The sacked director general of the Nigeria Securities and Exchange Commission (NSE), Mrs. Ndi Okereke-Onyiuke, yesterday said that despite contrary statements, she remains the director general of the NSE, having been declared so by a High Court ruling recently.
She said a Federal High Court ruling delivered by Justice Mohammed Idris on May 20, 2012 declared her removal by the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) illegal but explained that she didn’t go back to the position because of the need to preserve her integrity.
“I am still the director general of the Nigeria Stock Exchange. The only reason I did not go back to effect that order is because I have integrity. I am an international figure, I am known all over the world because of my work in the stock exchange and elsewhere,” the former NSE DG told the Ibrahim El-Sudi led House of Representatives panel investigating the near collapse of Nigeria’s capital market.
“I have made pronouncement in the media 2008, 2009, 2010 that I am retiring. Why will I now turnaround because the court said that someone’s (referring to Oteh) claim that she removed me is illegal and unconstitutional? I will not because of that say I am back and want to do another five years”, she continued.
Brandishing four court injunctions, Okereke-Onyinke warned the director-general of the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC), Arunma Oteh against publishing a highly indicting 42-page report of a SEC sanctioned forensic investigation into alleged shenanigans at the NSE perpetuated under Okereke-Onyinke watch.
“Four Federal High Courts have gone through the 42 page report and declared it null and void and of no effect.
?It must never be used against any body or published anywhere or spoken about anywhere,” she warned. In her presentation to the lower House panel, she blamed the capital market near crash on reckless margin loans issued by banks to investors in the market and regulatory actions.
“The indiscriminate granting of margin loans by the banks to all manners of investors and market operators caused the market bubble.” Okereke-Onyuike told the panel.
She said that banks in many cases insisted that such margin loans were used to purchase their own shares. According to her, the margin loans that were not properly structured and monitored by regulators (CBN and SEC) created excess cash in the market, and the share prices got bloated.