On the call for SGF’s sack

Since the resolution of the Senate calling on the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr. David Babachir, to resign or get sacked by President Muhammadu Buhari, arguments have been made back and forth on the propriety of the legislative demand. Whilst some have hailed it as a step in furtherance of the Buhari administration’s onslaught on corruption, many others have dismissed it as a self-serving ambush aimed at the jugular of President Buhari.

Corruption is a social malaise that is threatening the very existence of the nation. Arising from massive corrupt practices, the nation’s development has been grievously retarded as public officials convert monies meant for provision of infrastructure for the public good into personal use. It got so bad that in recent times, allocations for the purchase of military hardware and equipment for our troops fighting insurgents in the North-East were simply shared out among politicians to prosecute the last presidential election. The result was regrettable loss of lives of many of our soldiers as they lacked the tools to engage the vicious Boko Haram elements who ravaged a substantial part of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states.

The latest request based on a purported indictment by a report of a Senate Committee on the worsening conditions of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the North-East must be seen as part of the efforts of the said senators to embarrass the SGF.

What were the issues? That the Presidential Initiative on the North-East (PINE) under the watch of the SGF could not account for N2.5 billion allocated to it; and that he awarded a N273 million contract to a company in which he had interest. The first allegation is at best hasty as the office of the Auditor-General of Federation is yet to audit the account as required by law. So, how did the Senate come to that conclusion? On the second issue of award of contact, Babachir said he had resigned his directorship of the company as required by law. In its haste to nail him, the Senate neglected to invite the SGF to face the allegations against him.

Good enough that President Buhari has ordered an executive investigation into the Senate’s allegations. It is, however, important that the president is aware of this seeming bad faith on the part of the Senate before coming to a decision.

Bakolori Mohammed, Kaduna