Quarantine boss Dr Isegbe adamant, refuses to handover after expiration of tenure.
.. as Group Petitions Tinubu to Compel him to vacate office.
There is a growing anxiety at the Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Service(NAQS) as the Comptroller General and Chief Executive, Dr Vincent Isegbe has allegedly refused to handover the reins of power after the expiration of his tenure, our correspondent has learnt.
Dr Isegbe’s tenure expired on December 13,.2023, and has since the past 72 hours absconded from office as officials conversant with the development told our correspondent that he has been desperately seeking for another tenure to secure his position.
The development is made worse as the supervising Ministry, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security has kept mute over the tenure expiration of the Quarantine Service boss.
Our reporter further learnt that the silence from the supervising Ministry and the office to the Secretary to the Government of the federation has remained a mystery and has further heightened tension at the Quarantine service.
This is just as a civil Society and public interest Advocate, Grassroots Accountability Advocacy Foundation(GAAF) has petitioned President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to immediately direct the Comptroller General/CEO of the Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Service(NAQS), Dr Vincent Isegbe to proceed on terminal leave and handover to the immediate highest ranking officer in the agency to encourage growth in public service which will bring about positive change in policies.
The group in a petition signed by Barrister M. O Idam, Legal officer and addressed to Mr President and rooted via the Secretary to the Government of the Federation and sighted by our correspondent alleged that Dr. Isegbe’s tenure expired on December 13, 2023 and has still remained in office.
” The CG/CEO’s term in office expired on the 13th December, 2023 as seen on the attached nominal roll and should have proceeded on retirement, terminal or compulsory leave three(3) months back, but have remained in office since the appropriate authority has not issued him any directive to do so”, the petition read in part.
The group noted that Dr Isegbe, the current chief Executive Officer having spent four(4) years as Coordinating Director and another five(5) years term making a total of nine(9) years as the head of the agency, still desperately seeks a fresh tenure with a view to perpetuate himself as head of the agency, notwithstanding that under the civil service rules, he ought to have proceeded on retirement.
According to the group and regrettably too, another approval for five(5) years would have given him a period of 14 years as the head of the agency and that will not encourage growth in the system.
The civil society group further alleged that the scorecard of the chief Executive has been grossly abysmal with various allegations and petitions of corruption pending in various security agencies across the country.
The group also alleged that the agency under his watch has become polarized due to his high handedness and level of impunity meted to staff who dares to challenge him for wrong doings.
The group also had petitioned Mr President earlier in the year of Dr Isegbe’s alleged acts corruption and abuse of office.
It alleged that Dr Isegbe compromised the donkey hides/skin regulation to serve his personal interest thereby selectively issuing exportation license to friends and allies who use same to freely export donkey hides and skin from Nigeria and make financial returns to him.
The civil society group further alleged that the Quarantine boss arbitrarily employed without advertisement, his friends and cronies into the service and went ahead to willfully elevate them even before maturity and without confirmation contrary to civil service rules which provides for:
1. There must be vacancy
2. Staff must be matured for promotion
3. Staffs must have been confirmed by the office of the Head of Service through a screening examination amongst others.
According to the group and more interestingly, Dr Isegbe also recently promoted again one of his cronies who was promoted not long before his retirement, even though he was not due for promotion.
In order to reinforce the demands of the group, it said that in July 2022, an Association of donkey dealers petitioned the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission(EFCC), ICPC and the Deputy Inspector General, Force Criminal and Investigation Department incriminating Dr Isegbe for using his agents in NAQS and some private individuals to illegally and unlawfully track, intimidate and cart away donkey skin (goods) belonging to members of the association, under the pretext that the goods were prohibited, but would thereafter, smuggle the goods to a hidden location where they are always sold to pre-arranged Chinese business men and the proceed of the transaction are never remitted to the coffers of the federation.
The group further alleged that the Dr Isegbe “in furtherance of his unpatriotic acts, illegally created control posts in parts of southeast areas of the nation where he planted junior officers of the Quarantine Service with specific mandate to generate revenue by every illegal means from donkey dealers and then remit the money directly to him”, adding that so much money has over the years been lost to government.
They also submitted that Dr Isegbe, “as a self-styled emperor now pride himself as being above the law, as he refused and failed to respond to queries over issues bordering on gross misconduct, corruption and abuse of office by the office of the Permanent Secretary in line with Civil service rules and regrettably, he has not been sanctioned for these acts”.
Meanwhile, the group said that it has been informed that the Quarantine boss had in “2018 cleverly manipulated and sponsored the NAQS establishment bill now Act, to plant himself permanently as the Head”.
According to them, this, he did knowing that he was due to retire two(2) years later if the service was not established, hence he surreptitiously inserted a clause in the bill he sponsored, where he made it possible for himself to hold office for five(5)years and also renewable for another five years, after he had spent four years as the Coordinating Director and receiving consolidated salaries.
The group seized the opportunity to commend President Tinubu for demonstrating that the era of impunity by appointees of government was over, as they urge Mr President to extend the clean up exercise to the Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Service and ensure that Dr Isegbe immediately vacate his office and allow unfettered investigated over allegations against him.
In their final submissions, the group among others recommend that the CG proceed on retirement leave and appoint the highest ranking officer in the service in order to promote and encourage career progression.
Head of Media, Dr Peter Nwodo in reaction to the allegations noted that there was no truth in the alleged
“Diversion of monies generated from the sales of hides and skins to his personal bank accounts” adding that”There is nothing like this. The CG has never diverted any monies. This is not even possible, given that all user fees are paid directly into government accounts.
On the allegations of employing without advertising and promoting staff without following civil service guidelines, Dr Nwodo said in his text message that it was not true also stressing that “all government recruitment and promotion procedures were duly followed by NAQS. The office will avail the documentations for your perusal when you come in.
On “Working to further elongate his tenure in office in spite of the new civil service guidelines, the media noted that there is no tenure elongation for the office of the CG. You probably mean a re-appointment? Only the President has the prerogative to re-appoint a CG for a second term if he so decides.
He further explained that the civil service guidelines applies only to Permanent Secretaries and Directors in the MDAs.
