Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
The Federal Government, has read riot act to boards chairmen and members of parastatals under the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, not to interfere with the day to day running of the agencies.
It also reiterated the President Muhammadu Buhari administration’s zero tolerance for any form of corruption, insisting that this stance must not be compromised in anyway.
The Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, read the riot act at the inauguration of chairmen and board members of eight parastatals under his supervision.
Eight boards inaugurated at the occasion included the National Commission for Refugees, Nigerian Christian Pilgrims Commission, National Lottery Trust Fund, National Lottery Regulatory Commission, Nigerian Atomic Energy Commission, Federal Road Safety Commission, Galaxy Backbone Limited and the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA).
He said, “As you are all aware, the present administration has zero tolerance for any form of corruption, and this stance must not be compromised in anyway. Government will frown and punish corrupt practices perpetrated by any board member as well as the management team of these agencies.”
The SGF noted that, “Governing Boards are creations of statutes and their main responsibility is to give policy direction to the management of institutions. I therefore wish to emphasize that government expects no less from these boards that are to be inaugurated today. Your Agencies are critical to the achievement of the developmental goals of government, being implemented entities. You are all enjoined to commit to achieving these mandates and to live above Board.
“Except where expressly stated by statute, Board appointments are part time. Management of your Agencies should therefore be allowed to perform the day-to-day running of these Agencies without hinderance. Your allowances and entitlements as Board members are guided by extant circulars that will be distributed to you in due course. Please acquaint yourselves with the circulars for proper guidance.”