Iyobosa Uwugiaren in Abuja
The Minister of Employment, Labour and Productivity, Dr. Chris Ngige, can no longer inaugurate former General Secretary of the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), Mr. Frank Kokori as the Board Chairman of Nigerian Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) due to the decision by President Muhammadu Buhari to reassign Kokori, a source in the presidency has said.
Speaking on the ongoing saga between the Minister and the organised labour, the source said that Kokori’s initial appointment was faulty as he was found not to be “a fit and proper person” for the chairmanship of the agency.
He said the original appointment of Kokori as Board Chairman of NSITF failed to follow the due process as stipulated by the Act setting up the fund.
Describing as “fit and proper person” as someone who would not be beholden to any of the tripartite parties as recommended by the enabling law, the sources claimed that Kokori was recommended by the President of Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), Ayuba Wabba to Acting President Yemi Osibajo against the dictates of the enabling law.
The source said when Buhari was fully briefed by the minister following an extensive review, he had appropriately reassigned Kokori to the Pa Michael Imoudu Institute of Labour Studies, while a “fit and proper” candidate has been nominated to chair the Board of the NSITF.
“In the enabling law establishing the agency, the federal government in its wisdom decided to give it a tripartite coloration (Government, Labour and Employers) because of the Industrial Relations nature of the entity.
“Consequently, the management and board was set out as follows in Section 4 of the Act: The Chairman who shall be appointed by the President on the recommendation of the Minister of Labour; two persons each nominated by: The Nigeria Employees Consultative Association (NECA) – then the only Employers’ Association.
“The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) (because they were the only Labour Federation then); One-representative each of: the Federal Ministry of Employment, Labour & Productivity (Supervising Ministry); the Central Bank of Nigeria (Financial Institution); Three Executive Directors (EDs) – Federal Government interest; and one Managing Director (MD) – Federal Government interest.
“Section 5 (3) of the Act also says – the Members of the Board shall be paid such remuneration and allowances as the Minister of Labour may from time to time determine.”
The sources said “from the foregoing, it is clear that the appointment of the Chairman for the Board of NSITF is a straight forward engagement by the Minister recommending a fit & proper neutral person to Mr. President for appointment.”
He said the president of NLC had in 2017, approached the minister to inform him that he and other Social Partner, the then DG NECA had submitted a nominee for the position of NSITF Chairman to the office of the Vice President.
They said that the minister had immediately told the NLC boss that the nomination was incongruous and that the nomination was a breach of the law.
The sources stated that the minister had insisted that the move was not only incongruous but that it breached the law and was also an erosion of the Minister’s function to nominate “fit & proper persons” to the offices listed in the Act.
“Further investigations by the Minister revealed that NECA DG at the time did not participate nor had any hand in the so called nomination.
“The minister promptly wrote to the Ag. President to point out the anomaly, and informed him that by his discussion with the SGF, the NSITF was a specialised board that its chairman needed to be shopped for more so with the peculiar financial distress afflicting the organization then and that it was not for NLC to make such a nomination in consonance with the Act”, the source who does not his name in print added.
He indicated that following some representations to the minister, he had called for the curriculum Vitae of Kokori, adding that immediately that was done, the NLC had written a congratulatory letter to the nominee and thereafter leaked the same to the media.
“All these antics were aimed at blackmailing and railroading the minister and Mr. President into a forced acquiescence. Kokori himself went to Gani Fawehinmi Annual Lecture in January 2018 rained tirade of abuses on the minister for delaying his inauguration as Chairman, following his appointment in November, 2017 and accused the Minister of trying to be in-charge of NSITF to award contracts and milk the juice in the place and favour the Ibos and his village people as recruits into the NSITF”, he further explained.
It was also alleged that N62 billion had been looted from the NSITF between 2011 and 2016, stating that when the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) was called in, it uncovered monumental fraud including the payment of N5 billion without vouchers.
Following the huge fraud discovered at the NSITF, the said that the Minister had put in place an Administrative Panel of Inquiry to further clean up the agency and that the recommendations of the panel are now being implemented religiously.
“Meanwhile, the minister after briefing Mr. President on the damaging EFCC report and the little recovery, instituted an Administrative Panel of Enquiry on the finances of NSITF and ancillary matters thereto in order to assist government determine the administrative and financial weakness of the NSITF, which will enable it strengthen the system, block and prevent such further occurrences, especially find out how the chairman – a part time position and the Social Partner Directors transmuted into an Executive Chairman and Executive Directors respectively.
“The minister in exercise of the functions of his office and recommendations of the Administrative Panel of Enquiry sought the help of the immediate past Commissioner for Insurance of NAICON and got a square peg to fill the square hole.
“That was how Mr. Austin Enajemo – Isire, a Chartered Accountant, Fellow Chartered Institute of Insurance of Nigeria (CIIN), Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), and Chartered Institute of Taxation (ACTI) came in. This candidate has a rich background needed as an Insurance Executive to chart a new course for the NSITF. The Minister has never met Mr. Isire until he was recommended after the CV evaluation”, he further revealed.
According to him, the Minister had moved to inaugurate the new nominee recently but the exercise was disrupted by the organised labour.
“The minister also recommended Kokori to head the Board of the Michael Imoudu National Institute of Labour Studies (MINILS) a diploma awarding institute named after Pa Imoudu and the president magnanimously approved.”
