FG Denies Setting Up Panel To Reconstitute Boards Of Parastatals

The Federal Government has debunked a report by a national daily insinuating that the government has set up a panel to reconstitute boards of parastatals, saying there is no truth in the report.

A statement by Mr Willie Bassey, Director, Information, said the attention of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Sen. George Akume, was drawn to the report published on Sunday.

The statement read in part: “The Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Sen. George Akume, wishes to state clearly that there is no truth in the story as published in the Sunday Punch neither has the government set up any ad-hoc committee as alleged to review the resumes of individuals who would fill such board appointments as stated in the said publication.

“The visit of the two former Governors of Kebbi State, Atiku Bagudu and Jigawa State, Abubakar Badaru, to his office on Friday had nothing to do with such ad-hoc committee. It has everything to do with their recent appointment as ministers.

“Also, the reporter inaccurately quoted the Spokesperson of the OSGF as indicating that 14 agencies were stipulated to have been exempted. Whereas the release in question at the time only received the President’s approval for two agencies- National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and the National Agency for Food, Drug Administration & Control (NAFDAC).

“In order to avoid inaccurate reporting, SGF admonishes media personnel to always cross-check information directly from authorized persons in his office rather than depending on some social media reports which may be inaccurate”.