Nigeria’s SEC gets new acting chief as finance minister reassigns top executives

Nigeria’s finance minister, Kemi Adeosun, on Friday reassigned senior executives at the Securities and Exchange Commission with the appointment of a new acting director general, Mary Uduk.

Uduk’s appointment, according to a statement from the Ministry of Finance signed by Adeosun’s special adviser on media and communications, Oluyinka Akintunde, is governed by the provisions of the Investments and Securities Act (ISA), 2007 and the conditions of service applicable to the director-general of the commission.

Adeosun said Uduk’s appointment had become necessary to ensure effective regulation of the capital market adding that her appointment will, subject to satisfactory performance, subsist until further notice.

As part of the shake up at the commission, some senior executives, including the former acting director-general, Abdul Zubair, who was redeployed to the external relations department.

Other redeployment include those of Reginald C. Karawusa, who is now acting executive commissioner, legal and enforcement; Isiyaku Tilde, now acting executive commissioner, operations, and Henry Roland Adekunle, now acting executive commissioner, corporate services.

The statement explained that the new acting director-general joined the SEC in 1986 as an assistant financial analyst, noting that her career as a regulator has spanned many functions and departments at SEC, from corporate finance, administration, to providing structural, policy and due diligence for capital market transactions.

“She has also been responsible for managing several landmark capital market projects, including the registration of capital market operators, articulating rules for bonds and equities; mergers, acquisitions and takeovers, and managing the banking and insurance industry consolidations between 2005-2007,” it stated

Uduk had served as the pioneer head of the operations division in the Lagos Zonal Office, and has headed many departments at SEC, including those of internal control, investment management, financial standards and corporate governance and securities, and investment services department.

In the mean time, the finance ministry has requested for a formal explanation from the SEC of the recent communications between SEC and the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), which adversely impacted market confidence.