ECONOMIC INSIGHT Golden handshake’ legal, approved by SEC board – Gwarzo

There is nothing illegal about the Golden Handshake voluntary retirement exercise of the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) because it was approved by its board.

The suspended executive secretary of the commission Mr Mounir Gwarzo said in a statement weekend that the scheme was designed for some category of staff to exit the commission.

“As an incentive to access the scheme, staff were offered certain percentage of their allowances/ remuneration,” he said.

He said the “scheme was duly approved by the Board of the Commission at its meeting of March 12, 2015 and funded from the Commission’s 2015 Budget.”

Gwarzo said Minister of finance Kemi Adeosun suspended him over his insistence on conducting forensic audit of Oando. The minister however denied that.

Gwarzo said the allegation of golden handshake contained in the administrative panel report was never included in the query issued to him on November 3, 2017.

He said “this allegation was never contained in the suspension letter issued by the minister dated November 29, 2017 and the invitation letter given to me to appear before the panel on January 10, 2017.

“Therefore, on what basis did the committee include it in its report when fair hearing was not given to me,” he said.

Explaining the retirement scheme, Gwarzo said Section 4 (1) (d) of the Investment and Securities Act (ISA), 2007 empowers the Board of the Commission to consider and approve the annual budget of the Commission as may be presented to it by the Management.

“Thus the Board in exercise of its power as contained in the ISA approved the 2015 budget of the Commission.

“Furthermore, Section 19 & 20 of the ISA empowers the Commission to establish and maintain a Fund, the proceeds of which it may apply to meets its financial obligations.”

Gwarzo said that the effect of the provisions of the ISA cited above is that the Commission is empowered to cater for all of its financial obligations from its Funds.

“However, such amounts must be expended from a Budget, which must be approved by the Board of the Commission,” he said.

The funding of the Golden handshake was therefore carried out in line with this statutorily laid down procedure for disbursing the Funds of the Commission, Gwarzo said.

He said adjustments were made to certain vote heads within the 2015 budget to accommodate the cost implication of the Golden Handshake exercise.

“This was necessary in lieu of the fact that the votes in majority of the heads adjusted were either meant to be disbursed for the welfare of staff or fund certain allowances of staff.

“In view of the fact that payment of a percentage of remuneration/allowances of a staff was an incentive to access the scheme, it was therefore imperative for these adjustments to be made,” he explained.

He said the action of the Commission’s Board in adjusting certain Heads in the 2015 budget is a power derived from the provisions of Section 12 (b) of the Interpretation Act.

“The section provides that where an Act (ISA 2007) confers a power to make a subsidiary instrument (The Budget), proclamation or notification, the power shall include power, exercisable in the like manner and subject to the like consent power, conditions (if any), to vary and revoke the instrument, proclamation or notification,” he said.