Revealed: Why Ngige, Oshiohmole Are at Loggerheads over NSITF Board

 

More facts emerged on Monday why the Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige, and National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Adams Oshiohmole, are involved in seemingly political war over the constitution of the Nigerian Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF).

Oshiohmole had last week given Ngige an ultimatum of two weeks to constitute all the boards under the Ministry of Labour and Employment or face sanction from the party.

The minister had in a response to the APC national chairman declined to accede to his demand, arguing that the former president of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) was over stepping his bounds, as making such request was not in his purview or jurisdiction.

He added that he was also not under compulsion or authority to heed such demands from Oshiohmole.

Ngige had maintained that only President Muhammadu Buhari has such powers, and that the constitution of NSITF had been delayed to give room for thorough investigation of the looting of about N62 billion from the agency.

In a subtle manner, Ngige went further to accuse Oshiohmole of being an interested party in the crisis and the sleaze case hovering over NSITF, considering that he was once the board chairman of NSITF.

The minister had in the letter responding to Oshiohmole said: "I am not oblivious of the fact that you are a very interested party in the matter because having served as chairman of the NSITF board before the last board and as a former NLC president, you would be interested in the tripartite colouration of the board being maintained more so as labour still remains your base constituency."

But speaking to the media on Monday, a source closed to the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment said Oshiohmole is jittery because many of those indicted in the looting of N62 billion NSITF resources are his “closed associates” from labour.

According to the source, who pleaded for anonymity as he was not authorised to speak on the matter, the APC National Chairman was unperturbed about the looting of N62 billion in NSITF but was quick to call for the constitution of the board.

The source said: "Some members in the former board that were nominated in the board were from labour and the National Employers Consultative Association (NECA), some of them are standing trial, so naturally, he (Oshiohmole) will want the tripartite board to be constituted.

"Those who were indicted are his (Oshiohmole) friends from labour, it is like fighting our war. Otherwise, why is he not talking about the corruption, about N62 billion and N5 billion missing in a day without voucher?

"Who is he shielding? Is he saying that the board is more important than fighting the corruption in NSITF? Why is he not talking about the corruption? Is he shielding some interest and some of them are from labour and NECA?"

On why the minister had been dilly-dallying in the constitution of the board, the source stressed that had the NSITF board been inaugurated, "they (labour) would have used their position to cover up the tracks."

He expressed surprise that a national chairman of the ruling party whose government is fighting anti-corruption war would be more interested in inaugurating boards of agencies rather than fight the naked display of corruption in government's agencies.