As the five-year tenure of Director- General of Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Arunma Oteh, ends today, there is anxiety in the organisation over her successor.
It was gathered Monday that Oteh had been lobbying the presidency for an extension of her tenure despite stiff opposition from workers’ union.
The workers have threatened to go on strike should President Goodluck Jonathan extend her tenure, but the presidency is yet to make any pronouncement and no letter has been forwarded to her in that direction, according to a source.
A senior staff of the organisation said Oteh was yet to prepare a handing over note, adding that “she is bidding her time to see whether a tenure renewal letter could come from the presidency.”
Oteh and Amalgamated Union of Public Corporations, Civil Service Technical and Recreational Services Employee have been at loggerheads over her management style.
A top union official said Oteh would cease being the director general of SEC with effect from tomorrow because her five-year tenure would end on today.
Oteh’s appointment as SEC director general took effect from January 7, 2010. “The letter that brought her here is tenured and is not an open-ended appointment.
“We learnt she is desperately looking for a six-month extension but this not an issue. Look at the capital market capitalisation. From N13.9 trillion market capitalisation in January 2010 when she was appointed, it has crashed to N8.5 trillion and portfolio investors are withdrawing their funds because of lack of confidence in the market,” he said.
Oteh’s Media Adviser, Obi Adindu, had in an interview with a national newspaper, dismissed the union’s threat as “a mere ranting that is of no effect. As usual, I will tag this as irresponsible threat.
“They are in no position to determine who the DG of SEC is. That is the prerogative decision of President and Commander-in- Chief. The fantastic work the DG has done in the last five years is obvious for everyone to see,” he stated.
According to him, the DG, on assumption of office, has made training of staff a compulsory exercise as those from the assistant manager cadre are entitled to several local trainings and once-in-ayear foreign training.
He said should the workers go ahead with their threat to go on strike, the management would be left with the option but to invoke the no-work, no-pay rule.
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