Ahmad Salihijo Ahmad, the Managing Director and CEO of the Rural Electrification Agency (REA), and three of the Agency’s Executive Directors have been placed under suspension by President Bola Tinubu.
The suspended officials are Sa’adatu Balgore, who is in charge of the Rural Electrification Fund (REF), Barka Sajou, who is in charge of Technical Services, and Olaniyi Alaba Netufo, who is in charge of Corporate Services.
President Tinubu has ordered a thorough inquiry into the actions of the aforementioned authorities, pertaining to fraudulent misappropriation totaling more than N1.2 billion during the previous two years, according to an official statement. Anti-graft organizations have already retrieved a portion of these monies.
President Tinubu nominated five eligible Nigerians to the agency’s new management team in an acting capacity following the suspension.
The appointments include Doris Uboh as the Executive Director of the Rural Electrification Fund (REF), Olufemi Akinyelure as the Head of the Project Management Unit for the Nigeria Electrification Project, Umar Abdullahi Umar as the Executive Director of Technical Services, Ayoade Gboyega as the Executive Director of Corporate Services, and Abba Abubakar Aliyu as the new Managing Director/CEO.
President Tinubu advised the recently appointed officials to uphold the highest standards in the performance of their jobs, highlighting the need of openness and accountability. He reaffirmed his resolve to put Nigerians’ ambitions for quality service delivery and good governance ahead of the narrow interests of those tasked with carrying out important tasks on behalf of the country’s citizens.