... Names Olatunji acting DG
The Minister of Communications, Mr. Adebayo Shittu has
suspended the Director-General, National Information Technology Development
Agency (NITDA), Mr. Peter Jack over an alleged misconduct, just as Dr. Vincent
Olatunji has been appointed in acting capacity with immediate effect, reports ITRealms.
The Special Assistant Media to the Communications Minister,
Mr. Vcitor Oluwadamilare confirmed this to ITRealms in a press statement Wednesday
evening, saying that Mr. Jack’s suspension from office was indefinitely.
He explained that the suspension adduces its strength from
avalanche of petitions in NITDA and subsequent preliminary findings of an
Investigative Committee set up by the Ministry.
Oluwadamilare also said that these petitions against Mr.
Jack are largely connected to illegal employments and procurements carried out allegedly
in direct contraventions of civil service rules and procedure in the country.
Also, he explained that some of the findings of the Investigative
Committee made up of three senior Ministry officials include unauthorised recruitment
exercise of additional staff numbering 245 within the last seven months.
“As at 29th May 2015, NITDA only had a staff complement of
74. But from May, 2015 to 31st December, 2015, additional 245 staff were
employed in questionable circumstances despite clear instruction from the
Ministry directing suspension of employment in the agency,” the SA declared.
He further said that these disclosures were deduced from the
records provided by Mr. Jack, while he was unable to provide concrete evidence on
whose authority the recruitment was embarked on and who granted him the
authority for officials to be seconded to NITDA from other Ministries,
Department and Agencies (MDAs).
ITRealms gathered that the Ministry of Communications
reportedly directed Mr. Jack to eschew the purported recruitment exercise held
on 17th December, 2015, which was not adhered to under his leadership as
Director-General.
In addition, he said, on alleged financial misdemeanour, the
Committee had recommended the suspension to afford a thorough professional
auditing of NITDA’s finances to determine the true state of the financial
health of the agency.
In a related development, the Director, Corporate Strategy
and Research, Dr. Vincent Olatunji, who has spent over 14 years in NITDA has
been named the acting Director-General of the agency also with immediate
effect, pending the outcome of the intended investigations.
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