By Ebitonye Akpodigha
President Muhammadu Buhari has directed Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC), Mr Nta Expo, to embark on a mandatory leave.
According to reports, a letter from the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) ordered Mr Ekpo to go on the leave from Wednesday, October 26, 2016.
In 2011, Mr Ekpo was appointed by former President Goodluck Jonathan as acting Chairman of the ICPC and a year later, his appointment was confirmed by the Senate.
Vanguard reports that earlier this year, at a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari, Mr Expo had argued that his tenure would end on November 17, 2017, but the President allegedly retorted that by his records, the tenure of the ICPC head ends on November 17, 2016.
The paper further reports that “although no reason was given for the abrupt sack of the ICPC boss, it was gathered that his handling of corruption cases against former governors may have nailed him.”
To some, the ICPC has not been an active anti-corruption agency like its sister body, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).