You lack powers to suspend, sack, SGF tells boards

The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha, has told the governing boards and councils of federal parastatals, universities and medical institutions that they lack the powers to suspend or sack a chief executive appointed by the president.

Addressing an induction for batches 2,3 and 4 members of the affected boards/councils yesterday in Abuja, Mustapha noted: “Some of the issues that have become a recurring decimal are undue interference by board chairmen in the day-to-day activities of their respective agencies, blatant disregard for extant regulations and restricting of board meetings.

“Issuing directives to staff without recourse to the chief executive officer, thereby undermining authority and creating disharmony among personnel, imposing disciplinary measures on chief executives without recourse to laid down procedure and approval from supervising authorities as well as using labour unions as agents of distraction in the parastatals, among others.”
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“We should desist from these actions and utterances that continue to ridicule government,” he cautioned

According to a statement by the Acting Director Information, Olusegun Ogunkayode (SIO), the SGF submitted that one or two of the boards that attended the programme failed to understand (its) their roles and responsibilities.

He stated that this “induction is particularly important and it came at a time when the nation is poised for a holistic transformation process that is heralding the entrenchment of good and purposeful governance in our country anchored on security, anti-corruption and economic growth.”

He stated that parastatals were established to provide services under the supervision of the presidency or a minister.

The scribe added: “The roles of governing boards/councils as the case maybe, are prescribed by the statutes, guidelines and extant circulars.”