The suspended Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC, Munir Gwazo, on Tuesday insisted that the Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, punished him because he maintained his stand that Oando should be probed.
Gwarzo made the claim when he appeared at the public hearing organised by the House of Representatives Committee on Capital Market and Institutions.
The public hearing is organised to probe the crisis that led to the suspension of Gwarzo.
Gwarzo was suspended over alleged abuse of office, but he explained that he was punished because he wanted the probe of Oando to go on, as against the wish of the minister.
Said he: “On one occasion, the minister invited me and asked me the powers I had to carry on with the audit. So, I explained to her it was within the powers of my office. She said we should have mentioned it to her but no problem.
“But the scary aspect was that she told me she was told I should have been sacked. After that encounter, we went on with our investigations.
“On another occasion, the honourable minister invited me again in the company of the permanent secretary and said I should lift the technical suspension placed on Oando.
“Later around 4 p.m., another meeting was conveyed, with the minister, permanent secretary, director of legal services and some staff of SEC. The minister went through all the allegations against SEC and also the recommendations. We discussed extensively with her and sought some clarifications.
“The minister said ‘even though you did not carry us along, we have no choice than to support you’. The case was in court, so we couldn’t do anything then.”
Gwarzo explained other developments after the case was thrown out of the court.
His words: “Next, we issued a letter to Oando informing them we will continue with the audit and the next day, I was invited by the minister.
“She said to me, ‘I want this Oando issue to be concluded’ and I replied, ‘no problem’. She then said I should stop the forensic audit of Oando and that I should constitute a committee comprising the head of legal of SEC, that of the ministry and that of Oando.
“She then told me I will not be on that committee, and that they were giving me the directive as my board (members). I said okay, if that’s the case, I want it to be committed in writing.
“She went on to tell me I had two options, either I resign or I am suspended, and went on to remind me of the allegations against me. I told her I am ready to defend myself against those allegations.”
However, in a swift reaction, Adeosun said Gwarzo’s suspension followed the recommendation of an administrative panel set up to look into the allegations against him.
“As we speak, the forensic audit is still going on. So, it is mischievous to even suggest that, that led to his suspension,” she said.
