The Federal
Secretariat was today thrown into pandemonium as the staff of the Code of
Conduct Bureau (CCB) staged a protest against the plan to reinstate a former
and
retired Acting Secretary, Folashade Kolawole, as the substantive secretary
of the CCB.
The
protesters, carrying placards, vowed to resist any attempt by the embattled
former acting secretary to stage a comeback, adding that she connived with some
people at the office of the Secretary to the Government of Federation (SGF)
with a letter asking the CCB to reinstate her.
It was
gathered that the Permanent Secretary General Service in the Office of
Secretary to the Government of Federation, R.P Ugo, signed a letter directing
the CCB to reinstate her as secretary of the CCB.
The board
had suspended her in April 2017 over a misdemeanor and non-implementation of
the Standard Operation Procedure (SOP).
Sources
within the CCB revealed that Mrs. Kolawole refused to implement the SOP, which
was sent from the Presidency, because she sensed that the guideline would not
benefit her and there would be no space for the position of the secretary in
the new guidelines.
The
situation forced her to tender her voluntary retirement letter from the
service, which was dated 12th April 2017. The letter was said to have been
handed over to the Chairman of the Board, Sam Saba, who acknowledged receipt of
the letter.
Quoting from
her letter of voluntary retirement: “This is to most graciously notify you of
my voluntary retirement from the services of Code of Conduct Bureau with effect
from 12th July 2017, having served the Bureau for thirty-two years and four
months at various levels up to my current position of Acting Secretary, CCB.”
Mr. Saba,
having completed his tenure, handed the position over to Agom-Tor Ngusha, who
is also in acting capacity.
It was gathered
that Mrs. Kolawole stormed the office on Wednesday with a squad of gun totting
policemen, asking the acting secretary to hand over to her a letter she
purportedly secured from the office of the SGF directing the CCB to reinstate
her.
The visibly
angry workers who refused to report to their various offices are prepared to
confront Mrs. Kolawole, who they have accused of high handedness and corruption
while she was in office.
Addressing
journalists, the Chairman of the Association of Senior Staff of Nigeria, Onoja
Isaac, said that the union embarked on the protest to reject the directive
asking the CCB to reinstate the former and retired secretary. He noted that
Mrs. Folashade lacks the competence to lead the CCB as secretary, noting that
her tenure as acting secretary was characterized with turmoil and
insubordination to the constituted authority.
“For the
avoidance of doubt, Mrs. Kolawole refused to serve her suspension and instead
voluntarily retired from the service, a decision the board accepted, and she
has been paid all entitlements from the Bureau,” he stated.
SaharaReporters
obtained a letter of voluntary retirement from the service written on her
personal letterhead paper, a payment voucher detailing the payment of her
severance allowances, retirement benefits, and an internal memo from the
chairman of the board approving her voluntary retirement.
When
SaharaReporters called Mrs. Kolawole for comment on the matter, she said that
she is a civil servant and the rules did not allow her to speak to the press.
A source who
pleaded anonymity at the Office of the Secretary to the Government of
Federation confirmed that the letter emanated from the SGF office and was
signed by the permanent secretary of General Service. He declined to comment further on the matter.
The new
board members are awaiting the screening and confirmation by the Senate.
The CCB is a
parastatal under the SGF office and has been enmeshed in a leadership crisis.
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