If President Muhammadu Buhari does not oust Stella Erhuvwuoghene Okotete from her position as Executive Director of the Nigerian Export-Import Bank, NEXIM, within the next seven days, a group operating under the banner of Lawyers for Reform has threatened to file a lawsuit against him.
Members of the group protested at the National Assembly’s premises to press their demand, claiming that the NEXIM boss, whom they described as a hairdresser, is not entirely qualified to hold the position.
Speaking to journalists during the protest under the hashtag “#Remove Stellaokotetenow,” the group’s leader, Barrister Oladotun Hassan, claimed that the selection of Stella Okotete as the executive director of NEXIM by President Buhari in April 2017 was improper in light of the requirements that were expressly stated in the laws that were in effect at the time.
Hassan claimed that Okotete was not qualified for her position because she lacked the necessary 18 years of post-graduation work experience, as well as the necessary academic credentials in financial accounting, banking, or any other business-related courses.
He stated: “What can only be obtained from Okotete’s fraudulently fabricated curriculum vitae is that she was a former counselor and hairdresser at a beauty parlor.
“This is a flagrant disgrace and a major embarrassment to President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, which takes pride in being an anti-corruption crusader.
Okotete “is not fit and [does not] merit to continue to hold the [position of] Executive Director of NEXIM Bank in contravention of the law, specifically pursuant to the Central Bank of Nigeria Act Regulations and Order 41(3) of the Senate Rule and by reason of her lack of capacity not to have served in the banking service for 18 years. Therefore, we urge President Muhammadu Buhari to take appropriate action quickly.
“We also demand that Okotete be charged with a crime after being removed from office for deceiving all Nigerians with false statements made to obtain the appointment.
“If nothing substantive is urgently done in response to our demands on or before December 7, 2022, we will not hesitate to seek legal sanction against the Federal Government of Nigeria, led by President Muhammadu Buhari.”
The group leader went on to say that a petition calling for Okotete’s removal was sent to the National Assembly’s Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Public Petitions in 2018, which was then chaired by Senator Sam Anyanwu.