THE House of Representatives on Thursday appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to reinstate the suspended Managing Director, Chief Executive, Mr Adebayo Somefun, and other top management staff of the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) and ensure that due process is observed in line with the provisions of the NSITF Act and a breach of presidential directives.
The Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige, on July 2, 2020, suspended the officers on allegations of financial infractions and violation of procurement procedures. According to him, the suspended officers allegedly lavished N3.4 billion on “non-existent” staff training split into about 196 different consultancy contracts in order to evade the Ministerial Tenders Board and Federal Executive Council approvals.
The management, led by Mr Somefun, not only denied the allegations but had initially dismissed the suspension stating that the minister lacks the power to do so.
Dr Ngige however insisted that he acted within presidential directives on the suspension and went ahead to empanel an investigative audit panel chaired by Comrade Ibrahim Khaleel, a representative of the Nigeria Labour Congress and Chairman of the Audit Committee of the Governing Board of NSITF.
The House, while adopting the report of the Ad-hoc Committee on the Need to Investigate the Arbitrary Breach of Presidential Directives on the Suspension of Top Management and Executive Committee Members of Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF), at the plenary on Thursday, faulted the suspension saying it is a breach of presidential directive contained in a circular from the SGF with reference no: SGF/OP/1.5.3/7/163, dated 19th May, 2020, entitled: “Approved Disciplinary Procedure Against Chief Executive Officers of Federal Government Parastatals, Agency and Departments.”
Hon. Miriam Onuoha, while presenting the report, also urged the Minister of Power to review disciplinary action against the Chief Executives of the Nigeria Bulk Electricity Trading (NBET) and the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN).
The suspension came slightly over a month after the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) restrained cabinet ministers from removing heads of agencies and parastatals they supervise; a basis on which the lawmakers set up the ad-hoc committee to investigate the flouting of the directive by ministers.
Those suspended by Dr Ngige, apart from the MD/CE, include Kemi Nelson – Executive Director (Operations); Tijani Suleiman-Darazo – Executive Director (Admin); Jasper Azuatalam – Executive Director, and Olumide Olusegun Bashorun – General Manager (Admin).
Others are Lawan Tahir – General Manager (Finance); Chris Esedebe – General Manager (Claims); Oludotun Adegbite – Deputy General Manager (investment); Emmanuel Sike-Enyinnaya – Deputy General Manager (Finance); Dorothy Tukura – Deputy General Manager (Training); Olutoyin Arokoyo – Deputy General Manager (Legal); Victoria Anyatuga – Asst. General Manager (Audits); and Abdul-Rasheed Lawal – Deputy Director (Procurement).
It is not clear as at the time of filing this report of the President Buhari will reinstate the suspended officials as the resolution of the House only has moral force and not binding on the President.
