The Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), Mr. Mohammed Adoke, yesterday said the acting chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Dr Uriah Angulu, was removed because he was unqualified to hold the position.
Angulu was removed on Tuesday through a statement issued by Abdulah Yola on Adoke’s behalf.
Adoke said it was wrong for the former chairman, Justice Emmanuel Ayoola, to have unilaterally made Angulu acting chairman without following due process.
Adoke spoke with The Nation at a seminar on the rule of law organised by the Rule of Law Committee of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA).
He said Angulu was not sacked but asked to step aside.
He said: “I am not aware that he was sacked; nor did anybody ask him to proceed on leave. I, as the Attorney-General, am not even aware that his tenure is due anytime soon. So, I could not have sent him on a terminal leave.
“What I do know is that there is a qualification for anyone that will occupy the office of the chairman of ICPC and the requirement is that he must either be a judge or is qualified to be appointed as a judge. For you to occupy the position in acting capacity, you must meet the requirements of the statute.
“By virtue of the statute – not being a lawyer, not being a judge and not being a person capable to be appointed to be a judge – in the first place, he is not qualified to have assumed the position of acting chairperson.”
Adoke added: “The former chairman did not follow due process. He should have sought clarification and not arbitrarily occupied the office. But what the Federal Government did is in line with the rule of law we are talking about today.
“What this mean is that the Federal Government is complying with the letters of the law and in respecting the spirit of the law, we asked him to step aside.”
Original post:
ICPC: Why Angulu was asked to step aside, by Adoke