There are indications that President Muhammadu Buhari has
acceded to the request made to him by the leadership of the amalgamated workers
union of parastatals in the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture to sack
heads of cultural agencies and some top directors in the agencies.
A Presidency source confirmed that the President has
communicated his approval of the request of the union to the Minister of
Information and Culture Alhaji Lai Mohammed. The directive will also affect
some top directors in the agencies who have been accused of misconduct or who
were engaged without due process. The source also revealed that the President
subsequently directed that all the CEO’s and Directors accused of ‘corruption,
embezzlement and maladministration’ be investigated and ‘brought to book’ where
necessary.
The leadership of the unions had in a joint petition
addressed to the President through the Secretary of the Government of the
Federation requested President Buhari to sack all the heads of the culture and
film agencies in the same manner he ordered the sack of all the heads of the
information agencies earlier in the year.
A source explained that the Workers Union had alleged that
most of those who are heading the culture and film parastatals are ‘square pegs
in round holes’ while others who were employed by the Jonathan Administration
under questionable criteria lack the capacity to run the agencies. The union leaders also alleged ‘wide scale
abuse of public funds and embezzlement’ by most of the CEO’s. ‘’They even alleged that some of the CEO’s
were involved in employment racketering and were squandering capital and over
head votes on self serving scheme. They even gave an example of a parastatal in
Lagos whose CEO padded his capital budget. They said he included organizing a
workshop for kannywood filmmakers in his 2016 budget and was funded. Meanwhile
they have no business with film. The agency is just a monument’’ the source
said.
There are about 11 parastatals in the culture and film arm
of the Ministry of Information and Culture. The parastatals are the National
Council for Arts and Culture, National Theatre, Centre for Black and African
Arts and Civilization, National Gallery of Arts, National Troupe of Nigeria,
National Museums and Monuments and National Institute for Hotel and Tourism
Services. Others are the Nigerian Film Corporation, Nigerian Tourism
Corporation, National Film and Video Censors Board and the National Institute
of Cultural Orientation.
It will be recalled that President Buhari earlier in the
year approved the sack of CEO’s of the parastatals in the information arm of
the Ministry of Information and Culture. Those affected in the sack include
Sola Omole of the NTA, Emeka Mba of the NBC and Ladan Salihu of the FRCN.
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