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Some operators at
the Nigerian capital market have described the removal of Aliko Dangote
as the Nigerian Stock Exchange’s (NSE’s) president, a welcome
development that will further boost investors’ confidence.

Ope Banwo, an
analyst and legal practitioner at The Market Ombudsman, said that the
development is a positive one for the Exchange and the financial market
generally.

“I have been on
record for saying that it is morally and equitably wrong for Mr.
Dangote to have been appointed as President of the NSE in the first
place, even while recognising that the Exchange is a privately owned
organisation,” he said.

Mr. Banwo said
fairness must not only be done but must be manifestly seen to have been
done. “Since the operations of the stock exchange directly and
indirectly affect everybody in Nigeria, it should not be allowed to run
under the normal rules of a privately held company. So, putting Mr.
Dangote as President of an Exchange where stocks from companies he runs
and owns are quoted, is a manifest conflict of interest that should not
be allowed,” the lawyer said.

Furthermore, he
explained that it was wrong for the business mogul to have been
appointed president of the stock exchange when there were pending
allegations of share manipulation levelled against him in the law
courts and other forums.

“This is the
equivalent of appointing somebody who is on trial on accusation for
armed robbery of a bank, as the CEO of that same bank while the trial
and accusation is still pending. Just the whiff or accusation alone
should have disqualified him from being considered in the first place,
in any self respecting society. Yet, the powers-that-be appointed him
anyway and now they reap the fruits of their actions,” Mr. Banwo added.

Market improvement

The national
chairman of the Progressive Shareholders Association of Nigeria,
Boniface Okezie, said the Federal High Court ruling which nullified the
election of Mr. Dangote last Friday, will bring improvement to the
market.

Mr. Okezie said
that Mr. Dangote was not actually elected in the first place because it
was a unanimous decision that brought him into power. “Now that the
court has asked him to step aside, I think he has to comply, even if he
decides to appeal the judgement. The NSE also has to obey the court
ruling,” he said.

“We (shareholders)
said it from Day One that having been there as the vice president of
the NSE, while the issue of AP and Nova Finance came to play, Mr.
Dangote, as an actor in the middle of the crisis, should have resigned
honourably,” he added.

The council of the NSE, had on August 6, 2009, named Mr. Dangote as its 17th president in a unanimous endorsement election.

Proud of Judiciary

Mr. Banwo said the
development is very positive because it signals to all market operators
that Nigerian courts are up to the task. “I am extremely proud of the
judge and the judicial system these days. They are showing some class
and courage that has almost been eroded in the past 15 years. I say
kudos to the judiciary for the boldness of the judge; rising up against
the lawlessness and disdain to court orders exhibited by big boys, who
believed they were above the law,” he said.

“The judgment will
also send a signal that it is the dawn of a new era where the judiciary
will indeed be the last refuge for the oppressed and the wronged in
society. The development sends signals to the Ndidi Okerekes and Udo
Udomas of this world that their time is running out when it comes to
taking conflicting positions in a market yearning to be transparent,”
Mr. Banwo said.

Ganiyu Solomon,
chairman Senate Committee on Capital Market, in a telephone interview,
said, to avoid a situation of conflict of interests in the general
market regulations, Udoma Udoma, Chairman, the Securities and Exchange
Commission (SEC), and Chairman, UAC Nigeria Plc, a quoted company,
should also resign.

“We should not wait
till we are presented with a situation of conflict of interests. It is
very important that a regulator is not encumbered in any way in
carrying out his duty. If you go through other jurisdictions, you will
discover that they make sure that people holding such offices are not
in any way tied to any quoted company. It is just to safeguard the
interest of the market,” Mr. Solomon said.

“If we say that
anybody can go ahead to hold any particular office, can you envisage a
situation where a stockbroker who is highly connected becomes SEC’s
chairman. Are you going to say he can continue to operate on the floor
and still hold that position?”