The Director-General, Securities and Exchange Commission, Ms. Arunma Oteh, has met the Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, over her suspension by the SEC Board.

A source close to Oteh , told our correspondent on Wednesday, “Well, the DG has already taken the case to her direct supervisor on Wednesday , that is the Minister of Finance, and she is expected to look into the issue. She did not write a petition, it was a formal meeting,” the source stated.

Asked if there was any official response by the minister on the issue, the source noted that the issue was still being looked into, adding that all areas had to be duly investigated.

“Of course, the minister needs time to look into what happened, and as soon as they come up with any information, she will be duly notified,” he added.

A financial analyst, Mr. Ezekiel Adeleke, who spoke in Lagos on Wednesday, noted that the directive might not have been the best step to take, as it might send the wrong signals to the market.

“I think that the committee who wanted to conduct the investigation could still have done that without sending her on compulsory leave, by doing that, she has not been given fair hearing and that is not too good in a democratic economy,” he stated.

The Managing Director, Maxifund Investments and Securities, Mr. Okechukwu Unegbu, however, said that the decision to send Oteh on  leave would not negatively affect the capital market.

 ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã…“I do not see it as a negative factor that will lead to further loss of confidence in the market. This is because SEC is just a regulator and its major duty is to issue rules and regulations,” he stated.

He, however, noted that the SEC Board should not be exonerated from  the issue because they worked in tandem with the embattled DG.

The SEC Board had directed Oteh to proceed on compulsory leave to enable the commission to investigate issues arising from the recent probe of the capital market decline by the House of Representatives.

The statement noted that the Executive Commissioner (Operations), Ms. Daisy Ekineh, would act in her absence.

“The decision of the board was arrived at after consideration of the report of its Audit and Finance Committee, which had been directed to investigate the sources and uses of funds for the Project 50 event.

Meanwhile, transactions on the Nigerian Stock Exchange appreciated for the third consecutive day on Wednesday as the investing public weigh the implication of  the suspension of the Director General  of SEC, Ms Arunma Oteh.

At the end of Wednesday’s transactions, the NSE All-Share Index  grew by 59.11 points or 0.28 per cent to close at 21,298.62 compared with 21,239.51 recorded on Tuesday.

Also, the market capitalisation, which opened at N6.780tn, appreciated by N19bn or 0.28  per cent to close at N6.799tn.

Forte Oil followed with 50k to close at N10.50 per share, while Zenith grew by 25k to close at N13.50 per share.

Source: Punch/Udeme Ekwere