Pressure from state governors to ensure that their candidates are appointed into boards of federal government parastatals is largely responsible for the failure to constitute the boards one year after they were dissolved, a source close to the committee responsible for constituting the boards has said.
Daily Trust investigation reveals that the delay in constituting the boards and replacement of heads of agencies whose tenures have expired is taking a toll on the operations of such government institutions as due processes are allegedly circumvented. President Goodluck Jonathan dissolved the boards in October last year and inaugurated a committee led by Vice President Namadi Sambo to work on the composition of new boards but many intrigues including, and more potently, pressure from PDP governors have delayed the process.
A source who pleaded for anonymity, told Daily Trust that the delay was to enable the committee do a thorough job in order not to appoint wrong people. He confirmed there were a lot of other intrigues but said the committee will release names of the board members very soon.
"I want to confirm to you that the committee is meeting. You see with assignment like this the committee must be very careful because of many interests. Some of the candidates are not party members and some have decamped to other parties. So, the committee has to do a thorough job to avoid making avoidable mistakes," the source said.
Another source from a non PDP controlled state also told Daily Trust that PDP governors have 'cornered' chairmanship of what he described as grade A boards, leaving grade C boards to states which the party was unable to form government.
Meanwhile, Daily Trust investigation reveals that the delay in reconstituting the boards has unsettled members of the PDP. Over the years, board appointments have been used to compensate political allies of the powers that be in the party and those who lost elections or lost presidential or governorship nominations of the party.
This year, the list of potential board chairmen and members also include those who were compelled to step down for national chairman of the PDP Bamanga Tukur during the party's convention early in the year.
Daily Trust checks revealed that acting heads are superintending over the affairs of five of federal government parastatals, as the president is yet to make up his mind on who to appoint as their substantive heads.
They are the Federal Inland Revenue Services (FIRS), Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), Nigeria Television Authority (NTA) and Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN).
Apart from TCN, all others have operated for months with acting chief executives, with the acting position of some of them exceeding the mandatory six months.
Our correspondents learnt that some of the organisations have been subjected to intrigues and office politics as lobbyists, both within and outside the organisations, fight to fill the vacancies with their candidates.
At the moment, FIRS is currently headed by Alhaji Kabir M. Mashi as acting chairman, following the retirement of Mrs. Ifueko Omoigui-Okauru in April, in line with the FIRS Act 2007. SEC, where the embattled Director General, Ms. Arunma Oteh, is battling the National Assembly that is demanding her removal, also functions at the moment without its three executive commissioners as well as a board of directors.
Since June when the tenure of three executive commissioners, Mrs. Daisy Ekineh, Charles Udora and Alhaji Sanni Store, elapsed replacements have not been appointed by the Federal Government.
This is also the case in SEC's board of directors, which became vacant in June when the tenure of the last members expired.
In the education sector, the story is similar as the first tenure of TETFund Executive Secretary, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, expired on August 24, just like that of his counterpart in UBEC, Dr. Mohammed Ahmed Modibbo.
The two men were replaced by Mallam Aliyu Nayya (TETFund) and Prof. Charles Onocha (UBEC) in acting capacities. Until their interim appointments, the two officials were substantive directors in their respective parastatals.
Also, Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) has been without a board since 2011 when the tenure of the Dr. Ahmadu Ali-led board expired.
The Transmission Company of Nigeria has also been operating without a supervisory board and substantive CEO since the signing of a management contract with Canadian firm Manitoba Hydro International in September, as Manitoba has not been allowed to fully take over TCN.
Daily Trust
at least more light has been thrown
Quote from: Shola Sholaz on Nov 02, 2012, 07:42 AM
at least more light has been thrown
I now understand the reason behind it