A transparency group, the League of Nigerian Democrats (LND), has called on President Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator George Akume, to direct the management of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), the North East Development Commission (NEDC) and others reluctant to obey the president’s directive on board dissolution to immediately obey the directive, and hand over to the most qualified civil servant director in line with their hierarchy of seniority.
According to the group, this director will automatically become the Chief Executive Officer who will refer matters requiring the attention of their boards to the president, through the Permanent Secretaries of their respective supervisory ministries and offices.
The group said the dissolved board members and chief executive officers were all appointed and screened by the National Assembly as members of the same board, and on the same platform reconstituting the governing board in their respective agencies, therefore the president’s directive is clearly referring to the most qualified civil servant director who automatically becomes the Chief Executive Officer that will refer matters requiring the attention of their boards to the president, through the permanent secretaries of their respective supervisory ministries and offices.
The group stated that the dissolved Chief Executive Officers in these agencies and MDAs such as the NDDC, NEDC, and others that are reluctant to obey the presidential directive are part of the agencies accused of embarking on over N200 billion looting spree in the last three days.
“The president’s directive is very clear,” “President Bola Tinubu has approved the immediate dissolution of the governing boards of all federal government parastatals, agencies, institutions, and government-owned companies across the country.” The dissolved Chief Executive Officers in these agencies and MDAs were all members of the dissolved governing boards.
The National Coordinator of the group, Barr. Yomi Adelakun, who had earlier on Monday raised alarm over the alleged looting spree embarked upon by officials of the ministries, departments and agencies following last week announcement by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for the freezing of accounts and possible dissolution of the boards, said the claim by the management of the NDDC that they were exempted is a clear show of disrespect and affront to the President Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s directives.
Adelakun and the LND had in an earlier statement claimed that despite the last week directive of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, there has been a clandestine looting spree and illegal payment of fraudulent contracts by some ministries, interventionist agencies and parastatals and the country may have lost over N200 billion in the last few days.
He claimed that some of the illegal payments and withdrawals were done over the weekend with the connivance of some senior bank officials.
Adelakun, said though the group in collaboration with some transparency groups in Lagos, Port Harcourt, and two northern states, including the Federal Capital territory, Abuja, are collating facts and figures for a formal petition to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
According to Adelakun, “the group received the announcement made by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu with mixed feelings as it prepared these looters to embark on looting spree despite the presidential order for the freezing of MDAs’ accounts.
“We are also worried that the looting spree, which is done under the cover of quick payments of outstanding contracts, is a clear case of theft. The NDDC, the North-East Development Commission, the CBN and others have been fingered in these unholy transactions even during the weekends. Some of their finance department staff were placed in hotels over the weekend to process alleged fraudulent payments.”
“We also have it on good authority that the looters and their sponsors are seeking desperate ways to avoid being dissolved. They have device means to lobby the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), the Chief of Staff to the President, and even the son of the President with millions of dollars to provide cover and ensure their boards are exempted from being dissolved.”
“We, however, want to call on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to immediately dissolve these MDAs and Agencies to halt the secret looting and save the country from unimaginable loss.”
