Securities and Exchange Commission has no profit since 2009’

The Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC, on Monday said it has not made any profit since 2009 because of the downturn of economic activities in the capital market.

The SEC Head of Finance and Accounts, Sunday Garba, made this known at a stakeholders’ meeting with the management of Fiscal Responsibility Commission, FRC, in Abuja.

Mr. Garba also said that SEC had not remitted the mandatory 80 per cent of its operating surplus into the Consolidated Revenue Funds Accounts since 2009.

“Since the downturn of the capital market, we have not been making profit. In fact, running the office has remained a challenge to us.

“You know SEC is not being financed by the Federal Government but rather through fees we collect from various activities in the capital market.

“We make money when the capital market is doing well and we all know of the meltdown the capital market experienced some years back,’’ he said.

Mr. Garba said that whatever was deliberated on at the meeting would be forwarded to Ms Arunma Oteh, SEC Director-General.

He said that this would enable her to meet with the FRC management team sometimes in October.

Also, Victor Muruako, FRC Acting Chairman, said that failure of the commission to submit its audited financial reports for five years was not the characteristics of an agency concerned with transparency and accountability.
“In the process of monitoring the compliance of SEC to the FRA 2007, we observed that there is no evidence that SEC has produced its audited financial reports from 2009 to 2013.

“In spite of the commission’s various requests, SEC has not availed the FRC of its three year estimates of revenue and expenditure for 2010-2012, 2012-2013 and 2014.

“For 2007, records show that you paid N808.7 million as operating surplus instead of N11.15 billion.

“SEC has, therefore, unduly withheld the balance of N10.3 billion due to the Federal Government,’’ Mr. Muruako said. (NAN)