Mrs. Fidelia Njeze
There
was commotion at the Nigerian headquarters of the New Partnership for
Africa’s Development on Tuesday as workers of the agency engaged in
fisticuffs, while protesting against the alleged reappointment of the
Special Assistant to former President Goodluck Jonathan, Mrs. Fidelia
Njeze, as NEPAD’s Coordinator/Chief Executive.
The peaceful protest at the agency
degenerated into fisticuffs as some of the workers loyal to Njeze tried
to stop the larger number of the employees from going outside the
premises of the organisation.
Punch Newspapers gathered that the
special adviser, whose job was meant to end at the expiration of the
tenure of the former President, called some directors of the agency last
Thursday to announce her new portfolio as the coordinator.
Explaining what led to the protest, an
official of the agency, said Njeze claimed that she was appointed the coordinator of NEPAD by
the former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr. Pius
Anyim.
The official said, “It is only the
President of Nigeria that has the right to appoint his special adviser
on NEPAD. But in this case, we saw a different title when the entire
organisational structure has not been changed. If you want to have a
coordinator/chief executive, then you must have the structure changed.
“But as it is now, the organisation’s
structure is still the same and it is not even a parastatal but a
department under the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the
Federation. So, we NEPAD staff members are saying that if you want to
become a chief executive, there should be enabling laws that will make
it happen. You cannot change your own appointment overnight when there
is a change in government.
“What we are saying categorically is that
President Muhammadu Buhari should appoint a special assistant on NEPAD.
There is nothing like coordinator and chief executive. This
organisation is not a statutory agency and there is no tenured
appointment. Assistants are appointed by the President; and as a special
assistant, once your boss is leaving, you leave with him.”
When asked to state who issued the
re-appointment letter to Njeze, another official involved in the protest
said, “The person that gave the letter to her was the former Secretary
to the Government of the Federation, Pius Anyim, and not the present
President.”
Asked if Njeze had announced her new
appointment to the workers of the organisation, the official said, “She
did not come here to tell us. She only called the directors to tell them
that that was her new portfolio, and that was at about 6pm on Thursday
on the last day of former President Goodluck Jonathan’s tenure.”
When the official was asked if the protesting workers saw the letter before
disrupting activities at the agency, the official said, “Former
President Jonathan directed that all handing over should be done on or
before April 20, but she (Njeze) has yet to hand over. She is supposed
to hand over to the most senior director but she has not done that and
this is because of the new letter she is flaunting.”
The Chief Press Secretary, NEPAD, Mrs. Janet Dickson, refused to comment on the issue when contacted by our correspondent.
