The Director General of the Security and Exchange Commission, Ms Arunma Oteh, has offered reasons why she offered money to the members of the House of Representatives Committee on the Capital Market, headed by Hon. Herman Hembe.
Oteh said the money she offered the committee was to enable it organise the public hearing on the Capital Market.
The money was put at N30 million.
In a statement on Tuesday, Oteh said the money was not meant to bribe the lawmakers.
The statement, signed by one of Oteh’s aides, Obi Adindu, reads: “We note the allegation made by Hon. Hembe on the floor of the House and on live television that it was Ms. Oteh who made financial overtures to him. We wish to state unequivocally that at no time and in no place did the SEC, Ms. Oteh offer Hon. Hembe any financial inducement.
“Despite Hon. Hembe’s claims even as he said he had copies of internal memos, which he purportedly obtained from the SEC, however Ms. Oteh did not issue or cause to be issued any correspondence to Hon. Hembe, which offered him financial gratification.
“We confirm that the SEC received a document in respect of the public hearing with a list of items with cost implications totaling N39,844,490.00.
“The correspondences which the Director General sent to Hon. Hembe comprised a letter dated 5th March 2012 which expressed her support for the Public Hearing in line with the SEC’s role as the apex regulator of the Nigerian capital markets and a cover letter for SEC’s submissions to the Public Hearing dated 12th March 2012. She had hoped that the Hearing would offer a platform for an objective examination of the market with a view to identifying the factors militating against its full recovery. She had expected that the outcome of the Hearing would facilitate realization of the SEC’s vision of a world class capital market that constitutes the engine room for our country’s rapid socio economic growth and development.
“It is sad that a genuine act of support to the process of fair and transparent review of our capital market has been twisted into something reprehensible. We totally disagree with the claim that we tried to financially induce or influence Hon. Hembe or anyone else. It goes against everything that the Director General stands for and has been known for, internationally and locally, by those who have known her in her professional career of over 25 years.”