Fresh facts are beginning to emerge on why president Goodluck Jonathan terminated the appointment of Ms. Bolanle Onagoruwa as the executive head of Bureau for Public Enterprises (BPE).
According to close insiders, her sudden removal might have been fueled by her role in the controversy over the Manitoba power transmission contract.
He noted that Onagoruwa worked against the Presidency’s initial attempt to retract the Manitoba contract.
The source said: “many sins” of the sacked boss was “her arbitrary manner of signing deals on behalf of the government without proper consultation and directives.”
The Presidency yesterday issued a statement announcing her removal without giving any specific reason.
“Onogoruwa has been relieved of her appointment with immediate effect,” a statement by Vice President Namadi Sambo’s spokesman, Umar Sani said.
“She is to hand over to the most senior director in the bureau, Mr. Benjamin Ezra Dikki, who is to hold the position in an acting capacity.
“Mr. President extends his sincere appreciation to Ms. Bolanle Onogoruwa for her services to the nation and wishes her the best in her future endeavours.”
The source further disclosed that another reason behind her sudden disengagement was the sale of Federal Government’s shares in the Eleme Petrochemical company, which a Senate investigation said was fraudulent.
“These two deals were handled in a manner that angered the government particularly as the lady almost carried out the deals without proper directives from the government. The decisions sometimes embarrassed the government as it was made to reverse itself on some of the issues,” the source said.
Also, a reliable insider in the National Council on Privatization (NCP) said “officials who wanted Manitoba stripped of the TCN management contract were angered with the support Onagoruwa extended to Manitoba team by supplying them vital documents with which they nailed the Federal Government during the contract cancellation saga.”
It would be recalled that BPE in July, approved the power management contract signed with Canada’s Manitoba Hydro Electric Board to run the state-owned power utility Transmission Company of Nigeria after regulatory approval.
Another dependable insider said that the former DG might have been caught up in the cold war between Jonathan and ex President, Obasanjo. “You know she came to the BPE through Obasanjo, and you know what is happening between them now. This may be another reason,” the source said.
In his reaction, chairman of the Senate ad hoc committee that probed the privatization programme and recommended the DG’s sack, Senator Ahmed Lawan, said the Senate has been vindicated.
“We passed our resolution in December 2011 asking the government to remove Bolanle Onagoruwa because of the shady things she did, and the government is just acting now, I don’t think that is a serious way of treating a resolution passed by the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” he said.
“Remember that about two months ago, the Supreme Court ruled that ALSCON was not properly acquired by Rusal through BPE. This was also in total agreement with our resolution.
“But if the government sacked the Director General of the Bureau of Public Enterprises because they now believe in the recommendation of our committee on privatization and the resolution of the Senate, then it means we have been justified. The executive must always treat our resolutions with seriousness. We don’t just pass resolutions, we are always careful in passing resolutions because they are necessary,” he added.
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