President Muhammadu Buhari has removed Dr. Abdullahi Baffa as Executive Secretary, Tertiary Education Trust Fund.
Baffa, who was an aide to Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu, was appointed the head of TETFund alongside 14 other heads of parastatals under the Federal Ministry of Education on August 2, 2016.
President Buhari has subsequently approved the reinstatement of Prof Suleiman Bogoro as executive secretary of the agency. Bogoro was ES between 2014 to 2016.
Dr. Baffa’s removal is with immediate effect. No official reason was given for his removal.
But a source who pleaded anonymity attributed his removal to a running battle with Malam Adamu.
The source explained that Dr. Baffa, a close ally of Malam Adamu, disregarded the minister in the running of the agency.
The source noted that the ES had been having issues with the minister as regards the 2019 interventions for public institutions.
The source said: “Since yesterday we have been hearing rumors that the minister has been meeting with the kitchen cabinet in the presidency. Today we entered the office and found out that he has been sacked.
“He had a misunderstanding between him and the minister that is why he was fired. Sometimes the minister will send people to meet the ES he will not give them attention or even attend to them.
“Last month the minister sent his brother to see the ES and the ES refused to see him. That is where problem started for the ES. Since that incident last month, the ES has been having a running battle with the minister.”
Another source stated that the former ES was neck deep in the politics of Kano, his home state, leading to speculations that he may be eyeing the governorship seat.
There was wild jubilation at the headquarters of the agency this morning in Abuja when Baffa’s sacking was made public.
The reinstated Prof. Bogoro was the executive secretary of TETFund under former President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration.
He was sacked by President Buhari in 2016.
Prof. Bogoro was alleged to have misappropriated N200 billion released to the agency for special intervention projects to beneficiary institutions to fund the reelection of Dr. Jonathan in 2015.
A source in the ministry of education explained that Prof. Bogoro was reinstated after been found innocent of the allegations.
The source stated that the N200 billion allegedly misappropriated under him was never released to the agency in the first place.
The source said: “The other man has been reinstated to his position. There was an allegation about N200 billion disappearing from TETFund account. There was allegation at that time that it was used for electioneering campaign. It was discovered that the money was never released at all. It never really got to TETFund. So it was like TETFund was the victim, to say that someone misappropriated money that was never released at all.
“We had that impression until we now saw the records after the auditing. TETFund is now requesting the money to be released to them. The man was confirmed innocent of all the charges against him and when they finally submitted the report, there was a tendency to just let it be but when it got to the attention of Mr. President he demanded for his reinstatement immediately.”
However, Malam Adamu, in a statement by the ministry’s Deputy Director (Press), Ben. Bem, explained that Prof. Bogoro has been reinstated under the same terms and conditions as it were in his previous appointment and as stipulated in the TETFUND staff conditions of service.
