Fresh facts have emerged on the roles played by the new Chief of Staff (CoS), Prof.
Mohammed, was sacked over the
The document approving the sack, which was obtained by our reporter was signed by President
Mohammed was removed last week and replaced by Engineer
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The removal has generated a lot of controversy with a group staging protest.
TCN has been without a board since 2014. Former President
Tukur and his team were inaugurated in
No letters from SGF to affected persons
But nearly one week after the minister of power removed
Our reporters learnt that the SGF issued the respective letters, but sources close to the affected persons said no such letters had been issued to them to indicate the removal and subsequent appointment.
Speaking to
An official at TCN who confirmed this, said the MD's office lock had been changed and that the former MD could not remove his belongings as he was forced out while the acting MD was escorted into the office by security agents to assume duty.
How TCN scuffle began
It all began when the Minister of Power, Engr. Sale Mamman, on
The letter, which was received on
The minister said TCN plays a critical role in the electricity supply value chain as it is the sole transporter and link between the Generation Companies (GenCos) and the Distribution Companies (DisCos).
He indicted TCN's infrastructure saying, 'Today, TCN is marred by ineffective maintenance and poor system management, which contributes to partial and total system collapses, reflecting the inadequacy in infrastructure.
Furthermore, the privatisation exercise has further decoupled transmission from distribution and generation leading to severe infrastructural misalignment that is costing the country about N1 billion a day in system constraints.'
It also said TCN is the most critical stakeholder in the success of the
The minister, in the letter, said the former MD had not shown support for the
In conclusion, he recommended the removal of the MD, if
One of the eight prayers of the minister was; 'Consider replacing Mohammed with Engineer
But speaking on the allegations, the sacked TCN boss, Mohammed said, ''I never opposed the deal but we had issues that we wanted resolved. At the end, I was the one who prepared the project for them to submit for the president's approval.'
Gambari's role in the saga
The new Chief of Staff (CoS), Prof.
By
The letter addressed to
It reminded the president about realigning TCN, highlighting that the ineffective systems maintenance by TCN was costing
The CoS letter also reminded the president that the board of the TCN, had yet to be constituted and that the absence of the essential governance framework had contributed to the poor coordination in the sector.
He urged Buhari to approve the minister's request for 'the immediate removal of the current MD of the TCN' and 'direct that the minister's proposed replacement, Engineer
Four days after, precisely on
The Special Assistant to the President (President Secretariat), Sabi'u Yusuf, the same day, wrote a letter referenced PRES/65-I/COS/3/750, addressed to the CoS,
Gambari, on the same day responded to the minister of power, in a letter referenced SH/COS/03/A/2779, which he personally signed, conveying the president's response.
'Kindly be advised that the president has approved the immediate removal of the current managing director of TCN,
A copy of this letter was also sent to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation for onward action.
Previous actions by the minister on appointees
At present, a circular has been issued by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF),
It coincidentally dated
In
During the same period, Mamman removed the Managing Director of the
That was also overruled by Buhari, who commuted her sack to resignation as she was already with the
SGF kicks against arbitrary removal of CEOs
The SGF,
The SGF, in the circular, emphasised that no minister could on his/her own remove CEOs of agencies, saying the president approved a disciplinary procedure for defaulting heads of agencies.
The circular signed by Mustapha and referenced SGF/OP/1.S.3/T.163, was addressed to the CoS, the heads of the
CSOs react
The Convener, Good Governance Team (GGT), Mr.
According to him, most of the enabling laws setting up the agencies and parastatals make them quasi-autonomous, meaning that they are supposed to be somehow independent.
'As part of the way forward, the enabling laws of these parastatals and agencies need to be re-visited. Though we may have some overbearing ministers, we must also have effective control so that the heads of the agencies would be accountable and not act arbitrarily, hiding under operating laws,' Salman said.
The Co-convener, Say No Campaign (SNC-Nigeria), Mr.
'There should now be a very clear-cut rule on who should do what and how, as well as the powers and limits of the ministers and the head of the agencies and parastatals,' he said.
© Pakistan Press International, source