Group Kicks Against Buhari’s Appointment of New Solicitor-General, Says It Didn’t Follow Due Process
- The recent appointment of Beatrice Jedy-Agba as the solicitor-general of the federation has triggered heated debates in the country
- Jedy-Agba was announced alongside four other permanent secretaries but they have not being deployed yet
- Civil society groups say the appointment by the president is an administrative anomaly aimed at imposing the new solicitor-general
FCT, Abuja - An anti-corruption advocacy group, Movement for Greater Nigeria and Good Governance (MGGGN) has kicked against the appointment of Beatrice Jedy-Agba as solicitor-general of the federation by President Muhammadu Buhari.
Mrs. Agba is the wife of the minister of state for power, Goddy Jedy Agba. She is a former head of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons.
Source: Facebook
The advocacy director of the group, Mrs. Tokunbo Lasisi, in a statement sent to Legit.ng on Saturday, April 16 said the shoddy deal that trailed the appointment of the solicitor general is:
“surprisingly disheartening and capable of ruining the anti-graft efforts of the Buhari administration.”
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She added:
“It is our fervent hope that Mr. President would right this impending wrong and allow due process takes its course.”
Legit.ng gathered that intrigues and high-level power-play have trailed the appointment of the solicitor general of the federation.
This is coming almost nine months after the exit of the former occupant of the office, Mr. Adedayo Akpata who retired in June 2021.
The Blueprint newspaper had revealed that the president was literally misled into announcing a candidate against the long age established precedence and practice of appointment into the office.
It was established that some powerful politicians who are currently facing multi-billion corruption charges in the country have succeeded in luring the office of the Head of Service of the Federation (OHSF) into usurping the powers of the Attorney-General of the Federation and minister of justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN in the appointment of the solicitor general.
Official documents reviewed by the newspaper revealed how these powerful elements standing corruption trials arrested and hijacked the process for the appointment of the solicitor general initiated by Malami.
Based on precedence and practice, the Attorney General is responsible for recommending a qualified public servant to the president for appointment as a solicitor general.
The last four substantive solicitor generals - Professor Ignatius Ayua, Alhaji Abdullahi Yola, Taiwo Abidogun, and Adedayo Akpata - were all appointed on the direct recommendations of a sitting Attorney General.
A top bureaucrat said:
“These four recent Solicitor Generals were all appointed on direct recommendations of the Attorney Generals of their time.”
Buhari renews appointment of Nexim Executive Management for another 5 years
In a related development, President Buhari has approved the re-appointment of the entire executive management of Nigeria Export-Import Bank for another term of five (5) years.
The reappointment takes effect from Sunday, April 10, following the expiry of their first tenure on Saturday, April 9.
A statement seen by Legit.ng noted that the reappointment of the executive management is based on the team’s exemplary performance and achievements in the discharge of their mandate.
Supreme Court affirms 6-year jail term for ex-pension director
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court of Nigeria, on Wednesday, April 13, affirmed the six years of imprisonment imposed on a former federal director of pensions, Mr. John Yakubu Yusuf, and also ordered him to refund N22.9 billion to the government's coffers.
The N22.9 billion was part of the police pension fund Yusuf admitted before an FCT high court to have been misappropriated.
Justice Tijjani Abubakar in a judgment in an appeal filed by Yusuf upheld the decision of the Court of Appeal which in 2018 sent him to six years imprisonment, in addition to the refund of the huge sum.
Source: Legit.ng
