The Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, George Akume has stated categorically that the publication in the Sunday Punch Newspapers on Page 6 which reads: ‘FG sets up Panel to Reconstitute Boards of Parastatals’, is false.

Akume said it was necessary to state clearly that there is no truth in the story as published in the Sunday Punch neither has government set up any ad-hoc committee as alleged to review the resumes of individuals who would fill such board appointments as stated in the said publication.

He stressed that the visit of the two former Governors of Kebbi State, Atiku Bagudu and Jigawa State, Abubakar Badaru, to his office last Friday had nothing to do with such adhoc committee, rather, It has to do with their recent appointment as ministers.

The former Benue State Governor said that the Punch Newspaper reporter inaccurately quoted the Spokesperson of the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, OSGF, as indicating that 14 agencies were stipulated to have been exempted, Whereas, the release in question at the time only received the President’s approval for two agencies- National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and the National Agency for Food, Drug Administration & Control (NAFDAC).

In a Statement signed by Willie Bassey, Director of Information at the OSGF office said, “In order to avoid inaccurate reporting, SGF admonishes media personnel to always cross-check information directly from authorized persons in his office rather than depending on some social media reports which may be inaccurate”, it reads.