Centre petitions ICPC over appointment of NEXIM Director

A civil rights group, the Centre for Social Justice, has petitioned the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission to investigate the appointment and activities of the Nigeria Export and Import bank’s Executive Director for business Development, which they claim is undeserving.

In a letter addressed to the ICPC, signed by Comrade Ikpa Isaac for the group, dated June 5, 2015, the group said the appointment of the Executive Director, Folake Itohan Oke Salami, did not follow due process as she was not qualified to be appointed executive director in the Bank.

“As the situation stands, we have carried out private investigations on the credentials of the said Mrs. Folake Itohan Oke Salami and discovered that she committed fraud and told huge lies on oath in order to occupy the aforesaid position,” the letter read in part.

The group, which is a coalition of civil rights groups, addressed a press conference claiming Salami had falsified her experience status in the banking sector to influence her appointment into that position.

It said her claim of working in a multi purpose Cooperative Society did not fit the bill as stipulated by the Central Bank of Nigeria.

The group said: “In the light of the above, paragraph 3.2A of the said circular states that a Managing Director, Deputy Managing Director and Executive Director of a bank such as NEXIM Bank must have possess a minimum of fifteen (15) years post qualification experience out of which, at least, ten (10) must be in management and leadership positions… Sir, we make bold to state that a ‘Multipurpose Cooperative Society’ does not qualify as a bank in the eyes of the Central Bank of Nigeria. It therefore follows that Mrs. Folake Itohan Oke Salami’s claim of having acted as the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of her mushroom ‘Multipurpose Cooperative Society’, thereby fraudulently earning herself the prestigious position of Executive Director Business Development, Nigerian Export-Import Bank to the detriment of the other suitably qualified Nigerian citizens constitutes an offence punishable under Section 25 of the Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Act No. 5, 2000.”

They have thus called on the ICPC to ignite full-fledged investigation into the records of Salami to ascertain whether or not she is qualified ab initio to be considered and appointed as Executive Director Business Development of Nigerian Export-Import Bank.

Petitioning further they also demand that upon confirmation that she does not qualify and she lied on oath, criminal proceedings be initiated against her to ensure that she is not only removed from office and sent to jail but that the salaries, emoluments and allowances she had received while fraudulently occupying the office be returned to the coffers of the Federal Government of Nigeria to serve as deterrence to other Nigerians.

The group has however warned that failure of the Commission to act on this petition within seven working days will leave them with no other option than to mobilize the media and other concerned organizations to occupy the commission’s office until the attention of President Muhammadu Buhari and the international community is drawn to the matter.