THE Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) and Transparency International (Nigeria) have expressed shock and disappointment on the choice of the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Mr. Abel Olumuyiwa Enitan, to superintend the affairs of the ministry, following the suspension of the embattled Minister, Betta Edu.
CISLAC insisted that it is not acceptable that Enitan, the accounting officer of the ministry involved in such scandal, should be allowed to supervise the ministry while investigation is currently going on in the scandal that led to the minister’s suspension.
The group, in a statement by its Executive Director and Head of Transparency International in Nigeria, Auwal Ibrahim Musa (Rafsanjani), said: “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.
“There is no evidence that the permanent secretary 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.”
He added: “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 innocence is proven. Instead, they are promoted to sensitive positions, where the ongoing investigation could easily be hampered or sabotaged.
“Appointment of Enitan to head the ministry will certainly undermine the credibility and respect accorded the current administration. We call on President Bola Ahmed 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 occupy such a sensitive position, pending the conclusion of the ongoing investigation and scrutiny of the ministry by anti-corruption agencies.
“We also call 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.”
In a related development, groups, aegis of Concerned Nigerians, have joined the call for the immediate suspension Enitan over the alleged fraudulent activities committed under his watch.
The Convener, Mr. Deji Adeyanju, insisted that the permanent secretary was also involved in the scandal and should be put incharge of the ministry, adding that almost all ministers under the Tinubu administration transferred money into private accounts and breached civil service laws, but regretted that only Edu was caught.
While calling on the EFCC to investigate all ministries and not just Humanitarian alone, Adeyanju said: “As we all know, the permanent secretary is not only the highest ranking civil servant in the ministry, but is also the chief financier officer of the ministry.
“In fact, the permanent secretary is the engine room of every ministry. While politicians come and go, the permanent secretary is always there until he or she resigns.
“It is, therefore, highly unlikely that the permanent secretary of the ministry was unaware of the corrupt practices that was going on in that ministry. The permanent secretary ranks only next to the minister. How were these monies moved to private accounts without the knowledge of the permanent secretary?
“Whose duty was it to bring the minister abreast with the various civil service rules aimed at prohibiting corrupt practices? Can the permanent secretary truly deny knowledge of the sleaze that went down in that ministry or is it a case of several person dipping their hands into the public purse, but only the person who was caught is called the thief?
“It is in the light of the foregoing that the decision by Mr. President to hand over the running of the ministry to the permanent secretary is, in my opinion, ill advised.
“For a holistic investigation to be carried out in that ministry, as directed by Mr. President, the permanent secretary and all the directors must equally be suspended to determine their culpability, if any, in what has become a national embarrassment.
“The president is, therefore, urged to hand over the affairs of the ministry to any other permanent secretary in any other ministry, but not the present permanent secretary of the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs.
“From my findings on this matter, all minister under the Tinubu government transferred monies into private accounts on the advice of civil servants, mostly the permanent secretaries of their ministries.
“I have also come to find out that these civil servants deliberately get politicians and political appointees to contravene civil service laws, so as to have something over their heads in order to perpetrate corruption unchallenged. The EFCC must investigate all ministries and not just Humanitarian alone.
“Justice must not only be done in this case, but it must also be seen to be done.”
