The three senators representing Akwa-Ibom state have withdrawn a petition challenging President Muhammadu Buhari’s nomination of Mr. Lamido A. Yuguda as Director General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
The Senators are: Bassey Akpan (PDP – Akwa-Ibom North East); Christopher Ekpenyong (PDP – Akwa-Ibom North West); and Akon Eyakenyi (PDP – Akwa-Ibom South).
The lawmakers challenged Yuguda’s nomination on grounds that the President refused to nominate Mary Uduk from Akwa-Ibom state, who was already serving as Acting Director-General at the Commission.
According to a report of the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions, the lawmakers had sought the intervention of the Upper Chamber to ensure that the people of Akwa-Ibom state were not further marginalised in matters of federal appointments.
In his presentation, Chairman of the Committee, Senator Ayo Akinyelure explained that the three senators found it “disheartening that Mary Uduk who was eminently qualified to be appointed DG SEC, having represented Nigeria at the regional and international bodies such as the West African Capital Market Integration Council (WACMIC) and currently on the board of the International Organisation of the Securities Commission (IOSCO), the international standards setter for securities regulation, was neither listed as DH nor as a full-time Commissioner.”
