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Tag: appointments

  • Appointments will be on merit, says Abiodun

    Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun yesterday said he will set up a cabinet based on the constitution of his cabinet on merit.

    According to him, inclusion of qualified professionals is crucial to the execution of his plans.

    Abiodun spoke with State House correspondents after meeting with Vice President Yemi Osinbajo at the Presidential Villa on Tuesday.

    His experience in the private sector, he said, would guide him in appointing competent persons to work with him.

    He said: “You know my background is the private sector and in the private sector we believe in what is called merit before anything else.

    “So, everything we are going to be doing in Ogun henceforth would be based on merit.  Our cabinet will reflect people who deserve to be in office.  They will show competence.” he added

    He said the composition of his transmission team, which “comprised the best brains in Ogun from the private sector”, was an indication to the direction his administration is headed to.

    “If you look at what we have done so far, the choice of my CPS; I’m sure you know who my CPS is, Kunle Solarin, one of the best minds in the media industry in Ogun; my Chief of Staff is also a very brilliant Ogun man; my SSG is a very successful entrepreneur from Ogun as well.

    “So, this is how we are going to be defined to achieve our potentials, which we have earmarked and called our pillars.

    Read Also: I’ll base my appointments on merit, says Abiodun

    “We must ensure that things are gotten right, which we call our enablers.  The first of our enablers is good governance.

    “We cannot talk about good governance when the team itself that wants to execute good governance is faulty.”

    Abiodun said he would pick those that would prosecute the pillars of his administration “from the lenses of good governance.”

    He added: “Good governance starts with as simple as ensuring that workers’ salaries are paid on time.  I assumed office on the 30th May, having been sworn on 29th of May.  31st of May, my second day in office, was the day salaries were due for payment.

    “My pact with Ogun people was that salaries would be paid as at when due and to the glory of God, that day, 31st of May, Ogun civil servants began to receive their alerts of payment of their salaries.  That exemplifies good governance.  So people can begin to take you seriously.”

    He promised to provide for the right environment businesses to thrive.

    According to him, the proximity of Ogun State to Lagos, has necessitated that deliberate policies designed by competent person be executed to provide ease of doing business environment in the state.

    He stressed: “Ogun today is like New Jersey to New York.  We benefitted from what you call the push factor from Lagos.

    “We want to turn that to a pull factor, but you cannot bring and endear people to you state if you don’t begin to think about how to increase the ranking of your state in the global ease of doing business index.

    “So, if people see that you are serious about paying salaries on time, if they see you that are serious about empowering local government chairmen to ensure that they perform their duties as enshrined in the constitution, if they see you as paying pensions, clearing pensions and sending to PFAs, if they see you as paying gratuities and clearing arrears, then people would be endeared.

    “They will say this government is a serious government.  Ogun is geared for greater heights and we do that by ensuring that good governance is in accordance with our vision.

  • Army okays new appointments, postings

    The Army yesterday  approved new senior appointments and postings to man its various commands and strategic positions.

    A statement signed by Army spokesman Colonel Sagir Musa said they mostly affected senior officers from Major General,  and Brigadier General.

    Colonel Musa said: “The Nigerian Army has, today, Saturday, March 16, 2019, released the postings and appointments of some of its senior officers.

    “Those affected by this include Major General H.O. Otiki, who has been posted to 8 Division as General Officer Commanding; Major General S.O. Olabanji, the erstwhile General Officer Commanding 8 Division, has been posted to Infantry Corps Centre, and appointed commander, Infantry Corps; Brigadier General H.I. Bature, from 34 Brigade to Headquarters Training and Doctrine Command as director, Examinations;  while Brigadier General T.O. Olowomeye, from Headquarters 33 Brigade to Army Headquarters Department of Civil-Military Affairs as director Civil Military Affairs.

    “Similarly, Brigadier General B.A. Mohammed, from 23 Brigade to Martin Luther Agwai International Peace Keeping Centre, and appointed deputy commandant; Brigadier General U.M. Bello, from Headquarters Training and Doctrine Command to 63 Brigade, and appointed commander; Brigadier General M.T. Durowaiye, from Directorate of Army Transformation and Innovation to 33 Brigade, and appointed commander.

    “Others… are Brigadier General S.B. Kumapayi, from Army Headquarters Department of Civil-Military Affairs to Headquarters 14 Brigade as commander; Brigadier General N.M. Jega, from Headquarters 2 Brigade to 9 Brigade, and appointed commander;

    ‘’Brigadier General K.O. Aligbe, from 16 Brigade to  Defence Headquarters as acting director, Liaison, National Assembly; Brigadier General A.K. Ibrahim, from 14 Brigade to Army Headquarters Department of Administration, and appointed deputy director, Veteran Affairs Department Retired Officers’ Cell; and Brigadier General G.T.O. Ajetunmobi, from Headquarters Command Army Records to 31 Brigade as commander.

    “Accordingly, Brigadier General O.G. Onubogu, from Army Headquarters Department of Army Policy and  Plans to Headquarters 16 Brigade and appointed commander;

    ‘’Brigadier General O.M. Bello, from Nigerian Army Resource Centre to Headquarters 6 Division, and appointed chief of staff; while Brigadier General Z.L. Abubakar, from National Defence College to 32 Brigade, and appointed commander.

    ‘’Brigadier General A.A. Orukotan, from Nigerian Army Resource Centre to Headquarters Command Army Records and appointed chief of staff, among others.”

  • ‘Resign your appointments now’

    A youth group in the Ogun State All Progressives Congress (APC), APC Progressives Youth, has called on commissioners and other appointees serving in the APC administration but whose names appeared as officers of the Akinlade Governorship Campaign Organisation of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM), and contestants in APM to resign their appointments.

    Read also: Amosun: I’ll give my all to make Akinlade win in Ogun

    A statement in Abeokuta yesterday by its Chairman, Comrade Damilare Fagbohun, said it was “disgustingly treacherous, fraudulent and horrendous for people appointed into privileged positions on the basis of being members of the APC, to cross to another party and still hope to retain their positions in the APC administration.”

    The statement reads: “It has become pertinent to call on commissioners, Special Advisers, Chairmen of Statutory Commissions and other state government appointees, whose names have appeared either as members of the governorship campaign of the APM, its officers or candidates to resign forthwith.

    “Though we know that these appointees were coerced by the governor in his desperation to achieve his bid to force a successor on the people, we urge the appointees to save whatever is left of their honour and family names by resigning their current appointments which they got on the platter of being APC members and as beneficiaries of APC electoral victory of 2015.”

  • 81% of Buhari’s appointments not from the north-Presidency

    81% of Buhari’s appointments not from the north-Presidency

    The Presidency on Saturday denied a report claiming that 81% of President Muhammadu Buhari’s appointments have been going to the north. 

    A statement by the Special Adviser on Media and publicity, Femi Adesina, said that the article originally published by a business newspaper on Sunday, 29th October, 2017, is either an ignorant effort or a mischievous attempt by the publication to mislead the public and portray the Buhari administration in bad light.

    He said that what the newspaper did essentially was roughly putting together a string of misleading statements across two pages of a newspaper.

    “To push this biased reportage, which wrongly claimed that 81 of President Muhammadu Buhari’s 100 appointees are Northerners, the writer unilaterally selected 100 appointees to drive home the distraction presented as “facts”.

    “To claim, suggest or attempt to insinuate that the President’s appointments are tilted in favour of a section of the country is simply untrue and certainly uncharitable.

    “First of all, the publication could not even cross the t’s and dot the i’s properly. For instance, the author wrongly named the Director-General, NISER, as Haruna Yerima, whereas the DG, NISER is actually Folarin Gbadebo-Smith. Again, the author wrongly identified the CEO, NDLEA as Muhammad Abdallah. However, Mrs. Roli Bode-George is the CEO, NDLEA.

    “Why will a publication of the status of Business Day embark on such shoddiness, or are we to conclude this was calculated to create a particular perception?

    “The article also wrongly named Tunde Irukera as Executive Secretary of CPP,-whatever that is- instead of Consumer Protection Council (CPC). Rather conveniently, the publication ignored mentioning that Mr Emeka Nwankpa is chairman of CPC. Not only that, the writer claimed that the Director-General of the Budget Office is Aliyu Gusau, whereas Mr. Ben Akabueze is the actual DG, Budget Office.

    “Besides, the publication made not just one, but several errors on names and positions, in what could be seen as a deliberate attempt to mislead the reading public, along the lines of some intended distortions of the truth.

    “For example, there are several other appointments the publication failed to mention, which clearly shows the fair geopolitical spread of President Buhari’s appointees. For instance, the publication didn’t mention Sharon Ikeazor, Director-General, PTAD, who is from Anambra, South East; Folorunsho Coker, DG, NTDC; who is from Lagos, South West; Ituah Ighodalo, of the National Council of Privatisation, who is from the South South; Eze Duru Ihioma, Chairman, NPC, who is from Imo, South East, among many others.

    “There are at least 50 names of the President’s appointees that the article didn’t mention that are not from the North, while there are some others that were already in place before the administration came in but reconfirmed by the Buhari administration.

    “Aside from that, several names of board members/appointees from other parts of the country were deliberately left out. These include Senator Olabiyi Durojaiye, NCC Chairman, Sunday Dare, NCC Executive Commissioner, Jide Zeitlin, NSIA Chairman, Anthony Ayine, Auditor General of the Federation, Anibor Kragha, COO NNPC, Chiedu Ugbo, MD NDPHC, Uche Orji, CEO NSIA, Osita Okechukwu, DG VON, Yemi Kale, DG NBS and Waziri Adio, Executive Secretary NEITI, among several others.” he said

    The Presidential spokesman also said that the publication’s inconsistencies and selective reportage are questionable.

    “And this is divisive with its many misleading statements that should be taken with a pinch of salt. What Nigerians need now are unity and constructive dialogue that would help the nation march forward on the right path not divisive, misleading reportage.

    “It is, indeed, false for anyone to say that President Buhari’s appointments are lopsided. From all records, majority of the President’s appointees across different portfolios are not from the North, as the publication erroneously alleged. If the publication did not have ulterior motives, a simple enquiry from official sources in the Presidency would have prevented this unwarranted public disinformation.

    “It must be stated clearly that, despite the distractions and biased reportage of this article, President Muhammadu Buhari remains committed to serving all Nigerians, no matter the tribe, ethnicity or region, and he is also determined to ensure that Nigeria remains strong and united. He has, and will continue to keep faith with one Nigeria and has shown this with the administration’s diverse projects in different parts of the country’s geopolitical zones,” Adesina said

     

  • Protests in Buhari’s camp over appointments

    Protests in Buhari’s camp over appointments

    A crack appeared in President Muhammadu Buhari’s camp yesterday with key supporters of the President complaining publicly that he had abandoned them.

    Led by the Comptroller General of the Nigeria Customs Service, Col. Hameed Ibrahim Ali, the aggrieved supporters of the President said that many of them who had worked to bring Buhari to power were abandoned while he chose to give appointments to people who did not believe in his vision.

    Col. Ali, who spoke at a gathering of the supporters yesterday, said that the Buhari government had not been able to move forward or fulfill its campaign promises to Nigerians because most of the people calling the shots in his government were never a part of his vision.

    Ali’s views were corroborated by Plateau State governor, Simon Lalong, who said that governors were not happy with President Buhari for making his appointments without consulting them.

    Speaking at the commissioning of the office complex of the Buhari Support Organisation (BSO) in Abuja, Col Ali, who is the National Coordinator of the Organisation, said that more than 50 per cent of the appointments in the Buhari government were handed over to members of the PDP who had fought against the actualisation of the Buhari presidency.

    Others at the gathering yesterday include Bauchi State governor, Mohammed Abubakar; Kogi State governor, Yahaya Bello; the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed; FCT Minister, Mohammed Bello, who stood in for the Vice President; Defence Minister, Mansur Dan Ali and Niger Delta Minister, Pastor Usani Uguru Usani.

    Others were Minister of State for Health, Osagie Ehanire; Minister of State for Trade and Investment, Aisha Abubakar; Senator Olorunibe Mamora; Managing Director of Nigeria Film Corporation, Dr. Chidia Maduekwe; Director General of National Directorate for Employment, Dr. Nasiru Mohammed Ladan Argungu and Barrister Festus Keyamo, among others.

    Lamenting the fate of members of the organisation, who he said made serious sacrifices to ensure that Buhari became President, the Customs boss predicted that when the chips are down, those who were not part of the Buhari vision and are currently in government will abandon the ship while members of the organisation who sought the votes of Nigerians would be called to account for the failure of the government.

    He said: “We must agree that we cannot finish our four years without delivering and leaving something to be remembered for in this country for a long time to come.

    “We have no problem with our President because he is on course. But I must confess here that we have been infused by people who were not part of this journey, and these people are the ones that call the shots today. That is why we are derailing.

    “If we had the right people who had the vision and have been there in and out, I believe that we will not be going the way we are going today.

    “It is my belief that those of us who have been in the trenches all these years to get good governance will surely be sleeping with belly ache every day, especially in the recent past. Every day when you wake up, there is a story that makes you shiver.

    “We cannot, as a people who have fought and committed everything we had to bring this government to being, sit back and allow things to happen the way they are happening.

    “At the end of the day, the fingers will point at us because we were the ones who went to people and asked them to give us their votes.

    “These people that are calling the shots today were not there, and when the chips are down, they will disappear and melt within the system. We are the ones that will be asked to account for what happened.

    “Are we willing to face Nigerians and tell them that we have failed? I think this is the time for us to come together, create a system that is very robust enough to fight back and take back government in our hands and ensure that we deliver.

    “We believe that if you want to change the system, it will happen. Let me say that in the course of the jihad of the Prophet Mohammad, anytime they went out for a battle, they would come back with loots, but these loots, as far as my own research told me, was not distribute to everybody, but to those who took the sword and faced the enemies.

    “Today, with all sense of responsibility, I want to say that we have 50 per cent of PDP in our government. How can we move forward with this load? How can we achieve our target with this load? It is a spoilt system. So, when you come in, you shake off everybody and bring in your own. That is what democracy is all about.

    “Today, we have members of PDP calling the shots. That is what we will begin to fight for. We will fight for our right position, our vision and our mission for this government.

    “I am sorry to deviate into politics. But it is very essential because we are a political organisation. It is time for us to wake up from slumber and chat a course for this great nation, and I believe that we can do it. May God help us and see us through.”

    He charged the BSO members to go back to the study room, saying: “This is a commission, but it is also the beginning of the fight for good governance. We must get back to the trenches, draw our own battle plan and battle line. I enjoined you that the same commitment we had in 2015, I implore you to bear with us and commit yourself to a better future for Nigeria.

    “We will be calling on you from now on and we will be working day and night. We must do so because we want to save our name at the end of the day and the name of the President for what he is doing.

    “Our President is on course and all we need is to ensure that we support him. What do we do? For those of us who believe in God, we must know that God is the first port of call.”

    While commending members of the BSO for keeping hope alive, he described the organisation as “a gathering to rekindle what we started in 2015 and what we used as a vehicle to fight in the trenches, out of the torches, along the routes and in so many difficult terrains to see to the success of our vision and mission. Our vision then was to install a government that will bring about change in this country. Our motto and expression then was that we want change.”

    Ali commended Nigerians for sharing the same vision with BSO, saying that they decided to vote the Jonathan government out and voted Buhari in because of the vision of change.

    He said: “It is good to take us back on the memory lane. Some of us started this journey in 2011. There are those who started as far back as 2003 and are still in the trenches. I am sure that the 2007 veterans are still here, while some of us joined the train in 2011, while many others joined in 2015.

    “Why did we then sacrifice everything that we need and want? A lot of us have lost their jobs, others have lost their businesses. A lot of us sitting here today have nothing to do because they committed their time and resources working for the success of a change for a better Nigeria.

    “We did this not because of ourselves or any individual but because of our love for this great nation. Many of you can remember that we went through this because we are committed to a course and that whatever we eventually install will be something that we are committed to.

    “But let me say here without fear of being contradicted that I think half way through the journey, we are losing our core values. We are losing our vision and mission, and I think that the idea of our being here today is to look critically at what we need to do to get back on track.

    “There is no doubt that we have derailed because we are not doing what we say we want to do. Why is it so? We need to find an answer to that. If we do find an answer, then what should we do to get us all back on track.

    “We owe this great nation and the 180 million Nigerians the duty to give good governance. Good governance is what they voted for and good governance is what they expect to get and they deserve that.

    “We, therefore, as BSO have a great task ahead of us. My dear comrades, the battle and the job starts now. We have won one battle by taking over power. But what we make of this power is very essential to us and to humanity.

    “Therefore, I want to take this opportunity to tell my colleagues here that we have to change the narratives. When we were there Working and jumping on the street and reaching every corner, we were shouting change, change for a better Nigeria. Now, the key word is good governance for Nigerians.”

    Also speaking, Governor Lalong, who shared the sentiments of the Customs boss, lamented that appointments into government positions are made without recourse to the governors, adding that those who do not have the capacity to defend the actions of the President have been the ones benefiting from federal government t appointments.

    The governor said the government must be made aware that things are not working the way they should, saying: “If things are wrong, they are wrong. If they are right, they are right. But it requires very courageous people to come out and say these things are wrong or they are right.

    “Let Mr. President be aware that this is the time to do it, because even as governors, we are also complaining in our various states. We complain in our states that we sit down and we hear appointments made and then people start asking you as the governor where is this man coming from? But when we turn right and turn left, we don’t know where such a person is coming from.

    “Many people have complained. I’m sure governors have complained that we should be able to know who and who will protect Mr. President and his administration.

    “When I heard that BSO is coming back again, I said is it not too late? Because if you allow people to grumble too much, you will see fight in several states and some of them are for a just course.

    “Somebody suffered for the party, the person is not rewarded, and you wake up to see another man who even fought you. The man who made you to lose your job is now being appointed and the one who suffered is sitting down. Sometimes he will be looking for tears to cry and the tears will not be there because they are dry.

    “Like our chairman said to me, it is not too late. This is the time to start because this is the time you will hear a lot of things coming. People who have not serve will come back and say I had served this way, I had serve that way.

    “But the records are there. The records cannot lie.”

    Contacted for his reaction yesterday, President Buhari’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, declined comments, saying that it was not a matter for the Presidency.

    He also told our correspondent that members of the Buhari Support Group were at the Presidential Villa to see Buhari yesterday.

    Read also: Maina: Buhari must act fast to save integrity, says Ijaw chief

    The National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, also declined comments, saying it was not a party issue but that of the government.

    “We don’t make appointments at the party level,” he said.

    Efforts made to get the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed’s reaction yesterday yielded no result.

    It was speculated that the minister might not want to react to the story because of the calibre of President Buhari’s associates involved.

  • No imbalance in federal appointments —Osinbajo

    No imbalance in federal appointments —Osinbajo

    Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN yesterday said there is no imbalance in federal appointments, stressing that the appointments reflected federal character and quota system.

    He blamed the elite for fuelling ethnic and religious division and tension, urging Nigerians to always elevate merit above the push for quota system.

    Osinbajo, who identified corruption as the greatest problem confronting the country, praised the Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Magu, saying that he is competent.

    He said: “Magu is a highly competent figure. His fight against corruption has been unprecedented. We must insist on merit, which many people don’t believe in. Merit must come before quota.”

    The Vice President also reflected on the conflict between the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, and the Group Managing Director of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, Dr. Baru, saying that Baru followed the guidelines in the discharge of his duties.

    He said: “In the oil and gas sectors, we have the NNPC as our national oil company. Kachikwu was both the Minister of State and NNPC boss at a time. The GMD reports to the minister, who is the President. It is possible that the GMD reports to the President directly.

    “When I was the acting President, I was not the Minister of Petroleum. I could ask Baru to report to the Minister of State. Is it the Board of the NNPC or the NNPC Tenders Board that approves contract? The answer given by the Bureau of Public Procurement was that it was the Tenders Board.

    “There could be conflict between ministries. The only reason it became an issue was that it came to the public. NNPC law says that the president approves the contract that exceeds a certain amount.

    “In the previous law, it could be taken to the Council of Ministers. When it was amended, it is the President that approves and it may not come to the Federal Executive Council.”

    The Vice President spoke in Lagos at a one-day ‘Greater Nigeria Pastors Conference’ organised by the Coalition of Apostolic Leaders,  led  Pastor  Wale

    Adefarasin and Pastor Abayomi Kasali. Its theme was ‘Towards a better Nigeria’.

    Other speakers were the Presiding Bishop of the Redeemed Evangelical Mission, Dr. Mike Okonkwo, and the Director-General of the Institute of National Transformation, Prof. Vincent Aniagbogu.

    Rev. Kasali said the conference underscored the coalition’s passion for the nation and its belief in its destiny, lamenting that some people are peddling falsehood in the social media about Nigeria.

    Urging the priests to distance themselves from the antics of national detractors, he said the church should assist the government in repositioning the country.

    Okonkwo urged Christian leaders to re-evaluate their disposition to politics and public life, adding that they needed a synergy on how to positively influence the system.

    He said: “When politicians come to you (pastors) and they give you money and bags of rice, and they win election, when do they come back to you? They only come back in four years’ time.”

    The cleric raised many questions for Osinbajo to answer. These include the Fulani herdsmen’s violence, imbalance in federal appointments, including appointments of security chiefs, Ibe Kachkwu/Baru tango, conflicts between Magu and the Directorate of State Services (DSS), the return of Abdulrasheed Maina, Pension scam, anti-graft war, Nigeria’s membership of G.8 countries, reaction to IPOB, suspension of Babachir Ali and restructuring.

    Chiding the elite for fueling division in the county, Osinbajo said: “Nigerian elite, whether political, religious or business, think alike. They are driven by the same motivation, which is self-serving. They throw the ethnic card and draft the masses to their battle. But corruption and poverty do not know religion or race. When Yoruba, Igbo, Ijaw men come together to steal money, they don’t argue. They are brothers.

    “Nigeria needs a new tribe for a new Nigeria to emerge. The challenge is how to populate the new tribe.”

    The Vice President noted the concern of Nigerians about the menace of herdsmen, assuring that there would be a permanent solution.

    He said: “What we need to do is to prevent the crisis and thereby prevent its escalation. Some of the men are from outside the country.”

    Osinbajo said the Federal Government has been fair to all states in terms of appointments, maintaining that the so-called imbalance is not true.

    Tendering vital statistics, he added: “The highest appointees are from Ogun, Imo, Kano, Edo and Anambra. Southeast has five states. It has four senior ministers. Where is the imbalance? At a time, there was no service chief from the North, and there were two from the Southeast and nobody argued then.

    “Northern states of Borno, Yobe, Sokoto have no senior minister despite their huge vote for President Muhammadu Buhari in 2015.”

    Osinbajo also disputed the claim that Islamic Bank was part of tactics to Islamise Nigeria, noting that its former director, former Finance Minister Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and her successor, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, are Christians.

    He added: “Does Islamic banking profit us? If it profits us, do it. We don’t even know who are the directors of other commercial banks we patronise.”

    Osinbajo defended the decision of the Federal Government to take loans, saying that the loans were meant to finance the deficit in the budget. He explained that the loans were important for the development of infrastructure for the economy to grow.

  • Key CBN appointments

    Key CBN appointments

    •Much ado about Aisha

    It would appear on close scrutiny that there is really not much, after all, to the suspicions and allegations of irregularities attendant on President Muhammadu Buhari’s recent appointment of Mrs. Aisha Ahmad, a 40-year old investment banker as a Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), pending the confirmation of the Senate. Eyebrows had been raised in particular about the alleged elevation of Mrs. Ahmad to the position of Executive Director (Retail Services) at her previous place of employment, the Diamond Bank, barely 24 hours to her new appointment. Mrs. Ahmad’s seeming accelerated promotion at Diamond Bank, critics argued, was to enhance her qualification and suitability for the post of CBN Deputy Governor.

    This insinuation is obviously far-fetched. Nothing in the CBN Act (2007) indicates that only Executive Directors of banks are eligible for employment in the top hierarchy of the apex bank. The new Deputy-Governor designate has over 20 years local and global experience in investment and retail banking, wealth management and financial advisory. Her academic credentials, which include a Master’s degree in Finance and Management from the Cranfield School of Management, UK, and an MBA degree, Finance, from the University of Lagos, are unassailable. All that the CBN Act requires for qualification as Deputy Governor of the CBN is that appointees “shall be persons of recognised financial experience”. Mrs. Ahmad’s appointment, therefore, does not breach any law.

    However, if a new Bill to amend the CBN Act, which incidentally has scaled through the second reading in the House of Representatives, becomes law, appointments such as that of Mrs. Ahmad will become unlawful at the CBN. The proposed bill, among other provisions, states that “Managing Directors/CEOs and Executive Directors of a bank shall not be eligible to be appointed as Governors/Deputy Governors of CBN until after expiration of five years from their exit from the bank”. We unequivocally support this bill, which aims at limiting the possibility of conflict of interest between the top management of the CBN, tapped from the private sector banks, and the apex bank’s role in regulating and supervising the banks.

    Even when an appointee to the top hierarchy of the CBN is not from the private sector banks as was the case with Professor Charles Soludo from the academia, who was CBN Governor from 2004 – 2009, the candidate can still be susceptible to unhealthy influences by powerful private bank chief executives. Thus, in spite of the reforms and drastic re-capitalisation of the banks undertaken by Soludo to sanitise the sector during his tenure, he was ultimately adjudged as being too cozy with the bank CEOs, a situation that bred regulatory laxity and left the banks not necessarily less fragile and precarious than he met them despite their more solid capital base.

    Professor Soludo’s successor as CBN governor, Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi (2009 – 2014), was appointed from the private sector where he was CEO of First Bank of Nigeria. Sanusi aggressively pursued a policy of fighting fraud, loans of doubtful integrity and shady insider dealings in the banking sector resulting in the CBN sacking at least five bank chief executives and bailing out the affected banks with N400 billion of public funds.

    In spite of Sanusi’s best efforts, he was dogged throughout his tenure by allegations of pursuing a hidden agenda motivated partly by personal vendetta against some of the CEOs who were once his colleagues. Without prejudice to the truth or otherwise of these insinuations, this kind of distracting encumbrance can be avoided if the proposed bill requiring bank managing directors and executive directors to be eligible for CBN top jobs only after five years of relinquishing their former positions is passed into law.

    True, the current CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, appointed from Zenith Bank where he was MD/CEO, has been a restrained systems man wary of rocking the boat. But the proposed new law is not about personalities. It is about strengthening the autonomy and professionalism of the apex bank.

  • Union kicks against appointments in NIMET

    Amalgamated Union of Public Corporations, Civil Service Technical and Recreational Services Employees (AUPCTRE) has condemned recent appointment at the Nigeria Metrological Agency (NIMET), saying they undermine professionalism in the agency.

    The union is demanding a reversal of the appointments made by the Minister of State, Aviation, saying it will not fold its hands and watch strange individuals be impose on the agency.

    In a statement signed by the General Secretary, Yusuf Lekke Zambuk, the union said failure of the government to reverse the appointments may result in a breakdown of the existing industrial harmony in the agency.

    He said the appointment of non- career professionals into key technical and scientific directorate positions in the agency is bound to hinder productivity, professionalism and also demoralise eligible career professionals for their rightful positions within the agency.

    The union, however, calls on the Federal Government as a matter of urgency, to reverse the appointment.

    Zambuk said letters had been written to the Office of the Acting President of the Federation, the Minister of State for Aviation, and the Minister of Labour and Employment in on the matter, but no response had been received.

  • Osinbajo approves appointments for PenCom, BOI, others

    Osinbajo approves appointments for PenCom, BOI, others

    The Acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo at the weekend approved appointments for some Federal Government Parastatals, Agencies and Commissions.
    A statement by Chris C. Okeke on behalf of the Director (Press) Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, said all the appointments take immediate except those that need Senate’s confirmation.
    Alh. Ali Usman is now the Chairman, National Pension Commission, but to be subjected to confirmation by the Senate.
    The new Director-General of National Pension Commission is Mr. Funso Doherty. His appointment is also subject to confirmation by the Senate.
    Mr. Manase Benga is Executive Commissioner, National Pension Commission and requires Senate’s confirmation.
    Zaki Magawata was named as the Executive Commissioner, National Pension Commission. Appointment subject to confirmation by the Senate.
    The Executive Commissioner, National Pension Commission is
    Ben Oviosun, also to be confirmed by the Senate.
    Nyerere Ayim is the Executive Commissioner, National Pension Commission. Appointment to be subjected to Senate’s confirmation.
    Dikko Aliyu AbdulRahman is the Chairman, Governing Board of the Bank of Industry (BoI).
    The Managing Director, Bank of Industry (BoI) is Mr. Olukayode Pitan, while Mr. Emeka Nwakpa is the Chairman, Governing Board of the Consumer Protection Council.

  • DSS’ skewed appointments

    DSS’ skewed appointments

    •Federal Character Commission and National Assembly should right the wrongs

    The recent lopsided recruitment by the Department of State Security (DSS) unfortunately mirrors similar skewed appointments made by the government of President Muhammadu Buhari since its inception. According to media reports, in the recent recruitment by the DSS, Katsina State got 51 new cadets, whereas all the states in the south-south got 42 slots. Out of that, Rivers State got seven, Delta (eight), Edo (six), Cross River (nine), Bayelsa (seven) and Akwa Ibom, five.

    The distribution among the other states as reported are Anambra 10; Bauchi (23), Bayelsa (seven), Benue (nine), Borno (16), Cross River (nine), Delta (eight), Ebonyi (seven), Edo (six), and Ekiti 12. Others are Enugu (nine), FCT (seven), Gombe (14), Imo (11), Jigawa (14), Kaduna (24), Kano (25), Katsina (51), Kebbi (16) and Kogi (11). Kwara had 13, Lagos (seven), Nasarawa (11), Niger (11), Ogun (eight), Ondo (nine), Osun (10), Oyo (11), Plateau (nine), Rivers (seven), Sokoto (15), Taraba (16), Yobe (12) and Zamfara (20). If the reports are correct, then the DSS has flagrantly violated section 14(3) of the 1999 constitution, as amended.

    The section provides: “the composition of the government of the federation or any of its agencies and the conduct of its affairs shall be carried out in such manner as to reflect the federal character of Nigeria and the need to promote national unity, and also to command national loyalty, thereby ensuring that there shall be no predominance of persons from a few states or from a few ethnic or other sectional groups in that government or any of its agencies.”

    If the executive arm of the government is diffident in correcting the explicit abuse of office implicit in the lopsided appointments, then the National Assembly owes their electors the responsibility to relieve the executive of the guilty pang. But why should the presidency, despite its own challenges, not call the DSS to order? Whereas the president was excused for appointing his closest aides from a particular region, there can be no excuse for appointing the country’s secret police in a manner that will promote national disunity or encourage disloyalty.

    The Director-General of the DSS, Lawal Musa Daura, hails from Katsina State, but in our view, the love for his state is not enough reason to give more than 10% of the entire recruitment opportunities available to his home state, and more than two-thirds to the region he comes from. To do as reported exposes the DSS boss to a fair charge of nepotism and tribalism. If, however ,he cannot control himself, then the Federal Character Commission (FCC), empowered by the 1999 constitution to stop such abuse of office, should stop him.

    Paragraph 8(1)(b) of Part 1 of the Third Schedule of the constitution provides: “In giving effect to the provision of section 14(3) and (4) of this constitution, the commission shall have power to: promote, monitor and enforce compliance with the principles of proportional sharing of all bureaucratic, economic, media and political posts at all levels.” Also, the commission is empowered by section 4(1)(g)(i) of the Federal Character Commission (Establishment etc.) Act 2004, to: “ensure that all ministries and extra-ministerial departments, agencies and other bodies affected by this act have clear criteria indicating the conditions to be fulfilled and comprehensive guidelines on the procedure for determining eligibility and the procedure for employment in the public and private sectors of the economy”.

    If the FCC fails to stop the DSS, then the National Assembly can ensure obedience to the rule of law in the recruitment exercise, through its constitutional power of oversight. On its own, the DSS can retrace its step, even as we urge the civil society to be on the watch.