Okoi Obono-Obla, Chairman, Special Presidential Investigation Panel on the Recovery of Public Property risks being sacked a source in the Presidency has disclosed to Chronicle NG.
Obono-Obla became a subject of scrutiny after he openly disobeyed orders from the Office of the Vice President of Nigeria and that of the Attorney General of the Federation.
For over a year, he has continued to run the panel in contravention of multiple presidential orders forcing a source to the Presidency to describe him as a “renegade and lawless”.
The source explained that the Office of the Vice President and the AGF have given him a long rope but it appears he sees himself as being above the law.
Orders have been given to Obono-Obla to either soft-pedal in what was perceived as excessive use of authority or stop all the activities of the panel but he has refused to adhere.
A letter from the office of the Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, in 2017, instructed Mr Obono-Obla to stop carrying out activities until President Muhammadu Buhari instructs otherwise.
The letter also reminded him of the provisions of Section (1) 1 of the recovery of Public Properties Act from which the panel derives its power.
The letter quoted the section to state that the president may constitute a panel for the purpose of conducting ‘an investigation into any matter with which (an) officer has been concerned in the performance of his duties or…into assets of any such public officer.’
The SPIP was set up in August 2017 by the then acting President, Prof. Osinbajo. The panel headed by the Special Adviser to the President on anti-corruption, Mr Obono-Obla as chairman, has three other members and a secretary.
The Act setting up the panel makes provisions for the investigation of asset of any public officer who is alleged to have been engaged in corrupt practices, unjust enrichment and abuse of office, or anyone who breaches the Code of Conduct for Public Officers in the country.
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However, just two months into its establishment, the panel was deemed to have derailed and hence, was cautioned.
On October 20, 2017, Ade Ipaye, the Deputy Chief of Staff to the President, wrote the Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, through the office of the Vice President.
“He is now a renegade and totally lawless, he definitely risked being sacked in the coming days,” a source said on Monday. The source explained that Prof. Osinbajo is a patient man, who gives people room to undo their wrong. “The Vice President has given him a very long rope but he seems to be misusing this opportunity. I won’t be surprised if he is sacked sooner than later,” the source added.
