A pro-transparency advocacy group-HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS\u2019 ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA) has challenged President Goodluck Jonathan to go a step further in the anti-graft campaign by beaming searchlight on the alleged corrupt activities at the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) under the leadership of Dr. Ahmed Modibbo Mohammed.<\/p>\n
The Rights group was reacting to the recent forced resignation for alleged conflict of interest of the federal Minister of Power-Professor Bartholomew Nnaji just as it challenged the Federal Government to avoid selective justice but to go all out to weed out alleged corrupt officials including officials at the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) which has consistently being accused of sundry contract scams and other alleged atrocious tendencies.<\/p>\n
The group specifically canvassed the probe of the activities of the top management of UBEC and effective radical change and transformation of the near moribund institution so that the nation\u2019s collapsing primary and post-primary educational system can be more effectively rescued.<\/p>\n
The media statement was authorized jointly by the National Coordinator Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko and the National Director of media Affairs Miss Zainab Yusuf, and made available to Journalists by the HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS\u2019 ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA).<\/p>\n
The Rights group which strongly opposes the enforcement of what it called \u201cdouble standard\u201d and \u201cunnecessary grandstanding\u201d by the Federal Government in the fight against corruption by government officials said the longstanding massive allegations of corruption and conflict of interest leveled against the Executive Secretary of the UBEC must be comprehensively investigated. HURIWA also stated that there are allegations that the current Executive Secretary of the Universal Basic Education Commission has over stayed his statutory tenure in office”.<\/p>\n
HURIWA stated thus; \u201cFrom available information, we are aware of the allegation that Dr. Ahmed Modibbo Mohammed, the Executive secretary of UBEC was purportedly \u201dredeployed\u201d on August 24th 2007, from the National Teachers\u2019 Institute, Kaduna, where he had already spent seven and half years, instead of six years stipulated by the NTI Act. Same official reportedly admitted before a court that 17 unregistered companies that secured contracts in UBEC his wife who is now at the National Assembly.Modibbo allegedly had claimed that at the time they were not married to the same lady in question, a claim which to all intents and purposes is a red herring\u201d.<\/p>\n
HURIWA wants President Jonathan to explain to Nigerians whether it is legally defensible to appoint someone who purportedly has an expired tenure in the same public service?<\/p>\n
“Assuming without conceding that the Executive secretary is enjoying fresh tenure in UBEC, why is the Federal Government breaching an extant provision of the law by allowing him to stay beyond the five year statutory period which lapsed on August 24th, 2012? The President must clarify these burning questions so that Nigerians will not associate his government with the groundswell of allegations of contracts\u2019 fraud at the Universal Basic Education Commission\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow do you redeploy somebody from an expired tenure? Even at that his 5 year tenure lapsed on August 24th, 2012 (assuming he wasn\u2019t redeployed).<\/p>\n
How can one man be in office since March 2000? Even \u201cpermanent\u201dsecretaries don\u2019t enjoy such permanence of tenure. Is it that powers that be are keeping him as their allged milk cow through almajiri schools and textbooks?\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A pro-transparency advocacy group-HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS\u2019 ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA) has challenged President Goodluck Jonathan to go a step further in the anti-graft campaign by beaming searchlight on the alleged…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3703,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3701","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n