Labor warns Buhari against reinstatement of Gwarzo, suspended SEC DG
The Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN) have warned against that reinstatement of suspended Director General (DG) of Security and Exchange Commission (SEC), Mr. Mounir Gwarzo, back into office will further dent the anti-graft war campaign of President Muhammadu Buhari administration.
In a statement, Isaac Ojemhenke, the ASCSN official in charges of FCT claimed that President Buhari has been under pressure from some members of his inner cabinet to reinstate the former SEC DG.
The President, the Association claimed in a statement, was assured that even if there was going to be an outcry over the reinstatement, it would later fizzle out like in the case of the Executive Secretary, National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), Prof. Usman Yusuf, who was reinstated despite being indicted for corruption.
“But what the cabal does not seem to understand is that the impression being created in the minds of millions of Nigerians with the policy of recalling chief executives and other top government officials enmeshed in financial malpractices is that the war against corruption is a ruse,” the Association said while recalling that Gwarzo was suspended after a properly constituted administrative panel set up by the Finance Minister, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, found him culpable of financial impropriety.
The Association pointed out that the suspended DG have been involved in several financial scams which ranged from approving and paying himself an outrageous sum of N104 million as severance benefit while still serving, to compelling the commission to award contracts to companies where he was still serving as director.
The Association also pointed out that by planning to reinstate the SEC Director General, the government is creating the impression that Gwarzo is indispensable, even when the Commission has continued to function since his absence.
It further warned that the policy of recalling individuals who have corrupt allegations hanging on their necks into public service was fuelling the culture of impunity in the country.
