By Yakubu LAAH InvestAdvocate
Lagos (INVESTADVOCATE)-The Fiscal Responsibility Commission (FRC) on Monday accused Nigeria’s Capital Market regulator, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over non-remittance of N21.85 billion of its operating surpluses to the consolidated revenue fund.
With this action, the FRC says SEC has flouted the FRC Act, 2007 by failing to submit its audited accounts, approved annual budgets and Medium Term Expenditure Framework.
According to FRC, SEC did not remit N10.34 billion accruing to it as operating surplus in 2007 and N11.61 billion in 2008.
Victor Murako, chairman of FRC said “In the process of monitoring the compliance of SEC to the FRA, 2007, we observed the following:
“For the year 2007; 80 percent of SEC’s operating surplus was supposed to be N11,152,535,000 rather than N808,736,586,40, which SEC had earlier remitted to the Federal Government as 80 percent of its operating cash surplus. SEC has, therefore, been unduly withholding the balance of N10, 343,798, 413.60 due to the Federal Government.
“SEC’s 2008 audited financial report indicated an excess of income over expenditure of N14, 506,368,610. 80 percent of this sum is due the Federal Government and should thus have been remitted into the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Federal Government before the end of April 2009.
“In spite of all the reminders that this commission has sent to SEC, there is no indication that SEC has made this due remittance after these years.”
FRC affirmed that there is no evidence that SEC has produced its audited financial reports for 2009, 2010, 2012 and 2013. Each year’s account was due on March 31 of the succeeding year.
“In spite of the commission’s various requests, SEC has not availed the FRC of its three-year estimates of revenue and expenditure for 2010-2012, 2012-2014 and 2013-2015. SEC has failed to forward to the FRC its approved annual budgets for 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014.
“There is no indication to the effect that SEC has appropriately computed and duly remitted 80 per cent of its operating surpluses for 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013.”
Sunday Garuba, deputy director, treasury at SEC said the audited accounts of the Commission for the years demanded by FRC were ready and would be made available.
Garuba said that as a regulator, the SEC had been obeying the rules; but in recent times the Commission had been operating on the basis of zero budget and that the downturn in the capital market operations from 2008 had affected its capacity generate funds.
