Senate committee queries SEC over N10billion annual salary for 600 staff- The Securities and Exchange Commission says it spends N10.3 billion on the annual salary of about 600 staff - The Nigerian Senate says the amount is too much and can't be justified - The Senate joint committee on finance and national planning got wind of the situation during its recent sitting PAY ATTENTION: Click “See First” under the “Following” tab to see Legit.ng News on your Facebook News Feed! The Senate joint committee on finance and national planning, on Tuesday, August 25 queried the Director-General of Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Lamido Yuguda, for spending N10.3 billion on the annual salary of about 600 staff. The committee's interrogation was a sequel to Yuguda’s submission on revenue projections for the 2021 budget where he said out of N4 billion revenue generated by SEC in 2019, only N86.835 million was remitted into the Consolidated Revenue Fund managed by the federal government. Read also Coronavirus: Traders reveal hike in cost of food items as Easter beckons He also said for the workforce in the commission to be reduced, the severance package of those to be laid off has to be paid. The chairman of the committee, Adeola Solomon Olamilekan (APC, Lagos), disapproved of the SEC boss submissions. PAY ATTENTION: Install our latest app for Android, read best news on Nigeria’s #1 news app Senator Olamilekan, a chartered accountant by training, noted that spending over N10 billion for salaries of 600 staff shows that each of the staff of the agency collects an average of N15.7 million annually, which he said is not sustainable. This is even as he mandated the SEC to remit N1 billion to the Consolidated Account next year to fund the budget deficit. “You have a staff strength of 600 and a wage bill of N10.3 billion annually, amounting to N15.7million per person annually. You are indeed, top-heavy. You have to work on this,” the senator said. Read also Minimum wage: FG, labour unions to meet Monday, September 16 SEC is the apex regulatory body for Nigeria's capital market. It, however, operates under the supervision of the federal ministry of finance. Like other exchange commissions elsewhere, SEC regulates the operation of capital market transactions, ensuring that the relevant rules are complied with by operators. Legit.ng had earlier reported that a social accountability movement driven by young Nigerians, Follow The Money, in 2019, tracked almost N1.3billion of funds budgeted for projects in 69 grassroots communities across Nigeria. This was disclosed by the founder of the movement, Mallam Hamzat Lawal, at a press briefing and launch of Follow The Money 2019 impact report on Monday, August 17 in Abuja, the Nigerian capital. Follow the Money is one of the initiatives of Connected Development (CODE), Nigeria's leading advocates for empowering grassroots communities. Meanwhile, a writer, Godspower Iheanacho, has advised the Nigerian government to, as a matter of urgency, focus its economic policies on how Nigeria can survive the post-COVID-19 era economically. Read also N10 billion fraud allegation: IGP orders probe of Udom’s appointee “With recession looming, this might just be the right time for us to play our trump card,” Iheanacho wrote in a piece published on Legit.ng. Wayo too much for Nigeria - Corruption in Nigeria must end | Legit TV Source: Legit.ng - The Securities and Exchange Commission says it spends N10.3 billion on the annual salary of about 600 staff - The Nigerian Senate says the amount is too much and can't be justified - The Senate joint committee on finance and national planning got wind of the situation during its recent sitting PAY ATTENTION: PAY ATTENTION: Legit.ng Legit.ng.