The sacked director general (DG) of The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), Professor Ndi Okereke-
Onyiuke, will be facing the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) this week to state her side of the story in the series of allegations levelled against her by Alhaji Aliko Dangote, the embattled NSE president.

Sources from EFCC said the former DG of the NSE has been invited by the commission to give account of what happened during her tenure in the office and to defend herself against allegations levelled against her by Alhaji Dangote.

It was also gathered that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has started a forensic audit of the financial records of the NSE under Professor Okereke-Onyiuke as well as investigations into the roles of key staff to determine the true state of affairs in the Exchange.

Ms Arunma Oteh, director general, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), said the apex capital market regulator would conduct a thorough and transparent investigation into the Exchange and its staff to examine the alleged corporate governance lapses and the allegations of financial irregularity and mismanagement.

Sec last week removed Okereke-Onyiuke as director general of the NSE and also directed all council members of the NSE with pending litigations against their appointment into the council to cease functioning as council member until the final determination of the litigations.

Before the decisive intervention by Sec, the NSE is embroiled in two messy scandals involving its state of finances and the selection of a new chief executive. Alhaji Aliko Dangote, whose election as president of the council of the NSE is currently a subject of litigation, had alleged financial mismanagement by the Ndi Okereke-Onyiuke-led management of the NSE.

Dangote had alleged that the NSE was on the verge of bankruptcy as it could no longer honour its obligations as at when due citing instances of failed commitments and huge borrowings from the Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS), a subsidiary of the NSE. The NSE hah however denied the allegation of insolvency.

The executive selection process for a new chief executive for the NSE that was supposedly being handled by Accenture was also unraveled last week as a ruse with allegation that Okereke-Onyiuke was deliberately stalling the process. Others said the allegations of financial recklessness and the import that the Exchange is insolvent and may soon face bankruptcy are weighty allegations that need to be thoroughly investigated.

"The Sec has been unable to determine the veracity of these allegations because the Exchange has not yet, as statutorily required, submitted its audited financial statements for the year 2009. A formal investigation will therefore serve to shed some light on the situation," Oteh said.

According to her, the allegations regarding the leadership and membership of the council of the NSE are very grave and that is the reason why the Sec has decided to remove the leadership of the NSE in exercising its powers under the Investment and Securities Act and other applicable regulations. She noted that the reputation and integrity of the Exchange is of critical importance to the commission, adding that people had welcomed the intervention of the Sec as positive changes to the status quo.

The commission also last week appointed Mr. Ballama Manu as the interim head of the council of NSE with mandate to steer the council and Exchange through the critical period of uncertainty.

Manu was previously executive chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service. He had served Union Bank as the executive director for Information Technology and Services. He had also previously held top management positions in organizations such as the executive director (operations) in the Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation.

Oteh said Sec had previously asked the NSE to develop and implement a credible and transparent succession plan and Manu will immediately focus on getting the succession plan back on track to ensure the timely appointment of a new director general.

Sec also appointed Mr. Emmanuel Ikazoboh as interim administrator to steer the management of the NSE. He is expected to ensure that a modern and world class trading platform is developed in the market.

Some investors believed that Alhaji Aliko Dangote, is fighting Professor Okereke-Onyiuke, because of the perceived role which she played in the invalidation of his presidency by the Federal High Court.

An authoritative capital market source said Dangote believed that Ndi is behind the Sunny Nwosu led shareholders of AP suit against him on behalf of African Petroleum Plc (AP) which invalidated his election as president of the NSE.

Meanwhile, discerning stakeholders in the market has criticized the appointment of Ikazobor, the immediate past chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Akintola Williams Delloite, for West and Central Africa which also acts as external auditors to the NSE.

An e-mail message posted by adetilewa@keromail.com last Friday said, has he (Ikazobor) ever reported any foul play in the NSE account he had been auditing? He added that he is there to put final cement on the burial tomb of the stolen money. "While Balama Manu, former chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), as interim president of the council of the NSE is another most corrupt venture after NEPA", he said adding that the accounts of FIRS is more shady than that of NNPC.

Another e-mail message by chibuzorsam@yahoo.co.uk also queried the appoinment of Ikhazobor stressing that "it is another breach of conflict of interest in corporate governance". He said it is very clear that the man, having worked with an auditing firm serving as the external auditor to the agency, will compromise his office adding that his appointment as the interim administrator of the agency should be seen by many as a mere invitation to cover up the compromising attitude of the external auditor, who ought to have since expressed an independent opinion about the weak and corrupt nature of the agency before now. "We need an independent person who has no any known relationship either past or present, directly or indirectly, to guide the affairs of the agency."
From:The Financial standards.