BY MYKE UZENDU
The federal government has come out to explain why president Nola Tinunu relieved give minister of their duties
Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga revealed on Thursday that the sack of some ministers was based on Nigerians’ scorecard and empirical facts and feed back
He also explained the role the Special Adviser to the President on Policy and Coordination, Hadiza Bala Usman, played in the ministers’ dismissal from the cabinet.
Recall that Tinubu on Wednesday relieved give ministers, including Barr. Uju-Kennedy Ohanenye, former Minister of Women Affairs, Lola Ade-John, his counterparts ministry of Tourism, Prof. Tahir Mamman (SAN) who headed the Education ministry, Abdullahi Muhammad Gwarzo, Minister of State for Housing and Urban Development and Dr. Jamila Bio Ibrahim, previously the Minister of Youth Development of their portfolios.
The president’s action followed weeks of speculation and the imminent rejig that heightened after his return from France at the end of his vacation.
Speaking in an interview on ARISE TV, Onanuga said Tinubu acted on Nigerians’ perception.
He noted that Hadiza Bala Usman was assigned to oversee a performance appraisal, which involved gathering public feedback on the ministers’ work.
The presidential aide further defended Tinubu’s decision to appoint seven new ministers to his cabinet.
He said the Nigerian government needs a lot of hands to tackle the problem that the country is facing.
He said, “When the ministers were sworn in, the President actually told them that as the president, he has the power to hire and fire, and that he would not hesitate to remove ministers who could not perform.
“There was a retreat in October last year where he also repeated the same warning about his plan to always try to rejig his cabinet in case some are not performing well.
“It was not just something that was done whimsically, I think Hadiza Bala Usman, Special Adviser on Policy and Coordination in fact brought technology into it by asking Nigerians to score the minister. So, whoever was removed was based on some empirical facts and their public perception. Nigerians actually did the scorecard and the President acted on the results.”
The presidential Adviser however added that the dismissals did not necessarily mean that the ministers were not meeting Tinubu’s expectations.
“But the expectation of the public. Some weeks ago at the cabinet meeting, the President actually challenged the ministers to go out and tell Nigerians what they have been doing for the past one year or so.
“According to the president, the perception outside there by the people is that the people feel that the government is not performing, and the government believes that the government is performing, but the ministers were not going out to really project government the appropriate way”, he submitted.
Oversight functions: NASS members demand bribes from varsities, Don alleged
The National Assembly came under serious attack on Thursday as they were accused of demanding for bribes from university heads during their oversight functions in schools
Deputy Vice Chancellor, Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University (IBBU) Lapai, Niger State, Prof Hassan Ibrahim said members of the National Assembly demand bribes from universities during oversight visits.
Professor Ibrahim, who made the allegations when he spoke during the 3rd Annual Lecture of the Bursary Department of the Federal University of Technology (FUT) Minna, themed, ‘The Role of Accountants in Enhancing Ethical Financial Practices in the University System,’ regretted that interference by politicians in the management of the university system has made operations not only difficult, but has corrupted and bastardized the system.“
He said “Some politicians are using the oversight functions for their selfish gains instead of them doing the right thing, they will be asking for kickback which is unethical. We are talking about ethics but with the politicians it’s not like that.
“What we see today is, when members of the National Assembly wants to visit like FUT Minna for oversight functions, the Bursary Department has to prepare at least the sum of N10 million for them within its limited resources.
“Sometimes they will not even come but will ask the university to come and meet them in Abuja with documents thereby corrupting and bastardizing the system,” Ibrahim said.
The University don however, blamed the institutions’ accountants for the development, saying they have failed to adhere to the five fundamental ethics of the profession in management of resources. , even as he accused the accountants of lack of transparency and accountability in their records.
“If we (accountants) are doing the right thing at the right time, they (politicians) will never ask for anything. The Bursary Department tries to cover up some wrongs and that’s why the politicians demand for bribe.“
“The best solution for this is for us to do the right thing at the right time and at the right place.
“The profession is guided by five fundamental ethics and all accountants are expected to follow and deviation from them would lead to a lot of problems,” he added.
He further advised that in order to address financial challenges, Nigerian universities, must adopt innovative financial management strategies such as diversifying revenue streams, improve financial reporting and transparency and enhance internal controls and audit functions, adding hat they should encourage private sector participation and investment, build capacity and training for financial staff, among others.
The VC FUT Minna, Prof. Faruk Adamu Kuta who was represented by VC Academics, Prof Mohammed Abdullahi, in his speech said the bursary unit interfaces with all departments of the university in the area of finances, hence the need to train and enlighten its staff on current financial systems to enable them discharge their duty efficiently and effectively.
The Bursar, FUT Minna who is also the Chairperson Association of Bursars of Nigerian Universities, Mrs Hadiza Goje noted that Nigerian universities are facing significant challenges with inflation and limited resources impacting their operations.
She added that the role of accountants in promoting ethical financial practices is crucial for their survival and sustainability of universities.