By TEMITOPE PONLE

The Federal Government has sworn-in Mr Azi Isaac as Chairman and Mr Nosa Osemwengie as member of the Investments and Securities Tribunal (IST).

Mr Yunusa Abdullahi, Special Adviser, Media and Communications to the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning made this known in a statement on Thursday in Abuja.

Isaac was appointed for the first term of five years and Osemwengie was re-appointed for the second term of four years.

Speaking in at the event, the minister, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, said that the tribunal now had a “full complement of 10 members in line with the enabling law, the Investments and Securities Act (ISA), 2007” with their appointment.

“It is, therefore, my hope that all the members will justify the confidence reposed in them by President Muhammadu Buhari by diligently working together to discharge the responsibilities of the tribunal.

“Your appointments have come at a time when all hands are needed to build our economy.

“As you all may be aware, the IST was first inaugurated in December 2002. It is a specialised fast-track court, established for the settlement of disputes in the capital market,” she said.

Ahmed said the tribunal became apparent because of the time-sensitive nature of capital market transactions, which the regular courts could not cope with.

According to her, the Tribunal is fashioned after world class tribunals like the Financial Services and Market Tribunal (FSMT) of the United Kingdom (UK) and the Market Misconduct Tribunal of Hong Kong.

“The core mandate of the tribunal is to conduct its proceedings speedily and to dispose of any matter brought before it within three months from the commencement of substantive hearing,” she said.

Ahmed further said that the tribunal had made some strides, particularly in its adjudicatory role, which had gone a long way to sanitise the capital market and build investors’ confidence.

The minister, however, said the tribunal had suffered many setbacks in the last five years, despite the progress recorded.

She said the setbacks were “due largely to poor administration”.

“These setbacks have blurred, if not completely wiped out, whatever modest achievements the tribunal might have recorded in its adjudicatory role.

“We may recall that in November, 2015, the Tribunal was dissolved and the chairman and its members relieved of their jobs.

“A new panel of the tribunal, which includes many of the members here seated, was inaugurated in 2017.

“Again, barely two years into your their tenure, the chairman of the tribunal was removed. The problems with the tribunal had been infighting amongst members, lack of industrial harmony and a series of complaints bordering on mal-administration.

“These have been the bane of the tribunal and source of embarrassment, not only to the ministry but the federal government,” she recalled.

She further emphasised that the chairman’s responsibility was to provide good leadership that would “galvanise the human and material resources” at the tribunal’s disposal.

She added that his leadership was to achieve stability in line with the mandate of the tribunal, in a consistent manner.

“I call on all members of the IST to cooperate with the new chairman, so that the vision of the tribunal, which is ‘to be a world class capital market tribunal that is fair and transparent, dispensing justice without fear or favour, could be attained.” (NAN)

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