3rd September, 2015
Centrum Initiative For Development and Fundamental Rights Initiative, CEDRA, has given 48 hours to Kaduna Governor, Malam Nasir El-Rufai to sack the Special Adviser on Trade and Investment promotion, Jimmy Lawal.
The Kaduna-based rights group, which faulted El-Rufai’s choice of Jimmy Lawal as a Special Adviser, said such a character enmeshed in multiple scandals in the private sector and also reported by Sahara Reporters as a wanted man in United States for fraud-related offences was an indictment on the governor’s reputation.
It also emphasised that if Lawal remains in government as an appointee, El-Rufai will continue to suffer moral deficiency and lack of trust from people.
Briefing journalists on CEDRA’s assessment of 100 days of All Progressives Congress, APC, government led by Governor El-Rufai in the state at Catholic Media Social Center on Thursday, Chairman Board of Trustees, John Danfulani maintained that if El-Rufai’s claim of running a transparent, sensitive, responsive and credible government is true, he should sack Lawal immediately.
“If Governor El-Rufai insists on keeping a man on United States’ wanted list and an aide that a google search on his name will give thousands of links carrying scandalous stories in his government, there is more than meets the eye in the entire affairs,” Danfulani said.
While querying the rationale behind appointing a wanted man that cannot attend any meeting on behalf of the state government if any American firm or organization express desire to do business or invest in the state, he said there is a serious problem.
Danfulani who acknowledged the right of Governor El-Rufai to appoint anyone deemed fit to work with him, said in doing so such persons must be morally upright with credible record.