Presidency wades into face-off at Christian pilgrims commission

Strong indications emerged at the weekend that the presidency has waded into the reported face-off at the Nigerian Christian Pilgrims Commission (NCPC).

NCPC’s executive secretary, Reverend Tor Uja, had been at loggerheads with the chairman and members of the governing board over the style of his administration.

A top presidency source hinted at the weekend in Abuja that necessary administrative measures were almost concluded to deal with the recommendations of a panel of investigation into allegations against the secretary.

The source, however, stated that the issues between chief executives and their governing councils/boards were matters of grave concern to government.

Pleading anonymity and declining to give details of the “administrative investigation”, the source confirmed that all complaints on the matter had been investigated and were awaiting final official decision.

“Governance is a process. When complaints are received, they are subjected to proper investigation in line with civil service procedures.

“It is pertinent to note that disagreements on procedure are not new in Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs). This is why retreats are organised for chairmen and members of governing boards as soon as they are inaugurated.

“An administrative investigation must follow due process and reach a conclusion before the public will be kept abreast of Mr. President’s decision,” the source said.

Maintaining that every development in one agency is a lesson for government, so that new policies and practices will emerge for better governance processes, our source stressed that investigations were necessary to determine the causes of such disagreements, to avoid such pitfalls in governance.

“It is also important to emphasise that only the president has the power to pronounce sanctions on his appointees. Unnecessary speculations and insinuations should be avoided in the case of the Christians’ Pilgrims Commission until the entire process is concluded. Everyone concerned should be assured that the process would be fair and just.”