Many People were woken up Wednesday with the socking news of the sack of former Chairman of the
Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme, Gen. Martin Luther Agwai (rtd.) by President Goodluck Jonathan which is unconnected with the former visit to former President Olusegun Obasanjo's 78th birthday lecture.
The President has named Mr. Ishaya Dare Akau as Agwai’s replacement.
This was made public in statement signed by the Special Adviser to the president on
Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, attributed Agwai’s
sack to the continuation of government’s efforts to continuously
reposition Federal Government’s agencies for optimal delivery.
Ashiwaju.org was rightly informed that the sudden sacking of the immediate past chairman of SURE-P was traceable to visit he made to the former president 78th birthday lecture, which had in attendance personalities not in the progressive record of the president and was then regarded as an act of saboteur and could not be allowed to reign in the president team.
Agwai had, while delivering the Obasanjo
lecture last Thursday, said change in the national leadership was
inevitable and that the country’s leaders must accept it and move with
it.
He had said, “In life, you find out that
everything needs change, if that is what the community wants, what the
people want, you must give it to them and as such, it becomes
inevitable.
“You can have everything nice, but if
you don’t have the right leadership to propel it, it cannot go anywhere.
Integrity matters, doing what is good for the larger society, and not
just what you want to do for a narrow society to please yourself.”
He titled the lecture, “Imperatives of a national security framework for the development and progress of Nigeria.”
Abati’s statement on Agwai’s sack read,
“In furtherance of his efforts to continuously re-energise and
reposition agencies of the Federal Government for optimal service
delivery, President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan has appointed Mr. Ishaya
Dare Akau as the new Chairman of the Subsidy Reinvestment and
Empowerment Programme (SURE-P).
“Mr. Akau, whose appointment takes
immediate effect, replaces Gen. Martin Luther Agwai (retd.), who served
as chairman of the SURE-P until today (Tuesday).
“The new SURE-P chairman hails from the
Jema’a Local Government Area of Kaduna State and holds Bachelors’
Degrees in the Arts and Law.
“Mr. Akau comes to the job with years of
experience as a high-level administrator in the nation’s public
service. His record of service includes tenures as Chairman of the
Kaduna State Universal Education Board and Chairman of the National
Assembly Service Commission.
“President Jonathan thanks the outgoing
Chairman of SURE-P, Gen Agwai, for his service to the nation and wishes
him well in his future endeavours.”
Jonathan had in February 2014 appointed
Agwai to replace the pioneer SURE-P chairman, Chief Christopher Kolade,
who resigned his appointment.
As the deputy chairman to Kolade, Agwai had acted as acting chairman before the President confirmed his appointment.
Meanwhile, the Forum of Chairmen of
Subsidy Re-investment Programme in the 36 states of the country and
Abuja, has said that Agwai did not represent its interest when he urged
the Nigerian Army to stay away from politics.
Agwai had, while delivering the Obasanjo lecture in Abeokuta, noted that the military had found itself in a “strange” terrain.
The former COAS had said that the country might be troubled if the military participated in the nation’s political system.
But the Chairman of the forum and Edo
State SURE-P Chairman, Mr. Lucky Imasuen, dismissed the call for change
by Agwai, arguing that the change clamoured for already existed under
the administration of Jonathan.
Imasuen, who was a former deputy
governor of the state, claimed that Agwai’s comment caused unnecessary
panic in the country, noting that the military had been a stabilising
factor in the Nigeria’s political development.
He said, “He (Agwai) should be aware
that soldiers are dying every day fighting insurgency. I know that the
Nigerian military is having serious challenges dealing with insurgency.
“But they are doing their best and
winning the war. I expect those in uniform and out of uniform to be
careful of what they say.”