President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday sacked suspended Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Babachir Lawal, after an investigation into graft allegations.
“The president accepted the recommendation of the panel to terminate the appointment of Mr Lawal,” presidential spokesman, Femi Adesina said in a statement.
Lawal, who has denied wrongdoing, did not immediately respond to phone calls and a text message requesting a comment.
Buhari’s two presidential spokesmen, Adesina and Garba Shehu, declined to comment on whether there were plans to prosecute Lawal.
The director general of the National Intelligence Agency (CIA), Ambassador Ayo Oke, was also sacked on Monday in connection with the discovery of large amounts of cash in foreign and local currencies by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in a residential apartment in Lagos this year, Adesina said.
The discovery of more than $43 million in cash was investigated by the same panel, led by the vice president, as had looked into Lawal, but any connection between the two cases has not been made clear. Both men were suspended in April.
The NIA had insisted it was the owner of the money. The agency, Nigeria’s equivalent of the CIA, could not be immediately reached for comment on Monday.
In Lawal’s place, Buhari has approved the appointment of Boss Mustapha as the new SGF.
Adesina, confirmed this development in the statement issued in Abuja on Monday.
The statement read: “President Muhammadu Buhari has studied the report of the panel headed by the Vice President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo, which investigated allegations against the suspended Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr Babachir David Lawal, and the Director General, National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Ambassador Ayo Oke.
“The President accepted the recommendation of the panel to terminate the appointment of Mr Lawal, and has appointed Mr Boss Mustapha as the new Secretary to the Government of the Federation. The appointment takes immediate effect.
“President Buhari also approved the recommendation to terminate the appointment of Ambassador Oke, and has further approved the setting up of a three-member panel to, among other things, look into the operational, technical and administrative structure of the Agency and make appropriate recommendations.’’
Mr Boss Gida Mustapha is a lawyer, management consultant, politician, businessman and boardroom guru of considerable repute.
His was the former Managing Director/CEO of the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA).
He was born in Adamawa and attended Hong Secondary School, in Hong Adamawa and North East College of Arts and Sciences Maiduguri Borno state, crowning it with WASC and HSC in 1976.
He earned his Bachelor of Law (LL.B) from the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria in 1979 and was called to bar in 1980.