets in the world. This is because they don’t have knowledge of what they are been appointed to do; that is why the Market is still having problems. It is good to reform, but when you are reforming, you must also reform yourself; “who goes equity must come in clean hands” Are they denying that the Police did not invade the Nigerian Stock Exchange when Ndi Okereke-Onyiuke was removed? Didn’t they bring the Police? Is it the number that is their problem, let them tell the world yes or no if they brought the Police or not? The number is immaterial.

When Sanusi removed the Bank Chiefs, didn’t he bring the Police? We were all present at Customs Street on that day. What is new about bringing the Police to invade the Exchange, it was allover the news at that time. Oteh should address fundamental issues raised on that day at the public hearing, was the truth been said at the hearing or not based on her qualification? We are not talking of academic qualification like I said earlier, nobody is disputing that she has no academic qualification, but we are talking about experience, does she have that 15 years experience as a Capital Market Operator? If you go back to memory lane, all the Director Generals that have served SEC, most of them are Capital Market Operators. Suleyman Ndanusa was an Investment Banker and a Chartered Stockbroker who had a Brokerage House, Musa Al-Faki is a Stockbroker as well; they were all licensed Brokers. Why is the truth been circumvented because Oteh is involved? Oteh should have resigned before this time, she said things against Members of the National Assembly on bribe taking; now she has come to me that I am being sponsored, can she substantiate it? That I am going around collecting money from Companies, can she name the Companies? Let them come out openly and not hide under the guise of Ibikunle Ajao. Ibikunle Ajao does not exist; they are just hiding under a fictitious name. Let SEC come and confront me at the Hearing and prove what I said was not the truth; that she is a qualified Stockbroker and licensed by SEC to practice.

On Ibikunle Ajao’s write up

One Obi Adindu or whoever that is responsible is hiding under a fictitious name to attack my person; I have investments in Companies and do not need to tell them the names of these Companies where I have invested. Where I don’t have shares, I don’t attend their Annual General Meetings. I am not among small shareholders who go about begging. I speak the truth at AGMs; I do not solicit or blackmail Companies to give me money. Some AGMs when I raise my hand to speak and I am not recognised, I let it go, for instance the last Guaranty Trust Bank Plc AGM; where I was not recognised to speak I kept quiet. They should ask those recognised to speak at AGMs why it is so; it is the prerogative of the Chairman of the Company who conducts the affairs of the day to know who to recognise to speak at AGMs. Been recognised or not at AGMs will not make people like me cause trouble at and tarnish the image of the Company in the media. We have our investments there and should protect it.

Oteh should know that I cannot do that, she told me February 14 2012 at Sheraton Hotel Ikeja that Companies are not happy that shareholders are putting pressure on them to pay dividend. I told her that we should mount pressure on Companies to pay dividend and that is why we invested. Oteh should know this as a Regulator that the essence of investment is dividend returns, so she should not say that shareholders are mounting pressure to be paid dividend; that’s where she got it wrong.

I also told her that Nigerian Shareholders don’t mount pressure on Companies to pay dividend; rather some Companies has proposed dividend and we have rejected it outright. If they cannot not sustain what they are proposing to pay; why create an impression about paying dividend to shareholders; when you have not made profit. Is it for shareholders to praise them? Instead we advice them to plough back the money into the business to ensure liquidity and better returns in future. When Companies are doing well, they should pay dividends, this is the prerogative of the Board; if the Company will pay dividend or not. It is not the job of the shareholders. Shareholders do not sit on the Board to make decisions; except at AGMs; this is what Oteh does not know.

SEC should know that I am an Investor Advocate and nothing can change that. Their malicious publication cannot stop me, I am determined to press forward to protect my investments and SEC has not borrowed me money to invest. They should shut their mouth and bury their heads in shame. Oteh have been taking salary from the Commission collected on investments made by shareholders by way of fees. Why should SEC be collecting 0.3% of every transaction at the Exchange? They started that when they were contemplating building their own offices; but now they have acquired their own properties, they should stop that. These are funds they are spending, buying themselves publicity. They should stop that, these are things creating problems and lack of confidence in the Market; when you overtax the investors, and they are not getting maximum returns, it is not good to overtax them when they buy shares from the Market.

The Stock Exchange can collect that because they are the providers of the platform which these transactions are carried out; but not SEC. The Stock Exchange is the right organisation to collect such funds. These are some of the things that are making investors lose confidence in the Capital Market; because they are been overtaxed when they buy shares in the Market.

Another thing I said at the public hearing was that Oteh does not have 15 years cognate experience to run the Capital Market, if she knows what she is presiding over, Oteh should not have allowed Sanusi to do what he did with listed Banks on the Nigerian Stock Exchange by way of nationalisation. Oteh would have told Sanusi that these are listed entities and I have investors interest to protect and he should follow due procedures. If a Company is liquidating, it is the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) that will take on the process.

EDITOR’s NOTE:

“SEC collects 0.3 percent (0.3%) statutory charges for the purchase and sale of shares on The Nigerian Stock Exchange”.

Your worth in the Capital Market

My investment is my personal affair, even if it’s one unit, it makes me a Shareholder; they should understand that. SEC should know that one unit of shares an individual own in a Company, that person is been recognised as a Shareholder. I know my worth and my investments.

Oteh has no capability to handle the Capital Market; there are no signs of anything great that she has done in revamping our Capital Market and convincing Nigerians that she is on top of the matter. The National Assembly called me to ask if I have seen anything convincing in the Capital Market since Oteh’s leadership, I told them that I have not seen anything she has done that can reposition the Market.

Nothing on ground to show any remedy to the Market problem and near collapse. It is not to run the Exchange by recruiting their friends to run the place. The Nigerian Stock Exchange is not a Department under SEC, it a private organisation set up by Stockbrokers; why must Oteh meddle into the affairs of the place, she should give the Exchange a freehand to operate and supervise as a Regulator; if they are going contrary to rules and regulations, SEC should call them to order. The Nigerian Stock Exchange is a Self Regulatory Organisation (SRO). Let SEC hands off the NSE; this is one of the things why there is lack of investor’s confidence in the Market; that Government is unduly interfering in the Market through SEC and it is not a good development. In America, I cannot recall anytime the America’s SEC DG visited the New York Stock Exchange; the way Oteh is doing here. You cannot see the logo of America’s SEC at the Floor of the New York Stock Exchange; but here we can see the logo of Nigeria’s SEC at the Floor of the NSE. Oteh should focus now that the Government has appointed her and see what she can do in her first term and leave; if she is able to complete it and I wish her good luck. Let her see what she can do and reposition the Market; instead of scandalising people, she has done it to Herman Hembe of the House of Representatives. This is a cheap blackmail targeted at me; Hembe has gone, it is now my turn.

Oteh should know that the former NSE DG they are saying is my sponsor; I fought her to a standstill on the issue of succession plan to allow her deputy to succeed her; not minding that she is from the same ethic background with me; just like Oteh. I criticised her, Okereke-Onyiuke she is the one ibos should hold to high esteem for doing us proud through her activities in the Capital Market. Oteh should know that I don’t compromise; no matter who is involved. Even if it is my brother that is appointed to do something and fails to do that, I will criticise him. I give constructive criticism and not to pull down people.

EDITOR’s NOTE:

“Mid March 2012, at a Public Hearing on the Nigerian Capital Market, Arunma Oteh, DG of Nigeria’s SEC said at the hearing that Lawmakers were not happy because she turned down the request of Herman Hembe the Chairman, House Committee on Capital Market for N44 million tip.

First, Oteh said the Lawmakers asked for N39 million to defray the cost of the ongoing Public Hearing, and when she denied, the Chairman asked for N5 million.

The N44 million bribe requested was in addition to SEC sponsoring a foreign trip for members of the Committee, and paying them estacodes”.

End

Below is the excerpt of the opinion by Ibikunle Ajao as published April 21 2012 by “The Will”

BONIFACE OKEZIE LIED UNDER OATH – HIS VIEWS ARE FALSE, MALICIOUS AND UNFOUINDED

A significant downside to the proceedings at the public hearing on the “Near Collapse of the Nigerian Capital Market” were the puerile and incoherent falsifications made by Boniface Okezie, a self – styled shareholder activist and known minion and commissioned agent of a former director general of the Nigerian Stock Exchange, NSE.

In his haste to do his master’s bidding, justify his take and malign the target of his proxy warfare, Okezie lied that the SEC Nigeria “used 150 Policemen to invade the NSE”. Can Okezie supply proof for this absurd and sensationalist claim? At what point during an “invasion” did he take count of the number of policemen carrying out the “invasion?”

Can Okezie who perennially collects cash incentive to run around public fora to carry out his master’s bidding supply, in the spirit of transparency, information on his shareholding in the capital market and the companies in which the shares are held? How many shares does he have and in which companies?

Okezie is a prime example of the peculiar nuisance value that is causing trauma and frustrating investor confidence in the Nigerian capital market under the guise of shareholder activism. He typifies the regression that is stoking public companies’ desire to delist from the capital market. His brand of “protection of shareholder interest” is purely self – centered, characterized by blackmail and extortion of quoted companies to get them to succumb to parting with gratification. There is rejection of governance and disinclination to undertake the preliminary responsibility of a shareholder which is to custody their investment by ensuring that their investments are properly managed.

At company Annual General Meetings, AGMs cabals, formed around a mesh of porridge, shut out legitimate shareholders from participating in a meaningful examination of the fortunes of a company such that the outcomes of those AGMs are not only predetermined but are travesties which negate truth and violate the popular interest.

These are the anomalies which frustrated the emergence of a fair and transparent Nigerian capital market in the past. They are the anomalies which the current leadership of the SEC Nigeria is confronting headlong and on account of which Okezie and his fellow travelers have become squeamish. This confrontation will attain a logical conclusion which will elevate the market to a world class standard; a market with integrity, fairness and transparency; one with a strong enforcement regime in which untoward conduct perpetrated even by insouciant and self styled shareholder activists are severely punished. 

His attacks on the person and credentials of the DG of the SEC express his frustration that the dubious privileges he enjoyed in the order of extreme anomaly is fast diminishing and desperation to have them back. It is understandable that a man of his limited education cannot comprehend excellent credentials. His ignorance is crowned by the claim that SEC DGs emerged from “among the staff” in the past. All minimally informed and knowledgeable people are well aware that no DG of the SEC has ever been appointed from within the ranks of the Commission’s staff!         
    
Written By Ibikunle Ajao