Tussle over leadership stalls Tinubu’s BCDA Appointment

Three weeks after President Bola Tinubu announced the appointment of Dr Abdulrazak Namdas as the Director-General of the Border Communities Development Agency (BCDA), controversy has emerged over the delay in issuing his formal appointment letter. Allegations have surfaced that the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF) has not yet implemented the presidential directive.

The delay has resulted in a leadership crisis in the agency with the immediate past chief executive, Dr Dakorinama George, going ahead to perform official functions, even when the Presidency had declared Namdas as his replacement.

The Presidency announced Namdas’ appointment on June 26 in a statement by the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga.

The statement said George resigned to run for elective position in Rivers State.

“President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has named Abdulrazak Sa’ad Namdas as the new Director-General of the Border Communities Development Agency.

“Dr Namdas takes over from Dr Dakorinama Alabo George who resigned to vie for an elective position in his home state,” the statement said.

The Presidency says the appointment takes effect immediately.

However, it was gathered that Namdas has not assumed office as yet because he has not received the formal appointment letter required for his resumption.

George, meanwhile, has continued to oversee the agency’s affairs and represent it at official functions.

One of such engagement was when he met with the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, in Abuja to seek the release of funds for BCDA projects.

According to a statement issued after the meeting, George spoke about ongoing infrastructure projects in border communities and other development initiatives including a proposed $2bn Chinese investment in a livestock processing hub in Jigawa State and plans to establish a Border Communities Intelligence Corps.

The development has raised questions about who now holds lawful authority at the agency.

An APC chieftain, Hamman Yero alleged that the delay was a consequence of the failure of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation to transmit the President’s appointment.

In an interview with Trust TV, Yero wondered why Namdas has not been given his appointment letter despite the public announcement by the Presidency.

“This is a mandate that Nigerians have given to the President. He asked, “Who is the SGF acting on the mandate of?

“If the President says Namdas should be appointed and the SGF sits on the appointment letter and does not release it, then serious constitutional and administrative questions arise.”

He said that in the normal course, presidential appointments should go smoothly from presidential approval to the issuance of appointment letters through the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.

Yero also debunked the reports that George’s appointment had been reinstated.

George returned to the BCDA after losing the APC governorship primary in Rivers State, multiple sources familiar with developments at the agency alleged.

A senior official of the agency, who requested anonymity because he was not authorised to speak publicly, said George had returned to official business without a formal handover process.

“He resigned to run for governor. The source said that after losing, he “just came back and carried on, without any formal handover”.

The official said George continued to get political support within the administration.

The source also claimed that George’s continued stay at the agency was connected to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, under whom he served as Commissioner for Works in Rivers State.

Sunday PUNCH said it could not independently verify the allegation, however.

A Wike ally dismissed the claim as “mere insinuation”.

The ally said, “Wike is also an appointee of the President and he cannot have such powers.”

But the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, in response to the controversy, said President Tinubu did not reverse Namdas’ appointment.

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“As I understand it, the President hasn’t changed his mind. Namdas is currently the Executive Secretary of the agency.

“All these things they are talking about, they don’t know what they are talking about. “The President has not changed his mind on the appointment of Namdas to head that border agency,” Onanuga said.

The presidential spokesman said the delay was because the formal letter of appointment was a matter for the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.

“His appointment has been conveyed to the Office of the SGF, so the SGF has to issue him a letter,” he added.

The Head of Information and Public Relations, Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Christopher Ugwuegbulam, when contacted, said the office would only respond after receiving a formal inquiry.

“I would normally prefer that you write to us and we would sit down and give you an answer,” he said.

Yomi Odunuga, Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the SGF also said: “I don’t have any information on this issue.