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1. Preamble
I thank the honourable members of the Capital Market Committee for the
invitation to this hearing, as it affords me an opportunity to tell my story to
Nigerians in the wake of unprecedented malicious disinformation about my
person and The Nigerian Stock Exchange.
Not even the House Committee is exempt in this regard, given that I have
been invited in my personal capacity as “ex- Director General” of The Nigerian
Stock Exchange to explain an issue that should ordinarily be addressed by the
Council (Board) of The Exchange. Also, Alhaji Aliko Dangote has been invited
to this hearing in his personal capacity when in fact he should be leading the
Council of The Exchange to this hearing.
I have been addressed as former Director General when there has not been
any examination of the process deployed by the authorities in managing the
situation that is the subject of this proceeding.
As at today, the Council of The Exchange is yet to meet to decide on the SEC
directive. Yet, the same SEC that issued this directive has deployed the worst
kind of abuse of state power in a democracy to abduct the Secretary to the
Council of The Exchange and invaded the premises of The Exchange in Lagos
with heavily armed state security personnel to effect my purported removal
from office.
We must not gloss over the issue of due process because what happened last
week at The Nigerian Stock Exchange is a precedent that put every Nigerian at
risk. As the saying goes, ask not for whom the bell tolls, for it tolls for every
one of us.
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The Ndi Okereke-Onyuike Address to the CMC on 110810
2. The Issues
It must be placed on record that the genesis of current disquiet in the capital
market is in the public petition by Alhaji Aliko Dangote alleging financial
impropriety against the Management of The Nigerian Stock Exchange. It was a
public petition because the petition was simultaneously released to SEC and
the media, with follow-up press statements by the petitioner.
Also, honourable members of the Capital Market Committee are invited to note
that the accounts in question were prepared by Council (of which the
petitioner was a member) in accordance with the responsibilities of the
Council under the Companies and Allied Matters Act; the accounts
passed through audit without any qualification; the accounts have been
presented to the members of The Exchange who passed it without any
reservations; and the accounts have been filed with the Corporate Affairs
Commission as required under the statute.
1. Buy-out of 60% interest of Daily Times Plc in Naira Properties Ltd (owners
of the Stock Exchange Building);
2. Installation of two 1,500-KVA Generators for the Stock Exchange Building;
3. Redesign and upgrade of the World-Class Head Office Trading Floor
commissioned by President Umar Musa Yar’Adua, GCFR in October 2007;
4. Design and construction of a Data Centre and Power Bank to guaranty
regular and uninterrupted trading;
5. Resumption of the development of 14-storey commercial office building in
Port-Harcourt, Rivers State; the construction work has reached the 8th floor
as of today;
6. Commencement of phased refurbishment work at the Stock Exchange
House, which since 1983 when it was commissioned, had not been
refurbished:
a. Installation of new lifts at the 23-storey Stock Exchange House in
Lagos
b. Refurbishment of the Central Air Conditioning System for the 23-
storey Stock Exchange House in Lagos
7. Investment road-shows that enhanced the profile of Nigeria in the
international investment community; and
8. Opening of new branch offices in Benin, Ilorin, Uyo, Onitsha, Abeokuta,
Owerri and Bauchi, among others. See Appendix D for complete project
details.(NB: Not available to us for publication)
Salaries and associated pension costs increased significantly over the period
because the pension scheme was back-dated by 20 years as approved
by the Council of The Exchange to accommodate the retired Director-
General and Deputy Director-General and other retired staff who had
contributed to the building of The Exchange to the enviable height it currently
occupies in the economy.
Late in the afternoon of 28th July 2010, The Exchange received a letter from
SEC requesting our response to allegations of financial mismanagement by
Alhaji Dangote against the Management of The Exchange. In the same letter,
the Commission demanded our response to the matter of contempt
proceedings against Alhaji Dangote, the Secretary to Council, and myself, in
addition to inviting me to a meeting at the Commission’s Lagos office at 9am
on the next day (29th July 2010).
Not minding the short time within which The Exchange was expected to
respond to the Commission’s query, Management, not having anything to
hide, was able to prepare a comprehensive response to all the issues raised in
the SEC’s query and the petition by Alhaji Dangote that was forwarded to The
Exchange. Copies of our response are available for honourable members of the
Committee (http://www.proshareng.com/articles/2119).
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The Ndi Okereke-Onyuike Address to the CMC on 110810
I have known Ms. Otteh and Ms. Ekine for a very long time and it is
regrettable that without any kind of courtesy the next thing from the
Commission was the abduction of the Secretary to the Council of The
Exchange, Mrs. Josephine Igbinosun, on Wednesday, 4th August 2010 by
unknown persons for the sole purpose of delivering letters from SEC to her.
Note that she was forcefully taken out of the premises of The Exchange
to a location in Ikoyi for this purpose. And all she came back with were
photocopies of a letter by SEC purporting to direct the Council of The
Exchange to effect my removal from office and another letter, which was
addressed to Alhaji Dangote directing him to obey court orders on the issue of
chairmanship of the Council of The Exchange. Even though Mrs. Igbinosun
initially refused to accept photocopies of official letters, she was compelled by
her abductors to receive same. This was around 8.30pm on August 4th, 2010.
When the letters were brought to my attention and while I contemplated the
import of the content, the Commission had through its Media Officer, Mr.
Lanre Oloyi, issued a Press Statement around 10.56pm to the effect that I had
been removed from office.
Please note that the Council of The Exchange had no chance to meet on the
directive when this action was taken.
Honourable members of this Committee should especially note that before the
recent actions of SEC, the operations of The Exchange had not been
constrained in any way.
The Primary and Secondary Markets aspects of the business of The Exchange
functioned as normal, without oversight problems as alleged by SEC.
Committees of the Council have been meeting and discharging their various
functions and in the process ensuring the smooth running of The Exchange
and its market.
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The Ndi Okereke-Onyuike Address to the CMC on 110810
As an individual and officer of The Exchange, I did not suffer any legal
overhang. On the matter of contempt proceedings, we had on 27th July 2010
written to the Commission on this matter and later on the same day, our
Secretary to Council, Mrs. Josephine Igbinosun, and I were discharged and
acquitted on the charges of contempt of court, as we ought not to have been
charged in the first instance, having committed no offence and were not
mentioned in the substantive suit.
However, the contempt charge and Bench Warrant against Alhaji Dangote are
still pending at the same court. Should I now suffer for one man’s
intransigency in the face of the law?
3. Conclusion
I wish to conclude that I have worked for the past 36 years without being
accused of financial impropriety and it should therefore be inconceivable that I
would be involved in fraud with only weeks to my retirement and at nearly 60
years of age.
So, it is inconceivable, and far from true that I had refused to retire
from The Exchange and thereby was undermining the management
succession programme of the organisation.
Finally, I invite this Committee to note that the attacks against my person and
office by SEC were based on unsubstantiated allegations, while appealing that
you consider seriously the breach of due process in the current crisis in the
capital market and issue the necessary directives, as those who administer the
law must be seen to act within the law at all times.
Thank you.