James Emejo in Abuja
President Muhammadu Buhari has appointed Hajiya Saratu Shafii as the new acting Registrar-General of the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC).
Shafii who hails from Bida, Niger State, replaces the erstwhile embattled acting chief executive of the agency, Lady Azuka Azinge, whose suspension had earlier been ordered by the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) over alleged infraction of asset declarations.
The federal government conveyed the appointment of the new acting chief executive of the commission via a letter dated December 30, 2019, which originated from the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment- the supervising ministry of the CAC.
A statement issued by the CAC’s Head, Public Affairs, Mr. Moses Adaguusu, stated that Shafii read law at the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria and was called to the Nigerian Bar in 1985.
She started her working career with the Niger State Ministry of Justice, Minna from 1985 to 1991 and joined CAC in 1992 as a senior litigation officer.
She rose through the ranks and became a director in 2012.
Until her appointment, she was the director, incorporated trustees department of the commission.
Meanwhile, the order suspending Azinge was reportedly issued on December 24 by the Umar Danladi-led three-man tribunal based on an ex-parte application by the federal government, through the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB).
Head, Press and Public Relations, of the CCT, Ibraheem Al-Hassan, had in a statement quoted the CCT’s order as directing “that defendant/respondent step aside as the acting Registrar General of Corporate Affairs Commission over allegation of contravening provision of Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act CAP C1 LFN 2004, pending the hearing and determination of Motion on notice dated on the 17th day of December 2019.”
The tribunal further directed “the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment as well as chairman of the board of CAC to execute the order of suspension which is to subsist “pending the hearing and the determination of the motion on notice, dated and filed on December 17, 2019.”
The tribunal then adjourned till January for hearing.
