By Ejike Umunnabuike Jr,
General Editor,
Newsdiaryonline.com
A Civil Society Group, CSOVoice, has called on President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, to immediately sack the current Director-General of the National Orientation Agency, Mr. Mike Omeri and if he deems it necessary, re-assign him to another federal government agency,” before he becomes another embarrassment to the Presidency”.
The group described Mr. Omeri’s appointment as legally, ethically and morally dysfunctional and that the appointment is not in line the institutional dictates of transparency and objectivity in national political leadership.
It said, “Mr. Mike Omeri is a card –carrying member of the People’s Democratic Party [PDP] and a member of President Jonathan’s Presidential Campaign Committee. He was widely known as the Chief Operating Officer of the Neighbour2Neighbour Campaign”.
The group said Mr. President’s appointment of the Director – General of the National Orientation Agency, contravenes the Laws establishing the Agency, given the appointee’s infrastructural background.
Citing parts one and two as well as Sections 6 [2] and 2 [2] [a] of the laws establishing
the National Orientation Agency, the group said of Part Two, Sector 6, Sub-Section [2]‘ The Director – General …shall be an experienced and tested administrator, non – partisan and with wide knowledge of Nigeria while Part One, Section 2, Sub-Section [2] [a] reads, “No body who is a partisan individual should be appointed either a Chairman or member of the Agency’s Board of Directors”.
In a Press statement issued and signed by the Executive Director, CSOVoice, Mr Joshua Ndokwa, in the Benue State capital, the group said, “unfortunately, the appointment of Mr. Michael Omeri,also violates the law establishing the National Orientation Agency, stressing that, “ these are explicit and clear provisions of the Agency’s Act which ought to have guided those who advised the President on this action”.
According to CSOVoice, “ in our reasoned opinion, both the letter and spirit of NOA Act emphasized the premium placed on the Agency as a change agent critical to the realization of our collective dream as a people for a greater and better country”.
To buttress its call on President Jonathan to sack Omeri, the group recalled that , “Former President Obasanjo, violated the Nigerian law and assaulted our collective sensibilities when he appointed Alhaji Mohammed Idi Farouk, a known politician as its Director-General.”
The consequence of that illegal act is that the Agency, the statement added, had under the tenure of Alhaji Mohammed Idi Farouk, been severally compromised and rendered ineffective.
Describing President Jonathan as a known democrat whose commitment to the Rule of Law, is unprecedented in Nigeria’s political leadership history and the exact opposite of former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s government, CSOVoice, said it believes strongly that as a listening leader, President Jonathan, will redress the institutional matter of great public importance.
