A group, the Lawyers for Reform, has on Thursday, given President Muhammadu Buhari 7 days ultimatum to remove his newly appointed Executive Director, ED, of the Nigerian Export-Import, NEXIM, Bank, Stella Erhuvwuoghene Okotete, or be dragged to court, .
Members of the group protested at the premises of the National Assembly, saying that the NEXIM Bank ED was a former Beauty Salon Hairdresser, and is in no way qualified for the very professional job.
Addressing Journalists during the protest, tagged: “#Remove Stellaokotetenow”, the Leader of the group, Barrister Oladotun Hassan, stated that the appointment of Stella Okotete as the Executive Director of NEXIM Bank by President Buhari, in April 2017, was wrong, going by the clearly stipulated requirements in the extant Laws governing the Bank.
Hassan alleged that Okotete did not have the required 18 years post-graduation working experience before her appointment, and also did not have the relevant academic qualifications in Financial Accounting, Banking or any Business-related course.
His exact words in part: “What can only be gotten from the fraudulently concocted Curriculum Vitae of Okotete, is that she is a former Counsellor and Beauty Salon Hairdresser.
“This is an arrant disgrace and monumental embarrassment to the government of President Muhammadu Buhari that prides itself as an anti-corruption crusader.
“In the face of the Law, specifically going by the Central Bank of Nigeria Act Regulations and Order 41(3) of the Senate Rule, and by reason of her lack of capacity not to have served in the Banking service for 18 years, Okotete is not fit and (does not) merit to continue to hold the (position of) Executive Director of NEXIM Bank. We therefore, call on President Muhammadu Buhari to act decisively, accordingly.
“We also request that Okotete should upon removal from Office, be prosecuted for misleading the entire Nigerians with false misrepresentations used in securing the appointment.
“If nothing meaningful is not urgently done in respect of our demands on or before 7th December, 2022, we shall not hesitate to seek legal sanction against the President Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal Government of Nigeria.”
The Leader of the group further explained that the move to get Okotete removed was made in 2018, when a petition to that effect was forwarded to the then Senator Sam Anyanwu-led Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions, in the National Assembly.