ABUJA —The Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, has
commended President Muhammadu Buhari for
suspending Secretary to the Government of the
Federation, SGF, Mr. David Babachir Lawal and Director-
General of National Intelligence Agency, NIA,
Ambassador Ayo Oke.
. Ag Pres Osinbajo
This came as Senior Staff Association of Nigerian
Universities, SSANU, yesterday, urged the President to
purge his cabinet of corrupt elements, saying “a lot of
them have one mess or the other.”
Reacting to the suspension of the SGF and the D-G, NIA,
General Secretary of the NLC, Dr. Peter Ozo-Eson,
wondered why the Vice President should be the person
to investigate criminal allegations against the SGF.
He said: “Well, we think that it is something that is
positive. There are those who will say that it has taken
long, particularly the issue of the SGF. Well, government
has now decided to suspend them and investigation is
going on, it is fine.
“But what we don’t understand is how an administrative
committee, chaired by the Vice President, will be
investigating what is an alleged criminal offence.
However, whatever processes they have chosen to
adopt, what is important is that they need to bring the
facts before the nation.
“We need to know that there are no sacred cows and at
the end of the day, we hope that justice will be done and
citizens will be able to attest that justice has been
done.”
On whether the president should extend the action to
other political office holders having corruption allegations
against them, Ozo-Eson said the normal practice was
that people with established corruption cases against
them should step aside.
He said: “Once there are allegations of corruption and
there are prima facie cases established while such
investigation is going on, the normal practice is that
people step aside, or are suspended or they remove
themselves from the process.”
Also reacting to the suspension, National President of
SSANU, Comrade Samson Chijioke Ugwoke, said:
“Should Buhari be serious with his anti-graft campaign,
the Presidency should not be investigating the SGF and
others.
“If somebody in the Presidency is accused of corruption,
the usual anti-corruption agencies that investigate other
ones, should also investigate the SGF. The Presidency
should not investigate Presidency, nobody should be a
judge in his own case.
commended President Muhammadu Buhari for
suspending Secretary to the Government of the
Federation, SGF, Mr. David Babachir Lawal and Director-
General of National Intelligence Agency, NIA,
Ambassador Ayo Oke.
This came as Senior Staff Association of Nigerian
Universities, SSANU, yesterday, urged the President to
purge his cabinet of corrupt elements, saying “a lot of
them have one mess or the other.”
Reacting to the suspension of the SGF and the D-G, NIA,
General Secretary of the NLC, Dr. Peter Ozo-Eson,
wondered why the Vice President should be the person
to investigate criminal allegations against the SGF.
He said: “Well, we think that it is something that is
positive. There are those who will say that it has taken
long, particularly the issue of the SGF. Well, government
has now decided to suspend them and investigation is
going on, it is fine.
“But what we don’t understand is how an administrative
committee, chaired by the Vice President, will be
investigating what is an alleged criminal offence.
However, whatever processes they have chosen to
adopt, what is important is that they need to bring the
facts before the nation.
“We need to know that there are no sacred cows and at
the end of the day, we hope that justice will be done and
citizens will be able to attest that justice has been
done.”
On whether the president should extend the action to
other political office holders having corruption allegations
against them, Ozo-Eson said the normal practice was
that people with established corruption cases against
them should step aside.
He said: “Once there are allegations of corruption and
there are prima facie cases established while such
investigation is going on, the normal practice is that
people step aside, or are suspended or they remove
themselves from the process.”
Also reacting to the suspension, National President of
SSANU, Comrade Samson Chijioke Ugwoke, said:
“Should Buhari be serious with his anti-graft campaign,
the Presidency should not be investigating the SGF and
others.
“If somebody in the Presidency is accused of corruption,
the usual anti-corruption agencies that investigate other
ones, should also investigate the SGF. The Presidency
should not investigate Presidency, nobody should be a
judge in his own case.
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