A civil society organisation (CSO), the Emerging Leaders Forum of Nigeria (ELFON), has berated the former managing director of the Nigerian Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF), Michael Akabogu, for accusing the minister of labour and employment, Dr Chris Ngige, of masterminding his removal from office.
Akabogu was sacked by President Muhammadu Buhari, for parading a forged National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) discharge certificate.
The embattled former NSITF boss, had in a published press statement, blamed his ouster from office on his disagreement with the labour minister.
He alleged that his refusal to allow the minister circumvent his office as the NSITF MD, pitched him against the cabal that has been diverting the money meant for the Fund.
But ELFON in a statement, dismissed Akabogu’s claim as false and “an attempt to elicit public sympathy and divert attention from the genuine reasons he was unceremoniously sacked from office.”
In the statement issued in Abuja and signed by the national coordinator, Godstime Chibuikem, the group insisted that Akabogu should be sober for breaching public trust instead of trying to smear the image of the minister.
According to the statement, the former NSITF boss should apologize to Nigerians “for taking advantage of his office to perpetrate criminality.”
The statement reads in part, “The circumstances that led to his removal was all over the media. One would have expected him to approach the courts of law to exonerate himself if he was wrongly accused of certificate forgery instead of trying to drag the good name of the Minister and other innocent Nigerians into his ordeal.
“Akabogu should also explain how he ran the office for the time he spent there before he was unceremoniously removed.”
The organisation said it was laughable that Akabogu claimed to have been booted out by the minister and other persons for his stance against corruption, when it has been established that he forged the document to be in office.
The group dismissed Akabogu’s claims as frivolous, saying the former NSITF boss was only trying to deflect the issue.
“Despite the overwhelming evidence against him, Akabogu denied any wrongdoing and claimed that he was being victimised by powerful individuals who wanted to take over NSITF.”
However, a panel set up by the federal government to investigate the allegations of corruption found him guilty and recommended his dismissal. Akabogu was eventually dismissed from his position, and he has been facing criminal charges in court ever since.
“On February 3rd, 2023, the executive director of operations of the Nigerian Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF), signed an internal memo announcing the Akabogu’s dismissal following a petition by a whistleblower in 2022, who accused Akabogu of forging his National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) Discharge Certificate. He was then invited by the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) for questioning.
“Thereafter, an investigation commenced, which led to the discovery of the alleged certificate forgery. The NPF then reached out to the NYSC for verification of the certificate, and the response was damning.
“In a letter dated November 3rd, 2022, the NYSC informed the NPF that the Certificate of National Service belonging to Akabogu Michael C, with certificate number A030544, was never issued by them. The response read thus: ‘I wish to inform you that the Certificate of National Service belonging to Akabugu Michael C with Certificate number A030544 forwarded for verification was not issued by the NYSC.’
“This revelation led to Akabogu’s dismissal from his position as the head of the NSITF, as the agency could not continue to have someone accused of such serious misconduct in a leadership position.
“The neglect of official duties by Akabogu not only constitutes a breach of trust but also threatened the welfare of Nigerians who rely on the NSITF for social insurance coverage as the fund is responsible for ensuring that workers are protected from financial loss in the event of work-related accidents or illnesses,” he said.
