Encomium
-Allegations of corruption, fraudulent practices trail sacked bosses
It was a sweep of tsunamic proportions last week (Monday, February 15) when President Muhammadu Buhari wielded the sack hammer on not less than 26 heads of federal agencies and parastatals.
And like any other major quake, it left a trail of casualties in its wake; from agencies and parastatals in the education and manufacturing sectors, to the media and banking sectors – none was spared in the clear out!
The first set of removals were announced by the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, during a meeting he held with the chief executives of the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN), Voice of Nigeria (VON), News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Nigerian Broadcasting Commission (NBC) and the National Orientation Agency (NOA) on Monday.
Before the dust of the sack had settled, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Babachir Lawal, released a statement announcing the removal of 20 more heads of government agencies!
Why they got the boot!
It is believed that the former chief executives were relieved of their appointments as massive fraud and corrupt practices were uncovered in the agencies.
According to a report citing a source, one of the fired DGs allegedly spent about N200 billion on the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) presidential campaign in 2015, and how another DG was implicated in a N68 billion fraud and other illegal expenditures.
Applauding the move by the President, National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), John Oyegun, said the sacked DGs presided over parastatals where a lot of “internal sabotage” against the government of the day was going.
His words, “APC members are not concerned about the positions; we are concerned about the internal sabotage that is going on in a lot of the PDP-filled positions, which are critical to our national growth and development.”
Continuing, he added: “It is happening in INEC (Independent National Electoral Commission); it is happening in a lot of other institutions and that is what the concern of the party is, not necessarily taking over. We should take over and they should be people who believe in the change agenda; we have no apologies for that at all.”
The full list of disengaged DGs
– National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC) – Dr. Paul Orhii
– Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC) – Bamanga Tukur
– Voice of Nigeria (VON) – Sam Worlu
– National Orientation Agency (NOA) – Mike Omeri
– Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) – Sola Omole
– Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN) – Ladan Salihu
– Nigerian Broadcasting Commission (NBC) – Emeka Mba
– News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) – Ima Niboro
– Nigerian Export-Import Bank – Roberts U. Orya
– National Agency for Prohibition of Traffic In Persons (NAPTIP) – Beatrice Jedy-Agba
– Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) – Juliet Ngozi Olejie
– Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) – Denzil Kentebe
– Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) – Gimba Ya’u Kumo
– Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF) – Femi Ajayi
– New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) – Ibrahim Mayaki
– Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) – Prof. Suleiman Bogoro
– National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) – Peter Jack
– Petroleum Equalization Fund – Asabe Asmau Ahmed
– Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) – Ngbede Oloche
– Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) – Farouk Ahmed
– Standard Organization of Nigeria (SON) – J.I Odumodu
– Bureau of Public Procurements (BPP) – Emeka Ezeh
– Nigeria Investment Promotion Council (NIPC) – Uju Aisha Hassan Baba
– Bank of Industry (BoI) – Rasheed A. Olaoluwa
– National Centre for Women Development (NCWD) – Onyeka Onwenu
– Industrial Training Fund (ITF) – Juliet Chukkas-Onaeko.
