Law that led to Pastor Adeboye’s ‘retirement’: President Buhari sacks Executive Secretary; Reconstitutes FRC Board; Suspends controversial Code
President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the immediate removal and the replacement of the Executive Secretary and the reconstitution of the board of the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria (FRN). He has appointed a Chairman and a new Executive Secretary for the Council.
According to a statement by Garba Shehu, Senior Special Assistant to the President (Media and Publicity),the new Council as approved by the President has Mr Adedotun Sulaiman, MFR as Chairman.
Mr. Sulaiman was a former Managing Partner/Director of Arthur Anderson and later, Accenture. He is a Chartered Accountant and a product of the University of Lagos and Harvard Business School.
The President, the statement continued, has also approved the appointment of Mr. Daniel Asapokhai as the Executive Secretary of the Council.
Mr. Asopokhai is a partner and a Financial Reporting Specialist at the PricewaterHouseCoopers (PWC), Nigeria.
He is a product of the University of Lagos and the University of Pretoria.
President Muhammadu Buhari has also instructed the Minister of Industry, Trade, and Investment to invite the nineteen ministries, departments and agencies of the Federal Government and private sector organizations specified in the FRC Act to nominate members of the board of the council.
A controversial regulation by the FRN which stipulates that leaders of churches, mosques and other such organisations that attain 70 years or spend 20 years in office must step aside and not hand over to their relatives had led to Pastor E. A .Adeboye, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, RCCG, handing over RCCG Nigeria to Pastor Joseph Obayemi while remaining the Spiritual Leader and Chief Missioner of the mega Church.
The announcement of the new structure by Daddy G.O, as Pastor Adeboye is fondly called, on Saturday, had left many shocked and angry with the agency of government responsible for the regulation that was seen as targeted at leading clerics.
The swift reaction of President Buhari is, therefore, seen as a damage control mechanism as the regulation was to also affect Pastor William Kumuyi, Bishops David Oyedepo, Mike Okonkwo and several other leading clerics.
Also swiftly, the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Okechukwu Enelamah, announced the Federal Government’s suspension of the controversial Corporate Governance Code, issued by the FRCN, based on which Pastor Adeboye restructured the leadership of the RCCG in Nigeria. The decision to suspend the Code, the Minister said, is in order to review its application.
A statement by Dr. Enelamah’s Strategic Communication’s Adviser, Constance Ikokwu, assured that the review would involve extensive consultations with stakeholders, stressing that government remains committed to restoring and enhancing market confidence and improving the ease of doing business in the country.
FRCN is one of the parastatals being supervised by the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment.
