SEC's Arunma Oteh In Fresh Trouble

The Director General of Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Ms Arunma Oteh, and her workers have, for the third time since her second coming as the chief executive, gone for each others jugular. The workers yesterday, in Abuja , embarked on street protest against the alleged deployment of contract staff to head various departments in the organisation.
Angered by this, the workers had, as early as 8.30 am, trooped out of their offices with placards of various inscriptions such as “No to redeployment of Managing Director of Training School against board’s decision”; “No to undue delay of application files for months; No to sole administration, among others. Chief among the union’s plea was the call for the removal of the DG; and removal of contract staff deployed to head various departments in the organisation.
Speaking to newsmen, the chairman of the workers’ union, Muhammed Salihu, explained that contract staff had been deployed by Ms Oteh to head the Internal Audit Department and SEC Training School, among others. “We have 21 contract staffers, all of them placed in certain positions that are unbearable and against public service policy. It is unheard of that you make such a person a senior manager.
You have somebody who graduated in 1994 and you make him a deputy director. We have 21 of them,’’ he said. He said the union had written to seek audience with the Director General but received queries instead. Salihu said that the union would give the management two weeks to work things out to ensure peace and harmony in the commission. “It is unfortunate that the Director General has decided to adopt sole administration pattern to run the place.
This is against service policy. Government should intervene in the situation to help develop the capital market in the country.’’ he said. The Secretary of the union, John Biggs, said if the management did not redeploy the contract staffers after the two-week ultimatum, the union would embark on an industrial action. All we are asking for is the right thing to be done.
SEC is not a different place. You cannot bring somebody who has no competence to head a department. Nobody studies experience in school. You can only gain experience while in service. We have experienced staff here,’’ he said. A chieftain of Nigerian Labour Congress, Wahid Sikiru, said it is unfortunate that SEC had refused to listen to the plea of the staff union.
According to him, the union was registered and has the right to protest against whatever they see wrong in the operations of the commission. “We are here to support what they are doing and we hope that in two weeks, they will come up with something good so that peace will reign at the commission,’’ he said.
A letter by the union to Oteh dated September 10, raised so many issues which included contract staffing, redeployment and harassment by uniform security agents.