Buhari in sacking spree

President Muhammadu Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari, on Monday February 15, sacked the chief executive officers of 26 government parastatals, agencies and commissions in one fell swoop.

A statement signed by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Engr. Babachir David Lawal, said the President approved that the most senior officers in the affected organizations should oversee activities pending the appointment of substantive CEOs.

The government agencies affected are Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN), Voice of Nigeria (VON) and the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

Others are the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF), New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF), and Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB).

Also affected are Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN), Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Petroleum Equalization Fund (PEF) and Nigeria Railways Corporation (NRC).

The Bureau of Public Procurements (BPP), Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA), Standard Organization of Nigeria (SON), National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Nigeria Investment Promotion Council (NIPC), Bank of Industry (BoI), National Centre for Women Development (NCWD), National Orientation Agency (NOA), Industrial Training Fund (ITF), Nigerian Export-Import Bank (NEXIM) and National Agency for Prohibition of Traffic In Persons and Other Related Matters (NAPTIP).

Two days earlier, on February 13, all hell was let loose when the Government announced the disengagement of 13 vice-chancellors appointed by former President Goodluck Jonathan for the federal universities set up by his administration.

In a statement issued by the Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu, amongst those sacked was Professor Vincent Tenebe, the vice-chancellor of the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN).

The Coalition of Civil Society Groups (CCSG) condemned the mass purge. The organization said the action may have violated the rules guiding appointments of vice-chancellors and their tenure.

In a petition to President Buhari signed by its President, Etuk Bassey Williams and Secretary-General, Ibrahim Abubakar, the CCSG said that four out of the 12 appointed VCs are from Kano University. This action, they said, was a violation of the federal character principle.

“We are compelled to call your attention owing to the illegality in the removal of vice chancellors of 13 Federal Universities including the National Open University of Nigeria and the hasty appointment of friends and cronies in place of those illegally removed from office.

“The constitution is quite clear on the procedures to be followed in the appointment and disengagement of vice chancellors and none of these procedures were followed in the above case,” it stated.

Buhari came with the promise to weed out corruption and make it unattractive, especially for government officials. Cleaning the Augean stable was always going to be an arduous task and the oxen of many would be gored. The toes of some would not just be stepped on but crushed – or even amputated.

The President has shown that he is not afraid to take tough decisions. Obviously, some will not go down well with some people but he has set his mind to weed out corruption so it is no longer a way of life.

Just before the swearing in of new ministers the President relieved 17 permanent secretaries of their duty last November. This came as a minor shock because he had earlier referred to ministers as noisemakers while saying that the real work in the ministries was done by civil servants.

The president personally communicated the development to the permanent secretaries in a closed-door meeting he held with them at the presidential villa. Most of those affected were those senior to the acting Head of Service, Mrs. Winifred Ekanem Oyo-Ita.

However, Yahaya Gusau, who was appointed in August 2015 as the director-general of the Budget Office was relieved of his duties on February 15. He is believed to have failed to carry out due diligence in preparing the government’s first budget presented to the National Assembly late December.

The budget, which was strewn with errors, has been the butt of jokes and a major source of embarrassment for the government, with calls from several quarters that it should be withdrawn.

The Federal Government has appointed Mr. Tijjani Mohammed Abdullahi to replace Gusau.

Other government agencies that saw sweeping changes were the Assets Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) and the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC). President Buhari appointed Ahmed Lawan Kuru as the new Managing Director of the AMCON to replace Mustafa Chike-Obi while Mrs. Ibim Seminitari took over from Bassey Dan Abia as chairman of the NDDC.

Then the President’s hurricane switched back to the civil service and some top officials were dismissed for extorting money from 400 applicants and offering them employment illegally.

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said the affected officers were on Grade Level 17 in one of the parastatals in his ministry.

“They sent out letters and text messages asking people to apply for jobs for a fee of N400,000 and they were given letters of employment,” he said.

“They did not stop there. They invited these people to go and be captured on the Integrated Payroll and Personnel System (IPPIS) and they even took cameras to hotels to get them captured. At the end of the day the bubble burst.”

Close aides of the president say the purge may continue. Some analysts are of the opinion that Buhari may soon turn his searchlight on the judiciary, which he has accused of impeding his anti-corruption moves. If that happens, some judges are bound to go.

Now it is time for everyone to brace themselves.