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Some investors at
the Nigerian capital market have criticised the delay in the
appointment of a substantive head for the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).

Emmanuel Ikazoboh,
the Exchange interim administrator, had last November, after 100 days
in office, said his management would name the new head of the bourse in
December while the person should resume in January.

However, on
December 31, the Exchange in a statement signed by Mr. Ikazoboh, said,
“The NSE has completed a part of the multi-stage process for the
selection of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for the Exchange and the
name of the recommended candidate has been forwarded to the Securities
and Exchange Commission (SEC) for approval.

“The council is
currently awaiting approval of its choice from the SEC. Furthermore,
the council has reached an advanced stage in the selection process for
each of the three Executive Director positions. It is expected that
this process will be completed in January 2011. The Exchange expects
that the persons engaged for all four positions will assume duties no
later than 1 April 2011,” the statement said.

Management inconsistency

Boniface Okezie,
the national chairman of the Progressive Shareholders Association of
Nigeria, said with the new date proposed by the Exchange, “it is
obvious that the NSE and the SEC have something to hide, and it also
indicates that they have not got the candidate of their own choice.”

“Have they not seen
someone who is deemed fit to permanently head the market so that we can
move forward? If they’ve forwarded names, why are they postponing the
person’s resumption till next quarter? They said the head would be
named in December and resume in January. Now it is April. The whole
thing amount to inconsistency of the SEC and the management of the NSE
interim administrator appointed by SEC,” Mr. Okezie said.

In the meantime,
while some market watchers said the postponement will affect investors’
confidence in the market, Dimeji Akintayo, an equity analyst at
Resource Cap, a portfolio management firm, said, “The attitude of the
Exchange and its regulator must change this year to move the market
forward.”

Mr. Akintayo said
the postponement “will not help build confidence” in the market, adding
that “the nation’s lawmakers should step in to investigate the process
and tell Nigerians the truth.”

Market opens high

Meanwhile, trading
activities begin the year on a positive note as gains of 1.34 per cent
were recorded after Tuesday’s proceedings.

At the close of the
first trading day of the year, the NSE market capitalisation, which
gained over N26 billion on the last trading week last year, appreciated
by N106 billion to close at N8.019 trillion from N7.913 trillion.

The Exchange,
however, is expected to hold its annual market report briefing next
Tuesday though Wole Tokede, the NSE’s spokesperson, said the date is
still tentative.