SEC’s Acting DG resumes today

By PETER EGWUATU
LAGOS — The  newly appointed Acting Director General of the Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC, Mr. Ibrahim  Bello, will resume work today.

Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, had last week said Bello would take charge of affairs at the apex regulatory body of the Nigerian capital market just as the four-year term of the current board of SEC led by Senator Udoma Udo Udoma expired last Friday.

She said: “There would be no tenure elongation. The three commissioners and chairman would be departing on schedule. With Mr. President’s permission, one of the senior directors would be acting.  Bello, the Director of Finance and Administration will be starting on Monday. We look forward to the inauguration of the new board and we look forward to the audit report of the commission.”

Some stakeholders and operators of the market had hailed the decision of the Federal Government for dissolving the Board.

Speaking to Vanguard, Chairman of Progressive Shareholders Association of Nigeria, PSAN, Mr. Boniface Okezie, said: “We commend the Federal Government for wading in to quell the internal crisis that existed on the board. This is a lesson for them to ensure that a competent person is appointed as director general of the commission. We need people with vast experience in the market to occupy such exalted position in future.”

Vanguard gathered that Bello is a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers, CIS, and respected among operators in the Nigerian capital market. Until his appointment, he was the Director of Administration in SEC.

He attended Government Secondary School Ilorin, Federal Government College Sokoto and University of Lagos and graduated with B.Sc Business Administration in 1978. He holds an MBA from Ahmadu Bello University ABU Zaria in 1981.

Bello did his National Youth Service at the Nigeria Stock Exchange, Kaduna Branch and qualified as a Chartered StockBroker in 1979. He started his career at Capital Stockbrokers Limited, a stockbroking firm in 1979. He is also a Fellow of Chartered Institute of Stock Brokers and currently a Council Member of the Institute.

The new SEC boss has 33 years working experience which spanned Banking, Stockbroking and Capital Market Regulations. The other places he worked include Icon Merchant Bank, Citi Trust Merchant bank, Empire Securities Limited as MD/CEO) and joined  SEC in 2001 as a Deputy Director and appointed a Director in 2006.

His working experience in SEC includes Head of Registration department, Head of Lagos Zonal office, then became Director of Transformation and now Director of Administration.