Jim Obazee |
President Muhammadu Buhari has sacked the Executive Secretary of the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria, Mr. Jim Obazee.
The President has subsequently ordered the reconstitution of the Council.
The decision was contained in a statement by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu on Monday.
This decision is coming barely two days after Pastor Enoch Adeboye of the Redeemed Christian Church of God stepped down as the General Overseer of RCCG Nigeria based on a law by the FRC.
The statement by Shehu read, “President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the immediate removal and replacement of the Executive Secretary and the reconstitution of the board of the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria.
“He has appointed a Chairman and a new Executive Secretary for the council. The new Council as approved by the President has Mr Adedotun Sulaiman, MFR as Chairman.
Adedotun Sulaiman |
“Mr. Sulaiman was a former Managing Partner/Director of Arthur Anderson and later, Accenture. He is a Chartered Accountant and a product of the University of Lagos and Harvard Business School.
“The President has also approved the appointment of Mr. Daniel Asapokhai as the Executive Secretary of the Council. Mr. Asopokhai is a partner and a Financial Reporting Specialist at the PricewaterHouseCoopers, Nigeria.
“He is a product of the University of Lagos and the University of Pretoria. President Muhammadu Buhari has also instructed the Minister of Industry, Trade, and Investment to invite the nineteen ministries, departments and agencies of the Federal Government and private sector organisations specified in the FRC Act to nominate members of the board of the council.”
There has been controversy in Nigeria, particularly, the Christian community, following the new law enacted by the council, which stipulates 20 years tenure for heads of religious groups and civil society groups in the country.
The decision has been tagged as one of the reasons Adeboye handed over the mantle of leadership to Joseph Obayemi on Saturday after heading the church for 36 years.
Daddy G.O, as Adeboye is fondly called, who was not apparently comfortable with the controversial law, had accused the federal government of trying to suppress the gospel.
He warned the Federal Government to stop meddling in church matters.
“The government has been showing increasing interest in church affairs. Unfortunately, for us in RCCG, it might not be very helpful,” Adeboye said.
He accused the government of not allowing the church (RCCG) to continue with its stipulated lifetime 100 per cent salaries to its pensioners.
“For example, when I decided on what will be the pension of our pastors, what I decided is not done anywhere in the world, that somebody will retire and continue to earn full salaries all his lifetime”, he noted.