2 days after Adeboye’s resignation Buhari fires FRC secretary

President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the sack of the Secretary, Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria (FRC) Mr. Jim Obazee with immediate effect.

This is coming barely two days after the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Pastor Enoch Adeboye resigned his leadership of the Nigerian arm of the church following a new policy by the Council (FRC).

FRC, which guides all registered churches, mosques, and CSOs had in a new legal requirement stipulated that heads of non-profit organisations like churches, will only have a maximum period of twenty years to lead their organisations while in retirement, they are not permitted to hand over to their families.

It was based on this new law that Pastor Adeboye after 35 years reign as RCCG GO, on Saturday announced his resignation as the Nigerian chapter of the church leader, but remains the GO of the church worldwide.

The new regulation has sparked outrage among members of the church since Adeboye’s resignation.

However, President Buhari on Monday approved the immediate removal and replacement of the Executive Secretary and the reconstitution of the board of the FRC of Nigeria. He also appointed a chairman and a new executive secretary for the council.

Read also: Adeboye retired as GO RCCG Nigeria, remains GO worldwide, church clarifies

The new council as approved by the President has Mr Adedotun Sulaiman, MFR, who was a former Managing Partner/Director of Arthur Anderson and later, Accenture, and also a Chartered Accountant from the University of Lagos and Harvard Business School as Chairman.

Also approved as the council executive secretary by the President, is Mr. Daniel Asapokhai; he is a partner and a Financial Reporting Specialist at the PricewaterHouseCoopers (PWC), Nigeria.

This was contained in a statement released by Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu.

The statement went further to reveal that the President 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 are strong speculations that Enelamah and Obazee had  been involved in a face-off over the FRCN new regulation which saw the exit of Adeboye.

It was gathered that the minister had earlier written the FRCN boss, directing him to suspend the implementation of the controversial regulation, but that Obazee reportedly defied the instruction of the minister, insisting that the implementation of the regulation would go ahead.

Obazee, it was gathered, had hinged his stance on the grounds that there was as yet no superior law gazetted to upturn government’s earlier position on the issue of corporate governance and not-for- profit organizations, especially churches.

 

RipplesNigeria ….without borders, without fears

Join the conversation

Opinions

Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism

Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.

As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.

If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.

Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.

Donate Now