Ahmad Salihijo, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Rural Electrification Agency, and the other three executive directors of the organization have been placed on indefinite leave of absence by President Bola Tinubu.
The State House disclosed this in a statement signed by Ajuri Ngelale, the President’s Special Advisor on Media and Publicity, and it followed “new findings unearthed during a comprehensive investigation into the financial activities of the Rural Electrification Agency.”
“President Tinubu suspends Rural Electrification Agency managing director and team from office,” reads the statement.
The President also suspended Olaniyi Netufo, the Executive Director of Corporate Services, Barka Sajou, the Executive Director of Technical Services, and Sa’adatu Balgore, the Executive Director of the Rural Electrification Fund, in addition to Salihijo.Ngelale disclosed that Tinubu had also ordered a more comprehensive probe into the officials’ actions in relation to “a fraudulent mis-expenditure amounting to over N1.2bn over the past two years, some of which has already been recovered by anti-graft agencies.”
As a result, the President designated a new Agency management team, which will take over in an acting capacity right away.
They are: Doris Uboh as Executive Director, Rural Electrification Fund; Olufemi Akinyelure as Head of Project Management Unit, Nigeria Electrification Project; Ayoade Gboyega as Executive Director, Corporate Services; and Abba Aliyu as Managing Director/CEO.
The statement concluded with the President “reiterating his determination to elevate the yearnings of Nigerians for good governance and qualitative service delivery above the narrow interests of individuals who are entrusted to provide critical services to the Nigerian people” and “expecting all appointees in his administration to uphold the highest standards of transparency and accountability in the discharge of their duties.”