The suspended Director-General of Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Mounir Gwarzo, on Monday, filed a suit before the National Industrial Court, Abuja, challenging his suspension by the Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun.
Gwarzo through his counsel, Mr. A.U.Mustapha (SAN) wants the court to determine:
- Whether the Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, has the power to suspend him as Director-General, an appointment made by the President of Nigeria and confirmed by the Senate.
- Whether the Public Service Rule, relied upon by the Minister to suspend him, is applicable to persons holding the office of Director-General of SEC.
- Similarly, Gwarzo is asking the court to determine whether the Administrative Panel of Inquiry set up by the Minister was properly constituted to be fair and impartial, Daily Trust reports.
- He is also seeking for an order of the court for the payment of all his entitlements, emoluments, allowances and other perquisites of the office of Director-General of SEC for the entire period he was under suspension.
- An order of the court reinstating him as the Director-General of SEC.
Recall that the former SEC DG was suspended by Kemi Adeosun in November 2017 for alleged financial impropriety.
An Administrative Panel of Inquiry set up to look into allegations levelled against the suspended Director-General revealed financial misappropriation and abuse of office.
Gwarzo, however, claimed he was suspended and being witch-hunted for refusing to halt the forensic audit conducted into the affairs of Oando Plc.
Kemi Adeosun insisted that the suspension was a result of allegations of his misconduct.
She also stated that the decision to suspend Gwarzo was a move to protect the capital market.
According to her, documents obtained from the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) reveal that Gwarzo was a director in two private companies, which was a violation of the Civil Service Act.
This she noted is also a breach of the Investment and Securities Act.
SEC is the apex regulatory institution of the Nigerian capital market supervised by the Federal Ministry of Finance.
