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From Adanna Nnamani, Abuja
President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday approved the sack of the former board of the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF), thus ending over one year of internal squabble it had with the Labour Minister, Dr Chris Ngige.
The constituted board has Dr Michael Akabogu as the duly appointed Managing Director/ Chief Executive Officer of the Agency. Others appointed are Mrs. Akinwale Caroline Temitope, Executive Director, Finance and Investment, Mrs. Alagoa Maurine, Executive Director, Administration and Mr. Gana Modu, Executive Director, Operations.
This was contained in a statement signed by the Deputy Director, Press, Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, Charles Akpan.
The statement added that Mrs Lauretta Adogu and Alhaji Najeem Yasin were appointed as nominal directors into the Board. Adogu, the Director, Department of Occupational Safety and Health, is to represent the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment. She replaces Dr. Ifeoma Anyawutaku, now a Permanent Secretary. Yasin, the Deputy President, Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) replaces late Khaleel Ibrahim who died in October 2020 as the NLC representative.
The reconstitution of the board followed the approval of the recommendations in the Report of the Presidential Joint Board and Audit Investigation Panel set up by the President in July 2020 to investigate the infractions of the Public Procurement Act, 2007, and the Financial Regulations (FR) in the NSITF.
These financial infractions and other serious prima facie established malfeasance had resulted in the President’s approving the setting up of the panel and the subsequent suspension from office of the Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive, and the three Executive Directors of Finance and Investment, Operations, and Administration and Human Resources.
Nine other top management officers in the General Manager cadre were also suspended with the MD and the three Executive Directors on the recommendations of the Minister of Labour & Employment.
