Dipo OlowookereBy Dipo Olowookere
Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr Babachir Lawal, has been suspended from office by President Muhammadu Buhari.
Mr Lawal was suspended due to the ongoing investigation into his alleged role in the award of contracts under the Presidential Initiative on the North East (PINE).
A statement issued on Wednesday by Mr Buhari’s spokesman, Mr Femi Adesina, said he will remain out of office pending outcome of the probe.
Mr Adesina further said Director General of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Mr Ayo Oke, has also been suspended by the President.
He said Mr Buhari has “ordered a full scale investigation into the discovery of large amounts of foreign and local currencies by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in a residential apartment at Osborne Towers, Ikoyi, Lagos, over which the NIA has made a claim.”
He is also to stay away from office “pending the outcome of the investigation.”
A three-man committee comprising the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, and the National Security Adviser, headed by the Vice President, is to conduct both investigations, the statement said and the panel is to submit its report to the President within 14 days.
The investigation is to enquire into the circumstances in which the NIA came into possession of the funds, how and by whose or which authority the funds were made available to the NIA, and to establish whether or not there has been a breach of the law or security procedure in obtaining custody and use of the funds.
During the period of investigation, the most senior Permanent Secretary in the SGF’s office, and the most senior officer in the NIA are to act respectively.
