The Senate fumed at the Securities and Exchange Commission, (SEC), yesterday, for spending N8 billion to service its staff out of the N9 billion it generates every year.
The Senate raised the alarm when the SEC director-general, Lamido Yuguda appeared before the Senator Ibikunle Amosun(APC, Ogun Central) led Committee on Capital Market to defend the budget performance of the agency in 2021 and projections for 2022.
During the meeting, the Senate disagreed with SEC over spending of revenues made by the commission largely on salaries and emoluments of staff.
Senator Amosun lampooned the commission following the expenses made from its generated revenues.
He said, “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. 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.”
Earlier, while the Senate through its Committee on Capital Market felt it was wrong for SEC to have expended close to 90% of revenues made in the 2021 fiscal year on staff salaries and emoluments, SEC denied being frivolous on spending of revenues made.
Yuguda in his presentation said: “A total of N11.5 billion was projected as revenue for 2021 out of which N2.689 billion was realised as at June with the hope of making more before the year runs out.
“Total recurrent expenditure for 2021 was budgeted at N13.53 billion but the actual expenditure was N4.063 by the end of June.
“Our budgeted deficit was N5.173 billion but the actual deficit as at end of September was N2.834 due to funding of it from our reserve.
“Though revenue performance is still weak but series of innovations like newly introduced charges for secondary investors, will boost it up from 2022 fiscal year and beyond.
“In giving room for more financial inflow, we are planning to retire about 152 top management staff with fat salaries in paving way for recruitment of fresh workers with attendant less financial burdensome on the commission .
“There are measures at reducing expenditure and also measures at increasing revenue of the commission.”
