The federal government of Nigeria has denied setting up a panel to reconstitute boards of parastatals.
The denial was made in a statement on Sunday from the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), George Akume in reaction to a report from a section of the media.
The statement signed by a director of information, Willie Bassey said there is no truth in claims that the government has set up an ad-hoc committee as alleged to review the resumes of individuals who would fill such board appointments.
It added that the visit of the former Governors of Kebbi State, Atiku Bagudu, and Jigawa State, Abubakar Badaru to the office of the SGF on Friday was about their recent ministerial appointments and not about the purported ad-hoc committee.
The full statement reads: “The attention of the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF), has been drawn to the publication in the Sunday Punch on Page 6 which reads: ‘FG sets up Panel to Reconstitute Boards of Parastatals’.
“The Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Sen. George Akume, CON, wishes to state clearly that there is no truth in the story as published in the Sunday Punch neither has the government set up any ad-hoc committee as alleged to review the resumes of individuals who would fill such board appointments as stated in the said publication.
“The visit of the two former Governors of Kebbi State, Atiku Bagudu and Jigawa State, Abubakar Badaru, to his office on Friday had nothing to do with such adhoc committee. It has everything to do with their recent appointment as ministers.
“Also, the reporter inaccurately quoted the Spokesperson of the OSGF as indicating that 14 agencies were stipulated to have been exempted. Whereas, the release in question at the time only received the President’s approval for two agencies National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and the National Agency for Food, Drug Administration & Control (NAFDAC).
“In order to avoid inaccurate reporting, SGF admonishes media personnel to always cross-check information directly from authorized persons in his office rather than depending on some social media reports which may be inaccurate.”
