There are strong indications that President-elect, General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd) who promised to fight corruption in his government might start with his appointment of former World Bank Vice-President, Mrs. Obiageli Ezekwesili to head the procurement entity of the nation, the Bureau for Public Procurement (BPP).According to the Union, the move is aimed at ensuring that the incoming administration plugs all loopholes through which top civil servants siphon funds from government coffers.
Buhari is also reportedly considering merging almost all the anti-graft agencies in the country. The decision to merge the agencies is said to be in line with the President-elect’s resolve to run a lean government, reduce costs and save money for other government commitments.
It was gathered that ICPC may be scrapped while its functions will be shared between the Police and Code of Conduct Bureau, even as the EFCC will be strengthened to handle very strong cases of high profile economic crimes.
Buhari is said to want to use Ezekwesili at the headship of the BPP to derive maximum economic benefit from every transaction. The only challenge the incoming government is having at the moment is how to convince Ezekwesili to accept the offer, having earlier moved from there to full ministerial position.
It will be recalled that Ezekwesili moved to become the Minister of Education under the regime of former President Olusegun Obasanjo before proceeding to the World Bank, where she became Vice-President.
Meanwhile, Ezekwesili who is one of the founders of the Bring Back Our Girls Initiative, has asked President Barack Obama to put in more effort in searching for the Chibok girls abducted by Islamist group Boko Haram.
Sourced from Naij.com
