Buhari suspends SGF, DG NIA
President Muhammadu Buhari has suspended the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) Mr David Babachir Lawal over allegations of award of contracts under the Presidential Initiative on the North-East (PINE).
The President has also directed the suspension of the Director General of the NIA, Ambassador Ayo Oke.
President Buhari, in a statement signed by his Special Adviser on media and publicity, Femi Adesina Wednesday directed that Lawal will remain suspended pending the outcome of the investigation which bothers on alleged violations of law and due process made against the SGF in the award of the contracts.
In a related development, the President has ordered a full-scale investigation into the discovery of large amounts of foreign and local currencies by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in a residential apartment at Osborne Towers, Ikoyi, Lagos, over which the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) has made a claim.
The investigation is also to enquire into the circumstances in which the NIA came into possession of the funds, how and by whose or which authority the funds were made available to the NIA, and to establish whether or not there has been a breach of the law or security procedure in obtaining custody and use of the funds.
Meanwhile, President Buhari has directed that the NIA DG remains suspended until the outcome of the investigation.
A three-man Committee comprising the Hon. Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, and the National Security Adviser, headed by the Vice President, is to conduct both investigations.
The Committee is to submit its report to the President within 14 days.
The most senior Permanent Secretary in the SGF’s office, and the most senior officer in the NIA, are to act, respectively, during the period of investigation.
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12 Comments
About time. why would NIA be storing huge sum of money in a house and not a government bank. it is just madness that all these money is being found all over the place.
Too late !
Buhari hearing aids is now working well may be becos we are out of recession
Do you know that SGF is Buhari’s mother Brother – Nigeria a family affairs
Fake news stupid rubbish
Sai baba. The bull that backs off is tactical, it is not running away from the fight. God bless you Mr. President. God bless Nigeria
CIA money ?
I hope corruption won’t ignite our beloved country. Every day we hear of huge allegations of corruption. Even Nigerian Missions and Consulates are sadly headed by corrupt officers who have stolen huge consular and immigration revenues that should have been remitted to the Government. (About three months ago in Los Angeles, the officials from the Nigerian Embassy in Washington collected an additional $600 from me as administrative fees – after I had paid the required passport fees – for my 4 children, my husband and I. They claimed that the administrative fee for each applicant is $100.) There were over 300 applicants and each applicant had to pay the $100 in order to be attended to. There is need for a thorough investigation – and those found culpable should be punished in accordance with the law. This will serve as a deterrent to other erring officers. Nigeria will survive – there will no longer be a safe haven for corrupt officers. Thanks to Mr. President for fighting against corruption!
This is pure decisiveness, Now we will know how these crooks came about such vas sums. The findings of this enquiry must be made public so we, as Nigerians can have the opportunity to see these crooks humiliated and stripped of their historic loots and be seen to taste real poverty of the sought they continuously inflict on our people. Please Buhari help our people by delivering them from these thugs and thieves.
who are the guys really playing this buhari sef? many years ago i used to think he’s incorruptible!!!
pdp really messed up badly and i’m not joking about this, i needed a change tho i didnt really vote: but what this govt is doing by using dss and efcc as sheltox to fight opposition and using letter of clearance and probe committees to caution insiders is not different from what pdp was doing and i think nigerians are sick and tired of both pdp and apc continuation of corruption in another form. the same corrupt pdp who massively decamped to apc havent become born again overnight just by identifying with the establichment. the establishment is still at its game – defiant and all screwed up for their collective interest. they’re controlled by a very few bunch which is less than 0.0000001% of the population. who and which party would bail the nation come 2019?
We will review and take appropriate action.