The federal government has said that its decision to remove Mr. Chukwuyere Anamekwe, as Acting Accountant-General of the Federation was to punish him for saying that the government was borrowing to pay salaries.
Mr. Anamekwe had spoken at a retreat organised by the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF) for members of the Technical Sub-committee On Cash Management (TSCM), on June 14, 2022, in Nassarawa State.
He was quoted as saying, “Due to dwindling revenues, the treasury had to resort to other sources in order to augment for the payment of federal government public servants. It is absurd. Ordinarily we shouldn’t borrow to pay salaries.
In less than a week after the Anamekwe comment, Dr. Yemi Esan issued a memo, inviting Accountants of Grade Level 17 in the service to apply for the job. Rolling out the criteria she said ” accountants who are of Grade Level 17 on or before 1 January 2020 and are not retiring from the service earlier than 31 December 2024 are eligible to participate in the exercise also Officers undergoing disciplinary proceedings are however excluded from the exercise.”
Esan also adds that although there were reports of allegations of corruption against Mr. Anamekwe, it was learnt that it was not the reason for his removal, as he was redeployed to the Federal Civil Service Commission and not suspended or sacked, as would have been the case.
