Civil servants flay FG over plan to reinstate SEC Director-General, Mounir Gwarzo

The Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN) has rejected plan by the Federal Government to reinstate the Director-General, Security and Exchange Commission (SEC), Mounir Gwarzo.

Gwarzo was suspended from office over allegations of financial misappropriation after a properly constituted administrative panel set up by the Finance Minister, Kemi Adeosun, found him culpable of financial improprieties.

The civil servants argued that Gwarzo’s call for reinstatement was as a result of intense pressure on President Muhammadu Buhari by some members of his inner cabinet seeking for Gwarzo’s return as SEC director-general, stating that the matter would soon fizzle out just like the case of the Executive Secretary, National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), Prof. Usman Yusuf, who was reinstated and is going about his duty call without hitches.

A statement by the ASCSN State Secretary in charge of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Isaac Ojemhenke, yesterday, stated that by planning to reinstate the SEC director-general, which the commission had continued to function during his absence, means that government is creating the impression that Gwarzo is indispensable.

Ojemhenke submitted that this type of action is a gross violation of public service rules, financial regulations, and other extant government guidelines dealing with conducts of public officers.

The association stressed that there are many qualified Nigerians that are capable of performing excellently in such exalted positions, saying that why should the government continue to reinstate individuals with character deficit into strategic offices?

It, therefore, warned that the policy of recalling individuals with corrupt acts hanging on their necks into public service might fuel the culture of impunity in the country.

“But what the cabal does not seem to understand is that the impression being created in the minds of millions of Nigerians with the policy of recalling chief executives and other top government officials enmeshed in financial malpractices is that the war against corruption is a ruse.

“It is really unfortunate that a government that came to power on the promise to fight corruption will be taking actions that tend to entrench financial crimes in the system.

“The danger is that the public is beginning to think that once you are in the good books of President Muhammadu Buhari, you will be rewarded for engaging in corrupt acts. This is very unfortunate and should be stopped,” the statement stated.