The Senate has queried the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for spending N6 billion out of its N9 billion revenue on salaries and other emoluments.
The Chairman, Senate Committee on Capital Market, Sen. Ibikunle Amosun (APC-Ogun) gave the query when the commission’s Director-General Yuguda Lamido appeared before the committee for 2022 budget defence on Wednesday in Abuja.
Amosun said that it was out of place for SEC to have expended close to 90 per cent of its revenue on salaries and emoluments.
“Your emolument was almost N6 billion out of the N9 billion and other expenses. So clearly, you are spending almost all of the revenue that comes to you on staff emolument and other related things.
“You should give us the number of staff that you have in the commission such that we need to look at what is happening.
“You are having a huge deficit of almost N4 billion. When you continuously make this deficit year in, year out, then something is wrong,” he said.
Sen. Kashim Shettima (APC- Borno) a member of the committee enquired about measures taken to jerk up revenue of the committee and trim down expenses.
“You are already bleeding and this bleeding will continue and if care is not taken, you will reach a point where you cannot even service your obligation,” he said.
Similarly, Sen. Ayo Akinyelure (PDP-Ondo) expressed worry about SEC’s staff emolument saying that the revenue of the commission may not even be enough to service the staff.
“We will be interested in having details on this, because you just came on board but civil servants are there until 35 years or 60 years before they will retire.
“Your organisation is not a charitable organisation. You are supposed to trade in the market, regulate the market, make enough income, make sure all your workers are fine,” he said.
Responding, Lamido acknowledged that the staff emolument was high but said the commission under his leadership had put in place measures to reduce the expenditure and jerk up revenue.
“When we came in last year into the management of the commission, we actually inherited this situation. We knew it was not sustainable and we tried to immediately start things that will reduce the expenditure,” he said.
