The Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC)/Transparency International in Nigeria has kicked against the presidential directives asking the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation Abel Olumuyiwa Enitan to oversee the affairs of the ministry following the suspension of Beta Edu, its minister.
President Bola Tinubu had on Monday suspended Edu, following a memo that surfaced indicating that she asked the Accountant-General of the federation, Oluwatoyin Madein, to transfer the sum of N585 million to a private account.
The President directed the suspended minister to hand over to the Permanent Secretary.
However, in a statement on Thursday in Abuja, Auwal Ibrahim Musa (Rafsanjani), Executive Director of CISLAC, insisted that the permanent secretary, who is the accounting officer of the ministry involved in the scandal, should not be allowed to supervise the ministry.
The statement urged the President to immediately rescind such decision, noting that the permanent secretary ought to be among others under investigations .
“The Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC)/Transparency International in Nigeria received with utter disappointment, the appointment of the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Abel Olumuyiwa Enitan to run the ministry”, the statement reads.
“It is not acceptable that Mr Enitan, the accounting officer of the ministry involved in such scandal should be allowed to supervise the ministry.
“This action will compromise the investigation and is an insult to the intelligence of the public, at best.
“The impression to right thinking people is that the government is planning a river of the heist and abuse of public trust.
“By our extant regulations and laws, the Permanent Secretary is the accounting officer who should have been suspended along with the Minister.
Ministers work on recommendations of civil servants led by the Permanent Secretary.”
The statement maintained further that, “There is no evidence that the Permanent did not participate in the matters being investigated.
“In any case, the Permanent Secretary did not object to what happened and should be a subject of investigations.
“We are seriously perturbed that top officers who are connected with approvals and sanctions of financial and procurement process within the Ministry like the Permanent Secretary are yet to be suspended or subjected to thorough investigation till their innocent is proven; instead they are promoted to sensitive positions, where the ongoing investigation could easily be hampered or sabotaged.
Rafsanjani said, “The appointment of Enitan to head the Ministry will certainly undermine the credibility and respect accorded the current administration.”
CISLAC called on President Tinubu, “to as a matter of urgency, rescind his decision to appoint the Permanent Secretary and other persons who should as well be under serious investigation to occuppy such a sensitive position, pending the conclusion of the ongoing investigation and scrutiny of the Ministry by anti-corruption agencies.”
The statement further called on the President “to consider persons with integrity, track record and free of corruption background in future appointments to demonstrate the readiness for good governance in Nigeria. “
“We further call on Civil Society, media and other well-meaning Nigerians to remain vigilant and reject unjustified or secluded appointments, to ensure inclusive reform that will enhance transparency and accountability in governance”, the statement added.
