The Director General of the Budget Office of the Federation, Mr. Ben Akabueze has stated that Farooq Kperogi’s recent article in which he alleged that Vice President Yemi Osinbajo favours mostly RCCG members in his appointments ”is full of inaccuracies”.
He noted that the Atlanta-based university teacher is just out ”to paint Osinbajo in bad light”.
Akabueze added that the VP was not even the one who nominated him as the DG of the Budget Office, contrary to the claims made by Kperogi.
Akabueze had been the Managing Director & Chief Executive of NAL Merchant Bank (1996 – 2005) and later, Commissioner for Budget & National Planning in Lagos (2006 – 2015).
”I am too busy to get involved in rejoinders, but I cannot let Kperogi get away with his falsehood”, Akabueze said, adding that ”it is evident that Kperogi was simply handed a script to which he attached his name and some of his flowery language by which he masquerades as an academic”.
Akabueze also noted that the VP was not instrumental to Okechukwu Enelamah’s appointment as Minister in 2015. Enelamah was reportedly nominated as Minister by the Obi of Onitsha at the request of the late Chief of Staff to the President, Mr. Abba Kyari.
Buttressing his point that the VP was not responsible for the appointments of many of the people Kperogi mentioned in his article, Akabueze further disclosed that Prof. Osinbajo was not ”even given the privilege of nominating the Minister from his own home state. That privilege went to Senator Amosun in 2015 and again in 2019”.
He added: ”Kperogi’s so-called list of the 80 people who work in PYO’s office is grossly outdated, as about half of them are no longer there while some of those who currently work there are not on the list. Jumoke Oduwole is not a member of the RCCG as Kperogi claims. Afolabi Imoukhuede is not a member of RCCG.
“ Kperogi’s attempt to trivialise the appointments of Ben Akabueze, Alex Okoh and Kayode Pitan, all of who have been reappointed for second terms in their positions by President Buhari on account of their stellar performance, is regrettable.
”It is also noteworthy that each of these three gentlemen had served as MD/CEOs of Nigerian banks for over 10 years before PYO became VP in 2015. Kperogi has unwittingly diminished the credibility of his allegations with the powers that be who made these appointments, and who know exactly how they happened.
“These are the same people Kperogi is targeting in his attempt to paint Osinbajo in bad light. It is evident that Kperogi was simply handed a script to which he attached his name and some of his flowery language by which he masquerades as an academic, but is sadly just another ‘brown envelope’ motivated columnist”.
Thelagotimes recalls that Farooq Kperogi had written an article two weeks ago in which he falsely claimed that many of the staffers in the VP’s Office are members of RCCG.
Following this, many people, including veteran journalists like Ms Donu Kog Arab have condemned the piece as a hatchet job meant to ridicule the VP.