Govt may sack chief executives of parastatals as it sets up committee to reconstitute boards

A week after President Muhammadu Buhari  inaugurated his cabinet, indications have emerged that the Federal Government is set to constitute new committees of all federal boards, a development analysts tell BusinessDay in Abuja could signal the removal of a significant number of chief executives of federal parastatals.

It is learnt that those to be affected are those whose tenure are expiring and those appointed in the twilight of the Jonathan administration.

It would be recalled the ex-president Goodluck Jonathan appointed some director-generals and chief executives few weeks before the May 29 handover date. A reliable source at the National Secretariat of the ruling- All Progressives Congress (APC) told BusinessDay that the president had set up a committee that was being chaired by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Babachir David Lawal, to oversee the composition of over 350 federal boards.

Though the source was not too certain about the fate of the heads of the institutions, informed

Presidency sources noted that “it is almost given that the new boards would not work with the chief executives appointed by the past administration”, adding” who will there be loyal to? The source further informed that names of 50 ‘competent’ individuals

from each states of the federation are currently being collated for screening and subsequent approval by the president before the end of the year for appointment as board members.

“The committee has begun work by asking for submission of 50 names from all states of the federation and we expect to come out with the names of those that we make all the existing federal boards hopefully by December.” 

Aside the SGF, other members of the committee are Akinyelure Pius Oloye (APC), Vice Chairman (South-West), Inuwa Abdulkadir (APC), Vice Chairman (North West), Zakari Abdullahi Ede (APC) Vice Chairman (North Central), Emmanuel Eneukwu  (APC) National Vice

Chairman (South East), Illiad Atagbo, (APC National Vice Chairman South-South), while the party’s National Secretary, Mai Mala Buni was chosen as member of the committee representing North East.

When asked on the criteria the committee will be considering for potential members of the board, the source said “party faithful who had at one time or the other served in various committees like election primaries, screening and the rest will be first considered before anyone”.

Others who would also be screened by the committee according to BusinessDay source are former senators and federal House of Representatives members and host of other party members who lost out in the general elections.

BusinessDay further gathered that intense lobbying amongst members of the APC has begun with hope of securing what another source described as ‘lofty’ boards.

It would be recalled that President Muhammadu Buhari had on July 16,2015 approved the dissolution of the Governing Boards of Federal Parastatals, Agencies and Institutions where he stated specifically that the dissolution does not affect Federal Executive Bodies listed in the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Federal Executive Bodies as contained in section 153 of the 1999 are the Code of Conduct Bureau, Council of State, Federal Character Commission, Federal Civil Service Commission, Federal Judicial Service Commission, Independent National Electoral Commission and National Defence Council. Others are: National Economic Council, National Judicial Council,National Population Commission, National Security Council, Nigeria Police Council, Police Service Commission and Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission.

KEHINDE ABDULSALAM