The recent dissolution of boards of agencies, parastatals by President Muhammadu Buhari has seen the loss of jobs of prominent politicians, writes DGossip247
For several Nigerians and even a few members of the international community, President Muhammadu Buahri appears presently to be too slow. In fact, this is unlike what they projected. There has been varying comments on this slow approach to governance. Analysts believe too that this no doubt is affecting the prosecution of the war against extremist group, Boko Haram, in the North-East as well as the expected bite in the promised war against corruption. But the president’s recent decisions seems to be receiving knocks already, particularly from the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which interprets them as a deliberate step to embarrass ‘Jonathan’s men’ and all those who in one way or the other are loyal and have served in the immediate past government but to keep them out of job.
One of the decisions by President Buhari which the opposition sees as such, is the recall of all non-career diplomats. Although the news first broke through unofficial sources, the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed later that government recalled all noncareer Ambassadors Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary on tour of duty abroad.
The Foreign Affairs Ministry in a statement explained that the recall was in line with routine movement in the service. “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs wishes to reconfirm the recall of Non-Career Ambassadors Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Federal Republic on tour of duty abroad,” it said. Would those affected have been holding such portfolios on patronage basis? This is one question that craves for answers.
Prominent among them is the Nigerian envoy to Canada, Chief Ojo Maduekwe, who was National Secretary of the PDP. Maduekwe was appointed Foreign Affairs Minister on July 26, 2007 by late President Umaru Yar’Adua but left office in March 2010 when as Acting President then, former President Goodluck Jonathan dissolved his cabinet. He was among 93 others appointed on June 12, 2012 by Jonathan to serve as Ambassador and High Commissioners. Also recalled alongside with Maduekwe is the Nigerian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Dr. Dalhatu Tafida. He was the Director-General of the Goodluck Jonathan Campaign Organisation in the 2011 presidential election.
Others are a former Aviation Minister, Mrs. Fidelia Njeze (Switzerland); ex-General Manager, Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), Ibadan, Mr. Yemi Farounbi (Philippines); a one-time governorship aspirant in Lagos State, Mr. Olatokunbo Kamson (Jamaica) and a PDP chieftain in Ondo State, Mr. Cornelius Oluwateru who served in the United Arab Emirate (UAE).
That is not all, the recalled envoys also include Alhaji Abubakar Shehu Bunu (Saudi Arabia); a former Commissioner for Justice and Attorney General in Benue State, Mr. Chive Kaave (Argentina); a former financial secretary of the PDP, Alhaji Tukur Mani (Iran) and former permanent secretary, Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), Biodun Nathaniel Olorunfemi (Namibia) and Prof. Ade Adefuye (USA). As confirmed by the foreign affairs ministry, the list also include, widow of the late Ikemba Nnewi, Chief Emeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, Bianca (Spain); Chief Asam Asam (Russia), Mr. Okwudili Nwosu (Burundi,Mr. Okeke Chukwuemeka (Vatican), Mr. Eric Aworahbi (Italy), Dauda Danladi (Pakistan), Mrs. Katherine Okon (Czeck Republic), Mr. Nwofe Alexander, Princess Victoria Onipede (Republic of Congo), Senator Haruna Garba (Kuwait), Mrs. Nonye Rajis-Okpara (Singapore), Chief Eddy Onuoha (Hungary), Mr. Adamu Babangida Ibrahim (Syria) and Dr. Sam Jimba (Poland).
Acceptable as the fears that President Buhari may have begun a manhunt of Jonathan’s men for their misdeeds could be, the actions by the present administration to withdraw the diplomats is far from it. The All Progressives Congress (APC) government need to also create some job space for its men. Interestingly too, as then Presidentelect, Buhari, while receiving his Certificate of Return from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) extended a hand of conciliation to former President Jonathan after a rancorous presidential election, with an assurance that he has “nothing to fear” after losing power. Despite this, in doing the job, certain anomalies as the president’s put it, need to be corrected.
This is also the reason why President Buhari decided to dissolve boards of parastatals, agencies and institutions where the immediate past government made last-minute appointments. Those heading most of these organisations are friends, associates and stalwarts of the PDP.
They are therefore the very hit by the dissolution hammer of the new government. Among them is the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) where the former president appointed ex-Governor of Anambra State, Mr. Peter Obi, as chairman The decision for the dissolution will also affect the board of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) where the former President also appointed Mallam Habib Andullahi, son of late Emir of Kano as its managing director. Chief Tony Anenih, former chairman, Board of Trustees (BoT) of the PDP serves on the board as the chairman.
Anenih was appointed chairman of the board in 2012 by former President Jonathan. The NPA is considered one of the most lucrative agencies outside of the oil and gas industry. It has also served as agency of choice for PDP leaders since 1999. A former Deputy National Chairman of the party, Bode George, once held the position.
The dissolution order may also affect the Petroleum Equalisation Fund (PEF). Before he left office on May 29, former President Jonathan appointed one of his ministers, Mrs. Asabe Ahmed as the Executive Secretary of PEF. Former President Jonathan had also in 2013 appointed about 67 chairmen of boards of parastatals and agencies.
The members of these boards are also not spared in the presidential directive. While announcing the appointments, Senator Anyim Pius Anyim, then Secretary to the Government of the Federation said that under agencies, the National Boundaries Commission would be headed by Yunusa Dangwani as Chairman and the Nigerian Shippers Council has a retired Military General, Salihu Ibrahim as Chairman.
The National Youth Service Corps has Gordon Bozimo as Chairman while Nigerian Television Authority has Patrick Ogbu as its Chairman. The Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC) was chaired by Senator Walid Jibrin, the Secretary of the PDP BoT, while the National Lottery Regulation Commission’s board was headed by Damian Dodo, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria.
The Maritime Academy of Nigeria, Oron, has Mike Abiotomere as its Chairman. The Board of the National Educational Research and Development Council had Stephen Dike as Chairman while the National Teacher’s Institute was headed by former Jigawa Governor, Ali Sa’ad Birnin Kudu, as head. The National Veterinary Research Institute, Vom, had Isaac Edoja as its Chairman and the National Agric Extension and Research Liaison had Moses Ngbale as Chairman. Charles Ogwu was appointed the Chairman of the Agricultural Research and Training Institute while the Institute for Agricultural Research, Samaru – Zaria had Kashim Mukhtar Alkali as Chairman.
The Federal Institute for Industrial Research, Oshodi-Lagos has Alex Obi as Chairman and Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria has Ngozi Enyioma as its Chairman. The Nigerian College of Aviation Technology, Zaria, has Mohammed Sadiq as Chairman. Former Minister of Transport, Chief Ebenezer Babatope, was also affected. He chaired the Board of Yabatech. Now that vacancies have been creates in all these organisations, President Buhari is likely to soon make new appointments in this regard.
Unlike the existing tradition where membership of boards had been a system for settling political jobbers, Nigerians expect that President Buhari would appoint only men with proven integrity to head these agencies and institutions at that level. Since the role of a board is to monitor a corporation’s managers while acting as an advocate for stockholders, members of a board ordinarily should work towards ensuring efficiency in the policy decisions of the organisations they head and not seeing them as avenues for personal aggrandisement. This is what the present administration should be looking out for if it must succeed in the fight against corruption to grow the economy.
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