SEC Disowns Commissioner over Banks Indictment

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), apex regulator of the nation’s capital market has disassociated itself from the statement credited to Mr. Charles A. Udora the agency’s Commissioner in charge of Legal and Enforcement.
Mr. Udora had at a workshop organized for the members of the Forum of Accountants-General in Nigeria on the current Global Financial crisis last week indicted the nation’s banks’ chief executives and senior managers for greed and embarking on unprofessional reckless banking practices.
Consequently, SEC has in a statement distanced itself from the statement credited to Udora, adding that it has instituted an investigation into the circumstances under which the statement was made.
According to SEC’s   statement endorsed by Mr. Lanre Oloyi, the head, media, ‘the attention of the director-general and management of the securities and exchange commission (Sec) has been drawn to certain statements made apparently on behalf of the director-general, at a seminar organized by the office of the accountant-general of the federation for the forum of accountants-general of states, held on monday, 2nd february 2009, in Abuja.  
“The management of SEC wishes to state categorically that those statements do not reflect the position of the commission and therefore dissociates itself from those views. The commission is looking into the circumstances whereby those statements were made.”
According to the SEC’s Director-General paper, “The down turn in our market is not based on the same factors that triggered off the crisis in the emerged markets. While our market is indeed undergoing a painful correction process after the honey moon enjoyed by investors as a result of greed, and reckless speculative activities, the global financial markets crisis resulted from unguarded and heavy reliance on credits and derivative instruments structured on fictitious and wasting assets.
Indeed, the statement continued the time for all stakeholders to join hands and deal with the greed of financial system operators. People must go to prison for illegal activities and disgorge ill gotten wealth diverted from financial institutions into unproductive ventures and luxury.
“Bank CEOs who have suddenly become richer than their banks should be called to account for their actions. CBN and EFCC should scrutinize facilities and loans granted”.